Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced today the selection of Elbit Systems’ Iron-Fist Active Protection System (APS) for the protection of some of the IDF combat and combat support armored vehicles. The selection followed a competitive evaluation of several APS solutions.
IMOD selected a new variant of the Iron-Fist, known as Light-Decoupled (IF-LD) version, a decoupled configuration that evolved from the first generation Iron-First originally developed by IMI in competition to Rafael’s Trophy APS. The Trophy is currently installed on IDF Merkava Mk4 and Mk3 Main Battle Tanks and various variants of the Namer heavy infantry fighting vehicle.
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IF-LD uses independent optical sensors, tracking radar, rotatable launchers, and countermeasure munitions to defeat threats at a safe distance from the defended vehicle. The system provides 360-degree protection coverage for close-range scenarios in both open terrain and urban environments. Compact size and low weight make it more adaptable to smaller and lighter combat vehicles. Compared to wall-mounted APS, IF-LD defeats threats at a distance from the protected vehicle, thus eliminating the probability of residual penetration and simplify integration with the platform, particularly on turreted configurations.
