Report: US army blocks use of RAFAEL defense system

[Scurrilous]

NBC reports Pentagon urges trial use of Israeli TROPHY system for AFVs in Iraq but army blocks testing, may have presented misleading information to Congress to ensure purchase of US system only available in 2011

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3350869,00.html

<snip>

"NBC news reported on Tuesday that the US army is actively trying to block the purchase of an Israeli-developed defense system designed to counter RPG attacks, opting instead to wait for the completion of an American made system manufactured by the Raytheon Company, which will only be ready for use in 2011.

The report is now stirring public and administrative debate questioning whether the use of the Israeli system could have saved the lives of many American soldiers killed by RPG missile attacks.

The TROPHY system is an active protection system for AFVs that rapidly detects and tracks incoming RPG threats, analyzes them, estimates the optimal intercept point in space and then neutralizes it away from the vehicle using metallic particles.

The product has been in development for over a decade but the IDF, due to budgetary concerns, did not acquire it until after the second war in Lebanon. After the war, during which many IDF tanks were seriously damaged by RPG attacks, the IDF changed its position on the subject and according to various publications has decided to purchase the system.

Over the course of the past three years US commanders have repeatedly demanded a system that could eliminate the RPG threat which has caused numerous American casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon examined several systems and decided that the TROPHY system would provide the best solution to the problem."

[Ezlivin]

1. And the RAFAEL system is tested and cheaper than the US alternative

The f**king US Army has seen this system in operation. It kicks ass and would work well. But instead they decided to spend millions of dollars to make Raytheon happy. And the Raytheon system is the typical bloated, half-assed product of the Military/Industrial complex.

[Solo_in_MD]

2. There are serious issues with it as well

It is potentially lethal to dismounted troops nearby. Its useful only on heavy armor only columns, which is a rare tactic. Unescorted armor is a sitting duck in an urban environment.

Also the IDF lost many more tanks and crew to RPGs than we have in Iraq. The M-1 is significantly more resistant than the Mekervas.

The US military buys a lot of stuff from Israel. Its one of the many ways the US gov supports Israel

[Howardx]

3. i saw this last night

the army flat out lied to congress.

[IndianaGreen]

4. Why should Americans pay for an Israeli weapons system

that is relatively cheap, is battle tested, and it works, when they can wait until 2011 to get the very expensive system build by Raytheon, a G-d fearing American company?

Didn't Raytheon give us that wonderful PATRIOT system that did not hit a single SCUD during the Gulf War?

What's wrong with these critics? Don't they realize that the entire purpose of national defense is to fatten the wallets of AMERICAN arms merchants?

[jody]

5. Trophy detects an incoming RPG and fires a shotgun at it. An RPG has a range

of perhaps 100 yards unless the user has considerable skill.

Every vehicle used for patrols in Iraq would need a Trophy system so I wonder what each unit costs?

I also wonder if Trophy can be defeated by firing a RPG followed within a few seconds by a second RPG, i.e. would Trophy be able to reload, relocate, and fire in that brief period?