The US Army has awarded BAE Systems a contract to supply its active protection system to shield combat vehicles against threats like drones and anti-tank guided missiles.
The US Army has awarded BAE Systems a contract to supply its active protection system (APS) to shield combat vehicles against threats like drones and anti-tank guided missiles.
BAE was selected under the army’s Soft Kill APS program, where the company is set to deliver its Rapid Optical Observation and Kill (ROOK) soft-kill countermeasure system.
ROOK jams or confuses an enemy weapon’s guidance systems to neutralize incoming threats, serving as a complementary layer to hard-kill countermeasures.
Dave Gillespie, director of Optics and Countermeasure Solutions at BAE Systems, described ROOK as providing “cost-effective, sustainable defense with an infinite magazine depth, continuously disrupting enemy systems.”
The contract also covers support for the further development of BAE Systems’ Stormcrow and Terra Raven countermeasure systems, as well as the delivery of their prototypes to be used for vehicle integration and testing.
BAE Systems manufactures its APS at its Austin, Texas facility, supported by its research and development team in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
Army Vehicle Protection
The US Army primarily fields hard-kill active protection systems on its M1 Abrams main battle tanks and select variants of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.
This includes the Trophy APS, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, on the Abrams, and Elbit Systems’ Iron Fist APS on the Bradley platforms.
Both systems combine onboard radar and electro-optical or infrared sensors to provide 360-degree threat detection and situational awareness.
However, the two systems differ in how they intercept incoming threats.
Trophy deploys explosively formed penetrators designed to neutralize a threat before impact by damaging or prematurely detonating its warhead. Meanwhile, Iron Fist launches a compact blast interceptor that detonates in close proximity to the incoming projectile.
