|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14686871/
U.S. Army Shuns Israeli System to Combat RPGs
[NBC News] Adam Ciralsky and Lisa Myers - Rocket-propelled grenades, or RPGs, have killed nearly 40 Americans in Afghanistan and more than 130 in Iraq. Last year, the Pentagon investigated a new Israeli system to counter RPGs and other anti-tank weapons. The system, called "Trophy," automatically detects when an RPG is launched and fires an interceptor. The Israeli military, which recently lost a number of tanks and troops to RPGs, is rushing to deploy the system. The Pentagon subjected Trophy to 30 tests and found it "more than 98 percent" effective at killing RPGs. The Pentagon decided to buy several Trophies - which cost $300,000-$400,000 each - for battlefield trials, but the plan immediately ran into a roadblock from the U.S. Army. Pentagon sources say the Army brass considers the Israeli system a threat to an Army program that has awarded Raytheon a $70 million contract to develop an RPG defense system.