ACTIVE PROTECTION SYSTEMS Armoured warfare is evolving, and vehicle protection suites are following suit with armies requiring multi-layered defences that incorporate soft- and hard-kill measures. TAKING (Photos: US Army) DEFENSIVE ACTION Fear of going toe-to-toe with the Russian military in a land battle has US Army leaders stepping up plans to field a much-delayed technology that could protect soldiers inside ground vehicles from incoming RPGs and ATGMs. By Ashley Roque fter nearly two decades of cat- that we had a need for [APS], and we the APS itself perform; does it hit the targets and-mouse games with various wanted to prioritise [that for] our first it is supposed to; does it work in the way it is A active protection systems (APS), responder units,’ army Chief of Staff Gen supposed to; is it mature; can it handle the the US Army is slated to finally move out Mark Milley told lawmakers during a Senate environment the US Army works in; will it and field its first such solution by 2020 – Appropriation Defense Subcommittee on work in the rain, the snow and in the combat the Israeli-built Trophy from Rafael 15 May. ‘So, we picked four brigades – heavy environment where it needs to perform; and Advanced Defense Systems. brigades – to purchase those systems for.’ is it in fact suitable for the platform it has ‘It is a priority for the service,’ Army He added that the ‘intent is to outfit the been integrated onto? Each platform has Secretary Mark Esper told Shephard. ‘We’ll entire heavy force – so all of our vehicles, different SWaP constraints, Dean added, procure any technology that delivers best all the ground vehicles, the Bradleys, the and an APS technology might be mature value, whether it’s US industry [or] foreign tanks, any future combat vehicles – with but simply not suited for the selected vehicle. industry. If the marines invent it, it doesn’t active protective systems, but also with The US Army has given the Trophy the matter. We need to get the best value for some aircraft; we haven’t worked out the green light to proceed and, in June, our soldiers.’ aircraft piece.’ Leonardo DRS (Rafael’s US-based partner) Trophy is one of three APS technologies announced that it had been awarded a that the service has evaluated under an Tristate of affairs $193 million contract to integrate the expedited initiative to meet soldiers’ urgent The three APS systems under consideration capability on Abrams tanks. requirements while it also develops future were Rafael’s Trophy on the Abrams, IMI With four brigades slated to receive capabilities. Multiple times before, though, Systems’ Iron Fist on the M2 Bradley and the system, Dean noted that the current army leaders evaluated the Israeli system Artis’ Iron Curtain on the Stryker. The US contract covers the first brigade and a half, before turning their backs on it. Army assessed the solutions for performance, and the hardware will be fielded by 2020. Now, as the Pentagon zeroes in on maturity and vehicle compatibility. To achieve this, the Trophy was set to potentially violent contingencies involving Col Glenn Dean, project manager for undergo final qualification testing in the Chinese and Russian militaries, service Stryker Brigade Combat Team and APS September 2018, and production has leaders say the time has come to move acquisition, told reporters in August that the begun to build the deployable assets. out and that they are committed to rapidly service sought answers to some key questions As for IMI’s Iron Fist, the technology was fielding APS to their soldiers. ‘We determined about all three technologies: how well does still participating in Phase I live-fire and 14 LAND WARFARE INTERNATIONAL OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 VOLUME 9 NUMBER 5 WWW.LANDWARFAREINTL.COM ACTIVE PROTECTION SYSTEMS automotive characterisation testing at the speculation, he confirmed in August that version of Rafael’s system, dubbed time of writing – an eight-month delay due in the AROC flew the red flag on Artis’ APS Trophy-VPS (Vehicle Protection System). part to funding gaps, inclement weather at technology. After completing the Phase I Aside from new options like Rheinmetall’s, the test range and integration challenges. evaluation in April, Dean said the AROC Dean said that modified versions of systems The M2 Bradley is a ‘very difficult platform to handed down its no-go decision five already under evaluation could be put forward install to’, Dean explained. ‘When we install months later. for the follow-on effort. ‘We are allowing these systems on a platform, they don’t ‘Although we observed that the system systems that are significantly different but come off the shelf ready to operate on an generally worked in concept and generally may share common features with existing Abrams tank and a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. was able to hit its targets, it was significantly systems to come in and demonstrate initially,’ ‘Even once you bolt everything on, it takes immature [and] would have required Dean told reporters. ‘I’m not going to confirm some time for the manufacturer of that significant time and investment to get it to a any of the participants; I’ll leave that up to system to get it dialled in to work for that maturity level where it was ready to rapidly industry for them to say whether they’re platform,’ he continued. ‘If they’re using field, none of which was in the scope of our participating or not.’ He did note, however, radar, they have got to make sure the radars programme,’ he explained. Dean declined that his office was sending team members are looking in the right direction and there to provide specific information about test to Israel in August to see a demonstration isn’t anything on the vehicle that is in the events and, at the time of writing, Artis had of the Trophy-VPS technology. way of the radar or providing a bad signal.’ not responded for comment. Regardless of which companies As of late August, IMI was about 50% participate in the forthcoming evaluation, through Phase I live-fire and automotive Short-term efforts though, it is expected that kinetic characterisation testing, and the findings As one system moves forward, one is cut and energy defeat capabilities will be included. are expected to be handed over to the Army one continues to move through testing, the ‘We’re looking to evaluate state-of-the-art Requirements Oversight Council (AROC) in Q1 US Army is also preparing to evaluate other [technology] and the ability to defeat tank- of FY2019 for a decision on how to proceed. near-term options after Congress allocated fired, long-rod, kinetic energy penetrators as Dean also revealed that the Iron Curtain $25 million for the testing of additional APS well,’ Dean said. The service is in the midst is now out of the running. After months of technologies. The lawmakers’ move could be of a technical maturity assessment to help an avenue to circumvent what is determine how the army should invest in the An M1A2 MBT assigned to 1st Battalion, 35th Armored known as an earmark ban by not capability and develop a proposed timeline. Regiment, breaches obstacles during Army Warfighting specifying an individual company, and Assessment 17.1 at Fort Bliss. now the service is forced to consider Time warp additional options. This is not the first time that lawmakers Although Dean declined to specify have waded into the APS arena. Back in potential contenders for the initial the mid-2000s, in fact, the US Army looked evaluation in November, he noted to field a system capable of shooting down that some companies that initially incoming RPGs – this was Trophy under the showed interest have backed out Full-Spectrum Effects Weapon Systems because they simply are not ready initiative (nicknamed Project Sheriff) and a to move forward so quickly. It is Raytheon option under the ill-fated Future envisioned that the evaluation will Combat System (FCS). be used to downselect systems to Helmed by the Pentagon’s Office of move into the Phase I testing phase Force Transformation, Project Sheriff on Stryker vehicles. was an initiative to equip Stryker vehicles In 2008, the US Army conducted an RPG defeat test for ‘We happen to have an excess with a variety of lethal and non-lethal the FCS APS for manned vehicles. of Stryker hulls that are residual capabilities. At the time, some military material from our double-V-hull leaders and Raytheon officials made a production,’ Dean explained, noting public push to block the service from that the platform had been selected fielding Trophy. before Iron Curtain was cut. ‘Now ‘Some programmes were very threatened, that we’ve made the decision to as we found out,’ recalled USMC Col (Ret) terminate the Iron Curtain activity, Wade Hall, who at the time led Project this gives us a starting point, and Sheriff. Hall is now a consultant backing we may look at an alternative Trophy. ‘The FCS programme in particular system for Stryker,’ he said. got very threatened by [Trophy] because here Two potential contenders for the we were demonstrating an active protection fourth APS test include a solution system on the move and they [had] just a from German company ADS (part of lot of PowerPoint slides,’ he explained to the Rheinmetall Group) and a light Shephard. ‘Time had a way of just proving WWW.LANDWARFAREINTL.COM VOLUME 9 NUMBER 5 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 LAND WARFARE INTERNATIONAL 15 ACTIVE PROTECTION SYSTEMS Laser focus Aside from efforts to quickly field an APS technology, the US Army has also started work on three programmes to better protect combat vehicles – signature management, advanced reactive armour tiles and a laser warning system – with the goal of getting them into the field in the FY2020-2022 timeframe.