Thanks to several tipsters for pointing this out. The Israeli army's active defense system for its Merkava tanks saw a baptism by fire recently when one successfully defeated an RPG fired at the tank on patrol near the border with Gaza.
From Defense Update:
According to IDF sources, the Merkava tank was patrolling the border with Gaza, when a ‘missile launch’ was detected by the tank’s defensive system. Trophy uses the Elta System’s EL/M 2133 ‘WindGuard’ radar as the primary sensor detecting missiles and RPG threats. When such threat is classified by the system as ‘acute’ (aimeing directly at the protected vehicle), the system alerts the crew and tracks the missile closing-in on the tank. As the RPG enters the system’s kill-zone, Trophy automatically activates its hard kill countermeasure (Multiple Explosive Formed Penetrators – MEFP), destroying the threat at a safe distance from the tank. Some reports indicated the intercept was close enough to trigger the tank’s automatic fire ‘Spectronix’ protection, which have lead to Palestinian claims of actually hitting the tank. Shortly afterwards, IDF soldiers identified several terrorists in the launching area and fired in their direction, scoring a hit.
A variant of this next generation armor defense is being tested in the United States for use on Stryker armored vehicles where it's rumored to be performing well in tests. Trophy-maker Rafael is apparently developing a lighter version of the system for use on MRAPs as well as another version that could make its way onto patrol boats.
