Israel’s Defense Ministry on Thursday unveiled the first of its Namer armored troop carriers that will be equipped with the Trophy anti-missile system. The Namer vehicles themselves have been in service since 2008.
“At the end of a series of tests that are taking place in these days, we will begin serial installation of the system on additional vehicles. As such, we will implement MoD (Ministry of Defense) policy of equipping every Namer that leaves the production line with the only operational active defense system in the world,” said Brig. Gen. Baruch Matzliah, director of the ministry’s Tank Production Office.
“Namer with Trophy will provide the highest level of protection to war fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, and will grant them security and a significant edge on the field of battle,” Matzliah added.
The Trophy system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, was already installed on the less-expensive Merkava MK 4 battle tanks to protect infantry soldiers against Palestinian attacks during the 2014 Gaza war. The anti-missile system is designed with a 360-degree protection against multiple launchings, while maintaining “a pre-defined safety zone for friendly dismounted troops,” the Defense Ministry said.
JNS.ORG
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
Trophy was initially developed with joint funding from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, as part of an active defense system competition with two US companies and Rafael. Ultimately, the US abandoned the competition, but Trophy was so successful for the Israelis, that they fielded it. It has seen battle for years.
I spent two weeks in the Negev in the late 1990s supporting Trophy testing for the US.