BAE Systems showcases upgraded ‘light tank’ with active protection systems

Britain’s biggest defense company BAE Systems showcased the technology demonstrator of the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) vehicle or ‘light tank’,  equipped with the active protection systems at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Global Force Symposium in Huntsville.

The MPF is a new combat vehicle required by the U.S. Army to provide the Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) with a protected platform capable of delivering overwhelming precision firepower combined with the ability to move rapidly in a variety of terrain conditions.

During the AUSA Global 2019, BAE Systems has unveiled upgraded variant of the new MPF vehicle equipped with the active protection systems, called Iron Fist, developed by Israeli supplier IMI Systems.

Iron Fist is an automated system that uses radar to detect and track threats and then takes action to eliminate the threat.

BAE Systems leveraged the Army’s earlier investment in, and made improvements on, the type-classified M8 Armored Gun System — as well as other previous programs — into a fully integrated MPF system. By adding modern technology, BAE Systems developed a low-risk solution that has both a mature design and the latest in innovation. It provides a highly survivable, lethal, mobile, and transportable vehicle system to the IBCT.

“Our solution is built around the IBCT’s needs and the evolving threats they face,” Miller said. “It is as deployable as the IBCT’s other equipment and is easily sustained and maintained with assets already organic to the IBCT. Our infantry fights in close terrain, urban areas, and remote locations, so a smaller, lightweight vehicle that still provides superior protection and lethality was essential to the design of our MPF offering.”

BAE Systems has developed and built a vehicle that is currently going through internal testing. The company will submit the vehicle to the Army to undergo additional U.S. government testing as a part of the bid assessment process.