Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1407425
being set in a way, so that it faces the threat. At a distance of 5-25 me- ters from the vehicle, the MEFP is detonated, facing the threat. 30-45 EFP cores are formed and fly towards the target at a speed of almost 2 kilometers per second. Immediately after the MEFP explodes, the ef- fector is reloaded automatically. The first Merkava Mk 4 battalion equipped with the Trophy system be- came combat-ready in November 2010. The vehicles were deployed immediately - they were patrolling the Gaza strip. This was caused by the notorious ambushes involving ATGMs and RPGs in the region, tar- geting the MBTs patrolling the area. Since lighter platforms were suf- fering from serious losses there, only the Merkavas were able to safely patrol the area - but they also were prone to the potential threats. as the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has shown. The patrols were carried out by Merkava Mk 4M belonging to the Israeli 401st Bri- gade. ASPRO-A went through its baptism of fire on March 1st, 2011, close to Nir Oz, several meters from the wall separating Israel from the Gaza Strip. Merkava Mk 4M was attacked with an unspecified RPG projectile, launched from a high building on the Palestinian side. The grenade was destroyed by the system's effector. The commander also received data on the approximate location of the launch site, who used the 120 mm gun against it. The second use of the Trophy system took place on March 20th, during the same year, close to the location of the first attack. This time, Fagot ATGM has been used. Most probably it would have been completely incapable of piercing through the hull and front and side turret armor. As a result of the operator error, the ATGM did not hit the vehicle. Trophy ignored the threat, the system did not activate the effector but provided the approximate position of the attacker to the tank crew. The system's third use took place on August 1st, 2012, in the Gaza Strip region, close to the village of Kissufim. ASPRO-A neutralized an unidentified ATGM targeted against Merkava. ASPRO-A went through a tougher test as late as 2014. Before the intense land campaign of the "Prospective Edge" defense operation had begun, Trophy again proved its effectiveness, neutralizing another Palestinian ATGM (legacy Konkurs or Fagot missile), attacking a Merkava MBT staying in a hull-down position. After the land offensive was launched, the Palestinians were using anti-tank weaponry in mass quantities which led to multiple uses of the Trophy sys- tems, fitted onto almost all of the Merkavas leading the offensive. Despite the detrimental conditions in urbanized areas (limited detection range and time), Trophy was used at least 10 times, neutralizing both RPGs, as well as ATGMs. In one case, an Israeli soldier was killed by Trophy, standing in the EFP's way. For the first time in the history of the MBT, the use of an active protection system may be described as a success. None of the vehicles protected by ASPRO-A were hit by any effector. This happened despite the attempted attacks, involving the legacy Fagot and Konkurs ATGMs, as well as the modern Metis-M and Kornet effectors. RPG-29 and PG-7VR grenades VEHICLES