How To Defeat a Tank's Active Protection System

Western tanks are becoming increasingly difficult to destroy. The Israeli Merkava tank led the way with the Trophy Active Protection system, rendering it virtually impossible to hit with RPGs or ATGMs. Now the US M1A2 Abrams Sep V2 upgrade has followed suit with a Trophy APS upgrade package. 

The Merkava IV with Trophy APS.

The M1A2 Abrams equipped with the Trophy APS.

It is likely that Russia, China and Iran are looking at this with some amount of alarm. Iran's militias in the Middle East are likely also taking note. There are several ways these nations and militias could effectively combat these active protection systems, however. 

The Kornet-EM and RPG-30 fire two rockets/missiles in rapid succession to deal with APS systems and hit the tank. However, the Trophy "Trench Coat" upgrade may be able to defeat this.

To defeat the Trophy "Trench Coat" system more unconventional methods would be needed. One method is to load the decoy rocket of an RPG-30 or foreign copy with chaff. Chaff are strips of metal foil to give a false radar signature to fool the APS radar. This would allow the main rocket to hit the tank. 

Alternatively, two separate RPGs could be launched, the first filled with chaff. 

Another option for defeating an APS is to armor the RPG rockets with ballistic shields. These would deflect the APS projectiles and prevent the rocket from detonating prematurely. The rockets would be less accurate, however.

Yet another unconventional option is to coat an RPG with "Iron Ball paint" a type of stealth paint that absorbs radar. This would make the rocket invisible to the APS detection radar. This method would have to be implemented by a state like Russia, China or possibly Iran. Militias would not be capable of producing such a paint.

The next option is something only a state like Russia would be capable of producing. A dedicated stealth ATGM. A completely new ATGM system built from the ground up. The ATGM could have stealth features like sharp angles and radar absorbing material.

Sharp angles and radar absorbing material were employed on the US F-117 Nighthawk.

A carbon fiber RPG could be produced. This would have an internal metal structure for the explosives, but externally it would be almost 100% carbon fiber. Carbon fiber has a very low radar reflectivity, so it is possible it would not be detected by APS radar.

This RPG is modified to be fired out of a DIY "potato gun" pneumatic cannon. Multiple rounds could be fired in rapid succession to further trick the APS.

An RPG could be modified with fins to be made to "twirl" in its flight path to possibly dodge APS projectiles.

A modified RPG could be fired at high velocity out of a powerful pneumatic cannon. It could be fired fast enough that the APS doesn't have time to react. Up to 900 meters per second speeds have been recorded. It would use a combustion chamber with propane and air to ignite.

High velocity pneumatic cannon.

A steel dart could be fired out of a powerful home made pneumatic "potato gun" cannon. This is similar to an APFSDS dart. At 500-900 meters per second it could do serious damage to a tank. It would be partially contained in a rubber structure that would catch the air and propel the dart to a high velocity. The rubber would be shed once the dart hits its target and penetrates. 

APFSDS dart, which is incredibly similar.

High powered propane pneumatic cannon.

Finally, radar jamming electronic warfare could be used to defeat an APS. If the APS radar could be jammed, it would be rendered useless.

A man portable drone jammer. If the correct frequency was used, a similar system could jam Trophy APS radar.

Unconventional weapons and tactics will be needed to defeat modern Active Protection Systems. As it stands now, Eastern powers and their allied militias are at a severe disadvantage against Western tanks when using anti-tank weapons. Soon the Israeli "Iron Fist" APS will be able to defeat kinetic tank shells. If a counter to these systems are not invented, Eastern powers would fare very poorly in a future war.