Rafael Advanced Defence Systems is demonstrating their advanced capabilities, many of them proven in combat, at stand #2K21 in Adelaide at the Land Forces 2016 Exhibition.
Described as the stand’s ‘flagship, science-fiction technology’, Rafael’s TROPHY Active Protection System uses advanced radar systems on the platform to detect and classify incoming projectiles – projectiles determined to be destined for impact with the platform are met with TROPHY countermeasures that intercept the attack away from the platform itself.
At Land Forces 2016, Rafael is offering to provide the TROPHY system for armoured vehicles as part of the LAND 400 programme for the Australian army. The US military is currently evaluating the integration of TROPHY counter-measures on M1 ABRAMS main battle tanks (MBT).
Also on display were Rafael’s SPIKE missile family, featuring the SPIKE-SR (short-range), SPIKE-LR (long-range), SPIKE-ER (extended-range) and SPIKE-NLOS (no line of sight). The SPIKE-LR, with a range of up to 4km, is currently up for the LAND 400 contract, in competition with BAE and Rheinmetall.
The SPIKE-SR is a portable shoulder-mounted, fire-and-forget weapon with a range of 1.5 kilometres. Rafael stated that they had spotted a gap in platoon-level capabilities, leading them to develop the SR, which has been on the market for only a year.
Each SPIKE missile is equipped with an electro-optic system comprising a dual-seeking capability between CCD and IR. They are controllable during flight, and remote pilots are able to disarm the payload at any point in the event of an emergency. To date, Rafael has sold over 29,000 SPIKE missiles to 15 different customers around the world, including the US, UK, Germany, Italy, Finland and Spain.
Rafael was also showing off its Iron Dome missile defence system, which mitigated its first missile threat in March 2011. Since its introduction, it has intercepted over 1,500 missiles with a 90% success rate, a testament to its utility as a defensive system, according to Rafael. In addition, the booth contains a mock-up of a ship-mounted missile defence system named C-Dome, which uses the Iron Dome interceptor model. Adaptation of the Iron Dome for naval use is an area that Rafael affirms it is looking to increasingly explore through further development and experimentation.
Timothy Dempsey