For militaries seeking reliability rather than theoretical performance, Trophy offers a level of certainty unmatched by competitors.
By Hezy Laing
European countries are increasingly turning to Israel’s Trophy active‑protection system as they modernize their armored forces in response to rapidly changing battlefield threats.
The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that even heavily armored tanks are vulnerable to modern anti‑tank missiles and drones, pushing European governments to seek a proven defensive solution.
Trophy, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, has become the most sought‑after system because it is the only active‑protection technology with extensive real‑world combat experience.
It detects incoming projectiles, calculates their trajectory in milliseconds, and destroys them before impact, giving tanks a defensive capability that traditional armor alone cannot provide.
Israel has used Trophy for years on its Merkava tanks and Namer armored personnel carriers, and its battlefield performance has been widely documented.
The United States became the first foreign customer when it integrated Trophy onto its M1A2 Abrams tanks, validating the system for NATO use and opening the door for broader adoption.
Now, four European nations—Lithuania, the Netherlands, Czechia, and Croatia—have signed a major multi‑nation deal to equip their new Leopard 2A8 tanks with Trophy as a standard feature.
The agreement, valued at more than €300 million, is being carried out through EuroTrophy GmbH, a consortium that ensures long‑term support and compatibility across European fleets.
Compared with other active‑protection systems, Trophy’s advantage lies in its combat record.
Germany’s AMAP‑ADS system is promising but lacks the years of operational data that Trophy has accumulated, while Russia’s Afghanit system remains largely untested outside controlled environments.
For European militaries seeking reliability rather than theoretical performance, Trophy offers a level of certainty unmatched by its competitors.
To date, the countries that have purchased Trophy are Israel, the United States, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Czechia, and Croatia, marking a growing consensus that active protection is now essential for modern armored warfare.
As Europe accelerates its rearmament, Trophy’s combination of battlefield credibility, industrial support, and NATO interoperability has made it the preferred choice for nations determined to protect their armored forces against emerging threats.
