A Trophy-equipped brigade of over 80 Abrams tanks is slated to be deployed to the European theater by 2020 to counter recent Russian aggressive actions, which include the seizure and occupation of Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine as well as menacing, large-scale military exercises including one ominously code-named, “Zapad 17.” Zapad is Russian for “West.”
Some U.S. Army Abrams tanks are fitted with reactive armor tile, which is designed to deflect the penetrating blast away from tanks. That system has proved to be effective against some rocket and missile threats but later generation missiles, such as the Kornet, are equipped with tandem or dual warheads. The first charge destroys the tanks protective reactive armor allowing the second and more lethal charge to hit the tank.
According to Col. Glenn Dean, the Project Manager of the Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Combat Ground Systems, of live-fire testing at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, the Israeli Trophy APS “exceeded [his] expectations.” He noted that during testing, he “tried to kill the Abrams tank 48 times and failed.” New procedures adopted by the Department of Defense allowed for a streamlined acquisitions process, bypassing the usual bureaucratic red tape resulting in quicker deployment of the Trophy.
Oh, this is a no-brainer, you say.
Well, yes and no.
The proliferation of advanced anti-armor weapons is a real threat.
But TNSTAAFL-
Trophy is just one more component that emits on the electromagnetic spectrum. The Russians are very, very good at exploiting EW to build Order of Battle intel, and would almost certainly be able to exploit the EM signature for massive artillery strikes at a time of their choosing.
XBradTC 
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