The Army has awarded Israel’s Elbit Systems an initial $37 million production contract to supply Iron Fist active protection systems for its Bradley fighting vehicles, the company said on Sunday.
Elbit Systems said its work on the contract to provide Iron Fist as an upgrade on Bradleys will be performed over a two-year period, with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems [GD] serving as the integrator.
(Photo: BAE Systems)
“Our Iron Fist Active Protection Systems represent the highest level of innovation, offering comprehensive protection against evolving threats on the modern battlefield. Through this strategic collaboration with GD OTS, we are honored to contribute to the enhancement of the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, further empowering the U.S. armed forces with enhanced capabilities to fulfill their missions effectively and safely,” Yehuda Vered, general manager of Elbit Systems Land, said in a statement.
The Army has detailed its intent to purchase Iron Fist as a “mature, tested anti-tank missile shield for its Bradley fleet” as far back as December 2018, which followed program delays and technical challenges integrating the APS on the vehicles (Defense Daily, Dec. 14 2018).
As of Defense Daily’s deadline, the Army’s ground combat vehicle program office has not provided additional details on when the initial production deal was awarded and how many Bradleys will be upgraded with Iron Fist.
Elbit Systems described Iron Fist as an advanced hard-kill system “aimed at enhancing the self-defense capabilities of armored platforms against modern battlefield threat” that is characterized by “high performance and low volume, weight and power requirements.”
“The system provides armored platforms with 360-degree protection from a wide variety of anti-armor threats, such as Anti-Tank Rockets, Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, UAS and Loitering threats, in both open terrain and complex urban environments,” the company said on Sunday.
The Iron Fist APS was originally developed by Israel’s IMI Systems, with Elbit Systems having completed its $495 million acquisition of the company in late November 2018 (Defense Daily, Nov. 26 2018).