Artis LLC's Iron Curtain Active Protection System went through government characterization on a Stryker combat vehicle but the service ultimately chose not to move forward with the solution
While the Army planned to field APS on M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Stryker, it only successfully fielded the Rafael-made Trophy APS system on the Abrams.
The Army still has a small congressional plus-up of $16 million in fiscal 2022 to continue evaluations and work on the IMI-made Iron Fist system for Bradley. The service provided no subsequent funding for the program in FY23 and beyond, budget documents show.
For Stryker, the Army evaluated Herndon, Virginia-based Artis Corporation’s Iron Curtain before determining it was not the right system for the vehicle.
The service then evaluated Rheinmetall’s Active Defense System and Rafael’s Trophy VPS for Stryker but did not move forward with either due to limitations and challenges. One of the larger issues is that several solutions defeat threats very close in to the vehicle, leaving dismounted soldiers walking around outside vulnerable.
Venable said there is a gap in the service’s understanding of the performance requirements for hard-kill APS systems on Stryker vehicles.
“How does it interact with the vehicle? What are the residual effects of hard-kill APS systems on a vehicle and how does it affect the mission of the formation of infantry soldiers that are operating around the vehicle,” are the questions with which the service is wrestling, he said.
Lacking the answer to those questions wouldn’t necessarily prohibit the Army from being able to move forward in rapidly fielding an APS system on Stryker, Venable told Defense News at the conference.
“We have some potential solutions,” he said. “If we have to go fast, I don’t know if we need to solve those problems to go fast. If we have to go fast, there are some effective solutions that are out there today and that can be integrated quickly.”
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