ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- DRS Technologies,
Inc., a Finmeccanica Company announced today that, in cooperation
with General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), it has successfully
completed a ten-month combat vehicle integration and live fire
testing program featuring Active Protection technology. As
part of its strategic initiative to demonstrate next generation
anti-armor survivability technologies for its combat vehicle
fleets, and following an international tender process, GDLS chose
the combat-proven Trophy Active Protection System for its
full-scale integration and testing program on a General Dynamics
LAV III armored vehicle.
DRS and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, partners on the Trophy
system, worked in close cooperation with GDLS to perform the
detailed mechanical, electrical, and electronic systems design
integration and installation of the Trophy system on the LAV III
without degrading the original performance level of the
vehicle.
Following a series of mobility trials to stress the Active
Protection integration on the vehicle, the system underwent a
comprehensive, 3-month live fire test regimen at a Canadian test
range against multiple rocket-propelled grenade variants,
recoilless rifle, and anti-tank guided missiles. These tests were
performed in various challenging engagement scenarios -- including
short range, moving vehicle, multiple threats, and high clutter
environments. Besides performance testing to validate the
system functionality, additional test data included arena sampling
for collateral effects, residual penetration, vehicle/crew safety,
and electronic safe/arm performance.
"The successful performance of Trophy during the test program,
coupled with the robustness of the vehicle integration design,
demonstrates that Active Protection technology – and the Trophy
system in particular – is both effective and mature," said
Joseph Matteoni, Vice
President/General Manager of DRS Sustainment Systems Inc. "We
owe it to our troops to do the utmost to avoid another 'IED-like'
surprise on the next battlefield."
Trophy has already been fielded in large numbers to tank units
of the Israel Defense Forces and has proven to save lives in
several documented combat engagements. Capable of defeating
the full spectrum of direct fire, anti-armor rockets, missiles, and
tank-fired high-explosive rounds, the system rapidly detects
and tracks an incoming threat, classifies it, computes the optimal
intercept point in space, and, if necessary, neutralizes it away
from the platform. Additionally, the system reduces the probability
of collateral injury in the vehicle vicinity to below one
percent.
Trophy also calculates the location of the shooter, alerts the
crew for immediate action, and reports the engagement to the battle
management network for situational awareness across the
formation.
About DRS Technologies
DRS Technologies is a leading supplier of integrated products,
services and support to military forces, intelligence agencies and
prime contractors worldwide and is the 2013 recipient of the
Defense Security Service Award for Excellence in
Counterintelligence as well as three James S. Cogswell Awards for
Outstanding Industrial Security Achievement. The company is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica SpA (FNC.MI), which employs
approximately 70,000 people worldwide.
For additional information please contact:
Michael Mount
Director, Public Affairs
571-447-4624
mmount@drs.com
SOURCE DRS Technologies
