See GlobalData’s recently published report on the impact of the Ukraine conflict for more information.
Active protection systems (APS) fall into two categories: soft-kill and hard-kill. Hard-kill APS are the most common and use kinetic effectors. These can be launched to intercept incoming threats or serve as static effectors to detonate and destroy a projectile. Soft-kill APS use a range of measures to prevent a projectile from targeting the vehicle without intercepting it directly. This can include basic measures, such as smokescreen screens, as well as more advanced measures, including electronic warfare technology.
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The armed forces of both Ukraine and Russia have suffered large volumes of destroyed or damaged vehicles since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022. By June 2025, Russia is believed to have lost approximately 4,030 main battle tanks (MBTs) and 8,833 armoured fighting vehicles. Meanwhile, although Ukraine is highly secretive about its casualty figures and materiel losses, it is believed that 27 M1A1 Abrams MBTs donated to Ukraine had been lost or captured, amounting to 87% of the total donations by that time.
Vehicle losses for both sides have largely been attributed to anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and one-way effectors (OWEs), which can target specific weak points of a vehicle, an example being open hatches. The attrition rates of donated Nato MBTs, including variants of the Leopard 2, Challenger 2, and M1A1 Abrams, make clear that their vulnerability to ATGMs and OWEs is comparable to their Russian counterparts, although they remain superior in terms of crew survivability. Developments in small UAVs and infantry ATGMs have given rise to the requirement for APS to counter these threats.
At present, the clear leader in the APS market is Trophy, manufactured by Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. As a hard-kill APS, Trophy employs radar to detect and identify an incoming threat, tracking its trajectory to calculate an interception path, alerting the vehicle crew, and neutralising the threat by launching small explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) in front of the incoming threat. The kill zone is narrow to reduce the risk of injury to nearby friendly personnel.
Trophy first entered service with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Armored Corps in 2010. Its first use in combat was in 2011, when a Merkava Mk 4 MBT fitted with the system successfully intercepted an incoming rocket launched from the Gaza border. During subsequent IDF operations in Gaza in 2014 and 2021, and in the most recent conflict, Trophy demonstrated its capability to intercept rocket-propelled grenades as well as ATGMs such as the 9M133 Kornet. Trophy is quickly becoming the APS of choice for Nato armoured and mechanised infantry formations. EuroTrophy GmbH was established by KNDS, General Dynamics European Land Systems, and Rafael ADS in March 2022. As a result, the Trophy APS is being fitted to key combined-arms warfare assets fielded by European Nato members. The Leopard 2A8, the most recent iteration of Nato’s most widely fielded MBT, is equipped with Trophy. Beyond the Leopard 2A8, Trophy is to be evaluated on the British Army’s Challenger 3 MBTs under a £20m ($27m) contract. Additionally, the APS is fitted to the ASCOD 2 series of armoured fighting vehicles, which is fielded by the Spanish Armed Forces and is also being procured for the Latvian Land Forces.
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By GlobalDataThe other main APS currently on the market is Iron Fist. Originally developed by Israeli Military Industries (IMI), it is a hard-kill APS that offers 360° protection. Two variants are currently manufactured by Elbit Systems: Iron Fist Light Kinetic (IFLK), aimed at MBTs and heavier tracked vehicles, and Iron Fist Light Decoupled (IFLD), for lighter vehicles. The system uses radar and electro-optical sensors for threat detection and identification, as well as for calculating the interceptor launch point, while additionally being capable of tracking multiple threats simultaneously.
In contrast to Trophy, Iron Fist uses a blast interceptor rather than EFPs, with the intent that the ensuing shockwave destroys the threat before its warhead detonates. An optional jammer can be added to counter second-generation ATGMs.
In terms of procurement, prior to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Elbit Systems secured an initial $31m agreement to supply Iron Fist to the IDF’s Eitan armoured vehicles. This was followed in 2021 by an $82 million contract with BAE Systems Hägglunds to fit the system to the Royal Netherlands Army’s CV90 fleet. Since 2022, Elbit Systems has secured a $37m contract with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems to install the system on the US Army’s M2A4E1 Bradley IFVs as part of an upgrade package. A further order valued at $127m was signed in November 2024, with deliveries scheduled to take place over 34 months. Perhaps Iron Fist’s most significant procurement took place in January 2026, when Elbit secured further orders from BAE Systems Hägglunds to install Iron Fist on CV90 fleets. The CV90 is widely fielded across Nato, with further procurements planned by its native Sweden, in addition to the Czech Republic, Denmark, Lithuania, and Slovakia.
An emerging APS on the European market is Rheinmetall’s StrikeShield, described as a hybrid combination of a hard-kill APS and spaced armour. The system’s sensors and explosive charges are directly integrated into the vehicle’s armour, with the sensors detecting an incoming threat, triggering detonation of the charges. By integrating the system into the armour, Rheinmetall claims that StrikeShield has relatively low operating costs and mitigates collateral damage. The system will be integrated into the KF41 Lynx IFV, which is fielded by the Hungarian Ground Forces and is being procured by Italy.
Beyond Europe, the need for effective APS is recognised in the Asia-Pacific. South Korean prime Hyundai Rotem’s K2 Black Panther MBT, fielded by the armed forces of South Korea and Poland, will be fitted with the Trophy APS under a strategic agreement between Rafael and Hyundai Rotem. Meanwhile, in Japan, the country’s defence ministry released a procurement document in August 2025 to fit the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s fleet of Type 10 MBTs with an APS. The three systems selected for evaluation are Trophy, Iron Fist, and StrikeShield. Looking ahead, integrating APS sensors into vehicle armaments is likely to be a key development. With an APS sensor able to share enemy firing positions with onboard weapons, this would enhance offensive capabilities and allow the proactive removal of threats rather than solely intercepting incoming threats. The use of AI processing and analysis is almost certain to be a key area of research and development in sensor technology.
It is also likely that there will be interest in retrofitting APS to older platforms. As a case in point, the Leopard 1HEL modernisation package includes an “active protection sensor suite” as part of an upgrade over the original Leopard 1 hull. The main challenge will be to fit such systems while maintaining sufficient power for other vehicle systems. A potential solution could be lithium-ion batteries, which generally support higher energy demands than lead-acid batteries.
