Northrop Grumman showcases Vehicle Active Protection System for the US Army

In an Army-sponsored exercise, Northrop Grumman demonstrated a complete Vehicle Active Protection System (APS) that defeated a variety of real world live fired Anti-Tank Guided Munitions (ATGMs).

Huntsville, Ala. January 15, 2019 Photo(s): By Northrop Grumman
M1A1 Abrams tank in live-fire range

Northrop Grumman Corporation demonstrated advanced Vehicle Active Protection System technologies against Anti-Tank Guided Munitions during the US Army Tank Automotive Research Development Engineering Center (TARDEC) sponsored Soft-kill Rodeo in Huntsville on Oct. 5-31. The month-long government sponsored "rodeo" was developed to demonstrate and test soft-kill capability against real world threats.

Using its Passive Infrared Cueing Sensors system, Northrop Grumman successfully generated threat warning of inbound ATGMs and provided a cue for the soft kill countermeasure system (SKCM).

The Northrop Grumman SKCM system, known as the Multifunction Electro-Optical System (MEOS), successfully countered the ATGM and defeated it in real-time. The MEOS identified and countered all types of threats fired at its APS system, making this the fourth consecutive time the system has performed well in field tests to defeat threats.

"This solution is an example of leveraging significant investment in aircraft protection to rapidly provide similar capabilities to ground vehicles," said Mike Meaney, vice president, advanced missions, Northrop Grumman. "We look forward to working with the Army to deploy an affordable end-to-end Vehicle APS system that can defeat a variety of anti-tank guided munitions."