JERUSALEM — The Trophy Active Protection System, originally developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, will be supplied for Leopard 2 A8 Main Battle Tanks used by NATO members Lithuania, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Croatia, the company announced.
The deal is valued at approximately $390 million, Rafael said in a press release on Friday.
The multi-nation contract was signed between EuroTrophy GmbH and KNDS Deutschland, Rafael said. EuroTrophy was incorporated in 2022 by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) and Rafael to market and produce the Trophy. KNDS is the name of the company that resulted from the merger of Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France’s Nexter Defense Systems.
“The selection of Trophy by multiple European NATO nations reflects a clear and shared confidence in the system itself,” said Meir Ben Tzook, chairman of the Board of EuroTrophy. He said that European armies are benefiting from the “combat-proven active protection system that is produced, integrated, and sustained in Europe, while fully aligned with NATO operational standards.”
Under the contract, the companies will supply the “systems, spare parts, training packages, and comprehensive logistical support to ensure long-term availability and through-life sustainment.”
Rafael Executive Vice-President and head of the Land and Naval Systems Division Tzvi Marmor noted that the joint selection of the system “reflects a clear consensus that active protection has become a foundational requirement for modern armored forces.”
Trophy, which was first integrated on Israel’s Merkava tanks more than a decade ago, has been used on the US Army’s Abrams tanks since the system was chosen in 2018, and Rafael delivered its first Trophy system for Germany’s Leopard 2s in 2024. It has also been chosen for Norway’s Leopard 2 A8s. The system is also expected to be made on South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem-made tanks after a September 2025 agreement. In all, in November 2025 Rafael said that there have been more than 1,900 Trophy systems procured worldwide.
Rafael noted in its recent announcement that the “system is increasingly being adopted on lighter armored vehicles including Boxer, Patria AMV, and Namer APCs, reflecting the evolution of active protection into a core element of modern armored force design.” EuroTrophy, like Rafael’s push into Europe with EuroSpike to market its Spike family of missiles, is seen by the company as a hub for “localized vehicle integration, lifecycle support, and customer-specific services tailored to European operational and industrial requirements.”
The countries that chose Trophy have past experience acquiring Israeli systems. Lithuania has acquired SPIKE NLOS for small attack craft. Croatia has acquired Elbit Systems turrets. Czech Republic has acquired Israeli IAI radars and Rafael’s Spyder air defense system. The Netherlands has acquired multiple systems from Israeli defense companies over the years.
