On February 23, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced the conclusion of an intergovernmental agreement with the German Ministry of Defense on February 22 regarding the supply of the Trophy active defense complex ("Meil Ruach") manufactured by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to equip the German army's Leopard 2 tanks.
Image (apparently, computer graphics) of a promising German Leopard 2A7A1 tank equipped with the Trophy active protection system ("Meil Ruach") produced by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (c) Krauss-Maffei Wegmann
The company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems reported that after the decision, which was made by the German defense procurement agency BAAINBw and approved by the Bundestag, Rafael received a contract for the supply of the first batch of Trophy complexes to the German manufacturer of Leopard 2 tanks, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), providing for the provision of kits for equipping a company of tanks, spare parts, as well as technical training. The complexes will be delivered over the next few years. It is expected that in the future, Germany will purchase additional Trophy systems to equip most of its fleet of Leopard 2 tanks with active protection capabilities.
Rafael claims that the Trophy KAZ developed by it provides reliable and battle-tested protection against missile threats and simultaneously identifies the source of enemy fire for immediate response. Trophy is the only fully integrated, battle-tested KAZ in the world, which has been installed on Merkava tanks and Namer armored personnel carriers of the Israel Defense Forces since 2010. Since its first interception in 2011, the Trophy complex has made numerous combat interceptions without injuring crews or infantry soldiers or damaging tanks. Trophy has accumulated more than 1 million operating hours, including 5,400 successful field tests, and currently has contracts for the serial production of more than 1,800 complexes.
As reported by a colleague oleggranovsky, in this case contrata with Germany, the site Israeldefense with a link to a German site ES&T said that it is a small deal for 43 million euros for the supply of 23-25 sets KAZ Trophy for 30 million euros and ammunition for 13 million euros. The delivery period is 2023. However, on the ES&T website itself, in an article dated February 1, 2021, we are talking about 23 sets of KAZ, ammunition and services worth 40 million euros, the delivery period is named the same. Company KMW received a separate contract BAAINBw 80 million euros for the integration KAZ Trophy tanks Leopard 2, and it is said that the German government will give KMW tower 17 tanks Leopard 2А6А3 and one tower of the testing machine (Leopard 2 VT-ETB), and after installation KAZ towers will be installed on a new chassis configuration Leopard 2A7 produced by KMW and equipped with a more powerful auxiliary power unit.
The new 18 tanks obtained in this way (an experimental vehicle and a company kit of 17 tanks), which, according to a KMW press release, have previously received the designation Leopard 2A7A1, will be delivered to the Bundeswehr in 2024-2025.
Image of a promising German Leopard 2A7A1 tank equipped with the Trophy active protection system ("Meil Ruach") produced by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (c) Krauss-Maffei Wegmann
Rafael Promotional Video: