On Monday, January 19, 2026, the joint venture company EuroTrophy GmbH announced that it had received an order worth 330 million EUR from KNDS Deutschland (part of the German-French KNDS group) for the delivery of hard-kill Active System for Protection of Vehicles (ASOP) kits of the Trophy HV (Heavy Vehicles) type for the future four users of Leopard 2A8 tanks: Lithuania, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Croatia.
Photo: KNDS Deutschland
The contract also includes spare parts, courses and training packages, as well as other logistical equipment necessary to support the Trophy HV system throughout its entire service life. Since the system is factory-adapted to the standard configuration of the Leopard 2A8 tank, this will ensure full interoperability and uniformity among the users listed.
As emphasized, these are additional users of the Trophy family of systems in Europe and NATO, following its selection for Leopard 2A8 tanks by Germany and Norway on December 4, 2024 (the system had previously also been fielded on German Leopard 2A7A1 tanks).
The Trophy HV system kit consists of four Elta EL/M-2133 WindGuard radars operating in the Fi/G bands, detecting threats around the protected vehicle, as well as launchers with two MEFP (Multiple Explosively Formed Penetrator) effectors, control units, and software.
The system effectively neutralizes threats such as anti-tank guided missiles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and unmanned aerial vehicles, thereby increasing the survivability of armored vehicles on the battlefield. The capability to counter drones was announced at the AUSA 2024 exhibition in Washington by the original Israeli manufacturer.
Previously, Trophy HV kits were integrated on Israeli Merkava Mk 3, Mk 4M Windbreaker, and the latest Mk 5 tanks, as well as U.S. M1A2SEPv2 Abrams tanks. In contrast, the modernized British Challenger 3 will receive the lighter Trophy MV (Medium Vehicles). Based on Trophy, the Korean KAPS-2 system was developed and offered for the K2 Heuk-Pyo/Black Panther modernization package (although the original system was ultimately selected), and the original Trophy system is also of interest to Japan within its Type 10 tank modernization program. Elements of the Trophy system have also been observed, for example, on the Leopard 2A-RC 3.0 technology demonstrator.
So far, decisions to procure Leopard 2A8 tanks have been made by Germany (123 units), Norway (54 units), the Kingdom of the Netherlands (46 units with an option for six more), Croatia (44 units), Lithuania (44 units), Sweden (44 units plus the modernization of 66 older tanks), and the Czech Republic (58 units with an option for 14 more). Interest in the Leopard 2A8 has also been expressed by Spain, both in terms of purchasing new tanks and modernizing its existing Leopard 2E fleet, as well as by Austria.
EuroTrophy GmbH is a joint venture based in Frankfurt between the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Germany’s KNDS Deutschland, and the European company General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS). Its creation was announced on November 11, 2021, and it was formally established on March 28, 2022. The company is responsible for production, integration support, and through-life operational support, as well as related services associated with the Trophy family of systems.
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