An active protection system, or APS, protects a tank or other armoured fighting vehicle from incoming fire before it hits the vehicle's armour. There are two general categories: soft kill systems, which use jamming to confuse a missile's guidance system, and hard kill systems, which attempt to detect and destroy incoming projectiles. An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is a military vehicle, equipped with protection against hostile attacks and often mounted weapons. ... An Anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) is a missile the primary purpose of which is to hit and destroy tanks. ...

Land vehicle APS

Soft kill systems were (unsuccessfully) deployed by Iraq in the Gulf War. These were essentially strobe lights fitted to Iraqi tanks, which masqueraded as the guidance beacon on the back of a TOW missile. The multinational force was aware of their use, and adjusted the frequency of their guidance systems so they wouldn't be confused. A soft kill system currently in service is the Russian Shtora, deployed on Russian and Ukrainian tanks. Combatants U.S.-led coalition Iraq Commanders George H. W. Bush Norman Schwarzkopf Colin Powell Saddam Hussein Ali Hassan al-Majid Hussein Kamel Strength 660,000 545,000 Casualties 345 dead, 1,000 wounded 25,000 - 100,000 dead, 100,000 - 300,000 wounded The 1991 Gulf War (also called... A TOW missile being fired from a Jeep. ... Shtora is a Russian electro-optical countermeasures suite, designed to disrupt the laser target designation and rangefinders of incoming ATGMs. ...

Hard kill systems are activated when a millimetre-wavelength radar or other sensor detects an incoming projectile. In considerably less than a second they launch a counter-projectile in an attempt to physically damage or destroy the incoming round. Examples include the TROPHY Active Protection System and Iron Fist from Israel and the Russian Drozd and Arena. TROPHY (in Hebrew: מעיל רוח, lit. ... Drozd is best known as an active countermeasure system developed by Russia. ... The Arena Active Protection System (APS) is an active countermeasure system developed at Russias Kolomna-based Engineering Design Bureau to provide anti-missile defense for T-90 tanks. ...

Aircraft APS

Attempts to use aircraft-mounted flak cannon as such an APS against anti-aircraft missiles proved ineffective^{[citation needed]}. Anti-aircraft missiles are designed for effectiveness in a near-miss shot, making APS inefficient and unreliable. Among the effective countermeasures for aircraft are ECM, flares or anti-radar chaff. American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... A missile (British English: miss-isle; U.S. English: missl) is, in general, a projectile—that is, something thrown or otherwise propelled. ... Inspecting an AN/ALQ-184 Electronic Attack Pod Electronic countermeasures (ECM) are any sort of electrical or electronic device designed to spoof radar, sonar, or other detection systems. ... A WWI-era parachute flare dropped from aircraft for illumination. ... Chaff is a radar countermeasure in which aircraft or other targets spread a cloud of small, thin bits of aluminum or plastic, which either appears as a cluster of secondary targets on radar screens or swamps the screen with multiple returns. ...

Naval APS

Warships have been equipped with similar systems (more frequently known as CIWS) for quite some time, using small to medium-caliber (12.7-76mm) guns and guided missiles to destroy inbound missiles and cannon shells. Examples include the US Phalanx CIWS, Dutch Goalkeeper, Russian Kashtan, joint USA/German Rolling Airframe Missile, British Sea Wolf, Chinese Type 730 and Turkish Sea Zenith. Phalanx CIWS A Close-in weapon system (CIWS) is a naval shipboard weapon system for detecting and destroying incoming anti-ship missiles and enemy aircraft at short range (the threat(s) having penetrated the ships available outer defences). ... Block 0 CIWS The Phalanx CIWS (Close-in weapon system, pronounced see-whizz) is an anti-missile system that was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division. ... Goalkeeper CIWS Goalkeeper is a Dutch close-in weapon system, the purpose of which is to defend a ship against incoming missiles and ballistic shells. ... A Kashtan Combat Module with All Weather Integrated Control System Kashtan CIWS is the newest addition to the Russian naval air-defense inventory. ... RIM-116 test firing RAM Launcher on German Gepard class fast attack craft Wiesel The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile in use by the United States, German Navy and ROK Navy. ... Sea Wolf Type surface-to-air Nationality UK Era Cold War Launch platform ship Target missile, aircraft History Builder BAe, MDBA Date of design Production period Service duration 1979 - Operators UK, Brazil and Chile Variants Electronics; GWS-25, GWS-26, GWS-27 Vertical Launch Number built Specifications Type Diameter 0. ... Type 730 is a Chinese 30mm Gatling gun CIWS. It is mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and directed by radar, and electro-optical tracking systems. ... A Sea Zenith installation aboard a Turkish destroyer. ...

In popular culture

In the film Die Another Day, James Bond's modified Aston Martin Vanquish was portrayed with twin bonnet-mounted automatic shotguns as a hard-kill system to destroy mortar rounds. Die Another Day is the twentieth James Bond film made by EON Productions and the fourth and final film to star Pierce Brosnan as Ian Flemings James Bond. ... The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish is a supercar manufactured by Aston Martin since 2001. ...

External links

• Active Protective Systems: Impregnable Armor or Simply Enhanced Survivability? — An overview of modern tank active protection systems (PDF)
• Active Protective Systems overview - Defense Update
• Soft Kill Active Protective Systems overview - Defense Update