Indian Active Protection System developments

[Ashwin]

Aero India 2025: DRDO develops hard-kill active protection system​

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing a new hard-kill active protection system (APS) for integration onto main battle tanks (MBTs), DRDO officials told Janes at the Aero India 2025 show in Bangalore.

According to the officials, the APS consists of four X-band radars and two traversable effector launchers, each equipped with two anti-threat munitions.

The APS would feature radar panels fitted on each side of the turret to provide 360° coverage. On top of the turret, two tube-based launchers would be mounted, each covering 180°, with a maximum elevation of 90°. The entire system is intended to ensure complete hemispherical coverage.

The APS can detect threats from various types of rounds – including fin-stabilised armour-piercing discarding sabot (FSAPDS), high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT), high-explosive squash head (HESH), rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), and anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) munitions – and neutralise them using a blast warhead at 20–50 m from the MBT.

The officials also said the system can detect small and micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at a range of 2 km.

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There are two Indian companies building an Active Protection System with DRDO.

Astra Microwave



CoreEL technologies



This development is the result of a tender released in 2022 by CVRDE and LRDE labs of DRDO.

TBRL was working on a multi EFP based warhead for Active Protection System.

This system is intended for the future Indian Main Battle Tank project (NGMBT).

 

[Thunder]

If I am not wrong, There is an active RFI for integration of APS on T90 tank.

 

[Thunder]

If I am not wrong, There is an active RFI for integration of APS on T90 tank.
View attachment 46662

Since radars and Interceptor Round is ready. We might see a prototype soon (by December ig)

Might come with 2nd ZLT prototype

 

[Ashwin]

 

[Ashwin]

 

[Gautam]

View attachment 53997

Just the 4 APS cans?! That's not enough. Arjun carries 16 smoke shells; it should carry at least 8-12 APS cans.

The traverse (rotation) actuator being placed outside the turret is also not ideal. Maybe there are space constraints in the turret, it is a pretty old design.

 

[Choice_of _inevitability]

Just the 4 APS cans?! That's not enough

Is there a reloading mechanism?

 

[Gautam]

Is there a reloading mechanism?

No, manual loading. A crew member has to climb out of the turret to manually insert APS rounds on to the launch tubes. Same way they reload the smoke shells. Obviously, this cannot be done during combat. So as a mitigation strategy you carry more APS rounds ready to fire. Multiple rounds fired in quick succession will overcome this system. The same problem the Israelis have with their Iron Fist APS.

Maybe this is a prototype launcher. I hope it is. I was hoping for a Afganit like system. All around protection, no need for traverse or elevation actuators. But that would require a clean sheet new turret, designed with the APS in mind.