Active Protection Systems (APS) are getting more important in today's asymmetrical battlefield. The U.S. Army recently completed Iron Fist APS mounted on Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.
The U.S. Army has passed an important milestone in the evaluation efforts of active protection systems. According to official information, further performance improvements have been achieved in recent live-fire testing. Activities are carried out in October 2022. The force is said that very pleased with the performance of Iron Fist as well.
The survivability of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicles is aimed to increase with Iron Fist integration. The system consists of optical sensors, radars and explosive projectile interceptors to detonate threats at safe distance. The system can be applied to almost all kinds of vehicles thanks to its low weight. The U.S. Army had suffered hollow charge threats in Afghanistan and Iraq experiences. Therefore, the BUSK (Bradley Urban Survivability Kit) has been developed and integrated into vehicles. The equipment consists of Explosive Reactive Armour, additional modular ballistic protection plates and other components. But BUSK brings considerable weight increase and reduces the agility of the platform. U.S. officials consider the Iron Fist is a suitable solution for today"s modern warfare environment and asymmetrical warfare.
