The U.S. Army is in the process of upgrading its main battle tanks with a defense system that acts like an invisible shield against missiles and other threats.
In February this year, the Army announced it would upgrade 261 M1 Abrams tanks—enough for three brigades—with an active protection system made by Israeli company Rafael, known as Trophy.
Israel has used Trophy in its Merkava main battle tanks for almost a decade, including in combat conditions. The system played a critical role during the 2014 Israel intervention into the Gaza Strip, where no Merkava’s were said to have suffered any damage during the three-week ground operation, reported the War Zone.
The U.S. Army’s adoption of the Trophy active protection system is just one of a package of measures aimed at modernizing the military. According to Breaking Defense, the Army is currently in the process of reorienting from its counterinsurgency-era focus, which emphasized light infantry and aircraft toward responding to threats from other nation-states, in particular Russia.
Active protection systems provide 360-degree protection around tanks, creating something similar to a protective bubble, said Fox. After a threat, such as a missile, is detected and located by radar, the system deploys a countermeasure to destroy it.
While the typical countermeasure is in the form of a launcher that fires neutralizing shots against the incoming projectile, another invisible type of countermeasure is currently being developed. Fox reported that electromagnetic signals can be transmitted to interfere with an incoming missile’s guidance system, preventing it from reaching the targeted tank.
“In the West, we have to take care of things that the Russians don’t worry about quite as much,” German arms maker Rheinmetall spokesman, Geoff Revill, told Breaking Defense. “We care about our blue [friendly] forces, we care about civilians in an urban environment.”
During tests, the Army has been focused on investigating and resolving these safety concerns, before it moves forward to equip its M1 main battle tanks on a large scale, reported Fox.