Elbit Systems set to receive contracts for IF-LD APS from UK and US

Elbit Systems is set to secure contracts from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the US Army for its Iron Fist Light Decoupled (IF-LD) active protection system (APS).

The two countries recently detailed plans to buy the system.

The US Army plans to award a $122.2m contract to Elbit Systems partner General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems in January 2020. The UK MoD intends to award a $1.5m contract to Elbit Systems for a single system to evaluate.

This US Army contract will cover 154 IF-LD systems, in addition to 14 calibration and maintenance kits, and 2,484 IF-LD APS countermeasures for its Bradley fleet.

Recently on the Federal Business Opportunities website, the US Army wrote: “These items will be installed on Bradley fighting vehicles for testing and as needed to meet the demands of the European Deterrence Initiative.”

IF-LD APS is an easily configured add-on system applicable for armoured platforms from light 4×4 vehicles up to medium and heavy armoured fighting vehicles (AFV).

The system’s hard-kill concept is based on intercepting the threat by launching a small warhead and initiating it at a safe distance from the protected platform, at an accurately calculated moment, and defeating or destructing the threat through a shock-wave effect.

Over the last several years, the US ground service has been struggling with APS fielding over several attempts to build a ‘best-of-breed’ system, as well as deploying the near-term system, reported Janes.com.

In addition to deploying IF-LD on some of its Bradley vehicles, the US service is planning to include the hard-kill system with BAE Systems’ RAVEN soft-kill APS system on the vehicle.