Hard-kill protection systems, an active device making it possible to intercept missiles and anti-tank rockets before they strike an armor, are now essential to ensure the survivability of armor in a field. high intensity battlefield, where the threats to these vehicles will be numerous and lethal. But these devices, like the TROPHY of the Israeli Rafael which equips the Merkava of the Israeli armies, and soon the American M1 Abrams et the Leopard 2 of the Bundeswehr, if they are very efficient, have two big drawbacks: they are very heavy, up to 2 tons, and consume a lot of electrical energy. In fact, if they can still be installed on armored vehicles flirting with 60 tons, or even beyond, it is much more difficult to install them on lighter armored vehicles, such as the US Army's Stryker 8 × 8, however. the most widely used and potentially the most exposed armor for American forces.
The US Army had experimented without success the American Artis' Iron Curtain system on its Strykers in 2018, but the system, if it was indeed lighter than the Trophy, did not give satisfaction during the tests. When the Trophy which was chosen to protect the M1 Abrams tanks, and the Iron Fist of the Israeli IAI retained to protect the M2 Bradley, both proved too heavy to be installed on the Stryker whose engine of 350 hp barely already has to propel the 18 tons of the armored vehicle. But today, Rafael may have the solution hoped for by the US Army while waiting for the modular system MAPS (Modular Active Protection System) being developed by Lockheed-Martin, with the TROPHY VPS.
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