9/5/18

IMI Tests Iron Fist MBT APS on Namer APC.

IMI has released a marketing video of their Iron Fist APS, just as it is gaining some traction abroad, especially in the US and Australia, and as the IDF is progressing in its Barack MBT project.

Iron Fist has been made in numerous derivatives. One is the Iron Fist MBT, previously known simply as Iron Fist when it had no derivatives, which features a full spectrum defeat capability.
It is capable of defeating not only ATGMs and rockets but also kinetic energy penetrators.

Derivatives include the Bright Arrow which combined a remote controlled machine gun station with the launchers, which wasn't very successful, and the Iron Fist Light Configuration which is the only variant that garners serious interest so far outside Israel. It offers lighter interceptors incapable of intercepting kinetic energy projectiles that in return are safer to use, and requires lower power consumption, and takes less weight and volume.

It seems the Iron Fist MBT test was on a Namer APC (APS was mounted on the hull, not turret), from what appears to be a much larger launcher than typical.

The original video here:

IMI do have Namers to test various weapons and technologies they're developing, but they have already used the Sabra in the past for the Iron Fist, in the MBT version.

We should also keep in mind that IMI lost the IDF's competition to supply APS to the Merkava and later the Namer and subsequent vehicles like the Eitan or others' derivatives.

My take on this, is that this is a prototype of what the next generation of Trophy. It was said back in 2014 that IMI and Rafael are cooperating on an APS, and then things didn't work out and the project was cancelled. But now that the Merkava 4 Barack is in development, the project was revived, perhaps with a new concept, and according to press releases it should utilize the Iron Fist's interceptor's and Trophy's architecture.

A limiting factor of the Iron Fist that lost the competition in 2006 was its lack of munitions. Coming in with 4 interceptors per vehicle, versus Trophy's 6, it failed to meet a key IDF requirement for 6 munitions, as it had to sacrifice 2 interceptors for the sake of slewing rate that was necessary to engage very fast APFSDS rounds.

With a bulkier system, but one featuring an autoloading system, the Iron Fist could become more competitive.

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