Recently emerging from the shadows, the Diamant hard kill system should make it possible to protect French armored vehicles from 2026, in particular the VBMR Griffon and Serval and the EBRC Jaguar of the Scorpion bubble of the Army. At the same time, despite several test campaigns, the US Army has not been able to find a Hard Kill APS for the protection of its 8x8 Stryker armored vehicles, the Trophy, Iron Fist and Strikeshield being considered too heavy and expensive. . There is, here, an obvious convergence between the needs of the two armies, to which the Diamond can respond.
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A few days ago, we discussed the announced arrival of new Hard kill Diamond protection system, currently being developed and integrated aboard the Scorpions VBMR Griffon and EBRC Jaguar armored vehicles. If everything goes as planned, the first systems of this type could take place within Thales' Prometeus active protection system, from 2026, on board these armored vehicles, to then be ported to other platforms, such as the VBCI , the Leclerc and the VBMR-L Serval.
As mentioned in this article, the arrival of the Diamant system will represent immense operational added value for French mechanized infantry units, who will see the combat survivability of their armored vehicles increase considerably, particularly in a high or very high environment. high intensity, which is known to be particularly rich in rockets, missiles and other lurking anti-tank munitions.
But the Diamond will also constitute a particularly attractive flagship product for the French land defense industry, whether to promote the armored vehicles of the Scorpion bubble on the international scene, but also to protect the armored vehicles of other armed forces. . Indeed, the Diamond promises to have these two qualities which have often made French weapons systems successful in the past on the international scene, that of being economical, and above all of being light.
Let us say it immediately, information concerning the price and mass of the Diamond is currently confidential. However, the context of use of the system, on the one hand, and the specifications to which it must meet, on the other, allow us to get an idea of these two aspects, if not in absolute value, at least in relative value, compared to the competition.
Trophy, Iron Fist and Strikeshield: the Hard Kill APS on the market have been designed for relatively heavy armored vehicles
There are already several APS (Active Protection System) Hard Kill systems in the world, some having even already demonstrated their combat effectiveness, such as the Israeli Rafael Trophy, which protects the Merkava tanks of the Israeli army, and which has was chosen to protect the Intermediate generation tanks which are the Leopard 2A8/X, from the Abrams M1E3 and the Challenger 3. The Iron Fist, from the Israeli IMI, was selected by the US Army for the protection of some of its M2 Bradleys.
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