Trophy ( countermeasure ) Trophy ( also known as ASPRO - A . Israel Defense Forces designation מעיל רוח , lit . ( " Windbreaker " ) is a military active protection system ( APS ) for vehicles . It intercepts and destroys incoming missile s and rocket s with a shotgun - like blast . Trophy is the product of a ten - year collaborative development project between the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aircraft Industries ' Elta Group . Its principal purpose is to supplement the armor of light and heavy armored fighting vehicle s . Design . the system was being integrated onto Israeli Merkava main battle tank s . The design includes the Elta EL / M - 2133 F / G band fire - control radar with four flat - panel antennas mounted on the vehicle , with a 360 - degree field of view . When a projectile is detected , the internal computer calculates an approach vector almost instantly , before it arrives . Once the incoming weapon is fully classified , the computers calculate the optimal time and angle to fire the neutralizers . The response comes from two rotating launchers installed on the sides of the vehicle which fire neutralizing agents , usually small metal pellets like buckshot . The system is designed to have a very small kill zone , so as not to endanger personnel adjacent to the protected vehicle . The system is designed to work against all types of anti - tank missile s and rockets , including handheld weapons such as rocket propelled grenade s . The system can simultaneously engage several threats arriving from different directions , is effective on stationary or moving platforms , and is effective against both short - and long - range threats . Newer versions of the system include a reload feature for multiple firings . The Trophy development plan includes an enhanced countermeasure unit to be available in the future for protection against kinetic energy penetrator s . Advantages . The primary role of Trophy is defense against missile strikes , particularly for lighter armored personnel carrier s , which are very vulnerable to rocket attacks . Use of Trophy on the Stryker vehicle will remove the need for heavy slat armor to defend against high explosive antitank ( HEAT ) warheads , and allow a battle - ready vehicle to fit into a C - 130 Hercules cargo aircraft ; slat armor must be removed before the vehicle is loaded into the plane and reattached at the destination , which takes over 100 hours of cutting and welding , impractical under combat conditions . The reduction in size due to omission of the armor will improve the vehicle ' s ability to negotiate urban areas . Trophy Light . A new version called " Trophy Light " was unveiled by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in September 2007 . While the standard Trophy was designed for main battle tanks , Trophy Light is designed for integration with light and medium armored vehicles , such as Rafael ' s Golan . It is expected to be about half the weight and volume of the standard Trophy and cost less . According to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems , the development will only require design and engineering work on the launcher / loader and munitions . Tests by the United States . MSNBC has reported that there is resistance to incorporating Trophy in the US Army . The U . S . Department of Defense has contracted with Raytheon to develop an equivalent system , Quick Kill , which will not be ready before 2011 at the earliest ( but now declines to say whether it still is on course to meet that deadline ) , whereas Trophy could be deployed much sooner . Quick Kill is more similar to Israel ' s other developing active protection system , Iron Fist . According to MSNBC ' s sources , the reason for not adopting Trophy for now is that it would remove the need for the Raytheon program . The Institute for Defense Analyses analyzed 15 active protection systems , including Trophy and Quick Kill , and found Trophy to be the top system . In March 2006 , Pentagon testers at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren tested Trophy . An official involved with the tests told NBC that Trophy “ worked in every case . The only anomaly was that in one test , the Trophy round hit the RPG ’ s tail instead of its head . But according to our test criteria , the system was 30 for 30 . ” The Government Accountability Office has since reviewed the Army ' s actions and issued a report that concluded that the Army and Boeing , the FCS lead systems integrator , followed the regulations to avoid conflicts of interest ; that although Raytheon ' s technology is not mature , the Army estimated that a prototype for current vehicles could be delivered by 2009 ; that Army officials found Trophy tests to be unrealistic , and worried that integrating Trophy would delay fielding other capabilities . According to the DOD Buzz the United States will be testing the trophy system on a Stryker vehicle in 2010 . On February 28 , 2011 , Trophy manufacturer , Rafael , announced that the system completed a successful evaluation in the USA . An Israel Defense Forces ( IDF ) Stryker Armored Fighting Vehicle fitted with TROPHY , a Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Active Protection System , withstood numerous missile and rocket attacks under a six - week test and evaluation program by the office of the US Secretary of Defense . General Dynamics Land Systems will host a demonstration of a version of the Trophy in mid - October 2013 . GDLS hopes to integrate the system onto the Canadian LAV III and American Ground Combat Vehicle . By then , the Trophy system had completed a 10 - month vehicle integration and live fire testing program . After mobility tests , the integrated LAV III underwent 3 months of live - fire tests . Trophy was faced with rocket propelled grenade , recoilless rifle , and anti - tank guided missile fire in different short range , moving vehicle , multiple threat , and high clutter engagement scenarios . Collateral damage , residual penetration , vehicle and crew safety , and electronic safe / arm performance data was also collected . Trophy ' s successful performance and ability to be integrated with the vehicle demonstrated the maturity of Active Protection technology . Combat history . Following the series of tests of the Trophy system , the IDF Ground Forces Command declared the Trophy operational in August 2009 . It was scheduled to be installed in an entire battalion of Israeli Armored Corps tanks by 2010 . On March 1 , 2011 , stationed near the Gaza border , a Merkava MK IV equipped with the trophy system foiled a missile attack aimed toward it and became the first operational success of the trophy active defense system . On March 20 , 2011 , a missile was fired toward a Merkava MK IV tank equipped with trophy system inside the Israeli area along the perimeter fence of the Gaza Strip , the system identified the shooting , but calculated that it did not endanger the tank , and no intercept occurred . The system passed information about the shooting and the tank crew returned fire toward the source of fire . On August 1 , 2012 , Trophy - " Windbreaker " successfully intercepted an anti - tank missile launched from the Gaza Strip toward a Merkava tank near Kissufim junction . Possible countermeasures . On November 12 , 2009 , PhD Vladimir Korenkov , who led Russian state unitary enterprise “ Basalt ” from 2000 to 2009 , stated that “ The Israeli system of active protection of tanks , “ Trophy ” , as any other similar systems , can be evaded ” . One of the activities of this enterprise was to develop rocket - propelled grenades , designed to destroy modern armament . The rocket - propelled grenade RPG - 30 , according to Vladimir Korenkov , is designed to overcome these tank defense systems . In response to concerns that the RPG - 30 had fallen into the hands of Hezbollah fighters , Israel Defense reported that the Rafael weapons development authority developed a defense system called the " Trench Coat " that can counteract the RPG - 30 , by utilizing a 360 - degree radar to detects all threats and , in the case of one , launch 17 projectiles , one of which should strike the incoming missile . Cost . The Trophy " Heavy " system costs around $ 600 , 000 to mount on a Merkava 4M .