Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. is selling its active defense system overseas for the first time, after many efforts to export it in recent years. Through SIBAT (Foreign Defense Assistance and Defense Export Organization), the Ministry of Defense has also take action in recent months to promote the deal.
Rafael has signed a defense systems deal with US company DRS, which has a procurement agreement with the US army. The two companies are engaging in industrial cooperation. The systems are manufactured in Israel and in the US, and this deal may also have a follow-up deal.
The Trophy system has already been installed on 1,000 IDF fighting platforms. The system detects anti-tank missile fire aimed at a tank or APC on which it has been installed in advance, calculates the missile's trajectory, and launches an element that intercepts the missile at a safe distance from the vehicle. Identifying the source of the firing using sensors on which the system is based makes it possible to hit the sources responsible for firing the missile at the vehicle. The system, which operates automatically, is a global breakthrough.
The system first intercepted an anti-tank missile in March 2011 in the Gaza Strip, and has since been used many times during IDF operations mainly during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.
As a result of the system's success, Rafael has been displaying additional versions of Trophy in recent years, including some for installation on light vehicles in an attempt to facilitate overseas deals. Rafael posted a $124 million net profit on $2.2 billion in sales in 2017. The company's orders backlog is an estimated $7 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 26, 2018
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