South Korea to integrate Trophy protective suite into K2 tanks

JERUSALEM — Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Hyundai Rotem have teamed up to integrate, produce and support the Israeli Trophy vehicle-protection system on the South Korean K2 battle tank and future platforms of the Asian nation, the companies announced this week.

The firms noted in a joint statement that the move marks the first time the Korean tank will be equipped with such a system.

The agreement includes the Poland-specific K2PL version, following the supply of a 180 K2 tanks deal signed between Poland and South Korea.

The Israeli-South Korean collaboration was signed at the MSPO 2025 Defense Exhibition in Kielce, Poland, a day after the Chinese military parade and amid the tripartite summit of China, Russia and North Korea.

The companies stated in their announcement that the pact “reflects the mutual commitment to deliver next-generation active protection capabilities tailored for Korean land forces, while also pursuing co-development, local production, and export opportunities.”

The Trophy integration deal also provides a boost for the upcoming British defense exhibition DSEI, which is scheduled to begin in Sept. 9 in London and is slated to feature major Israeli defense companies.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense announced last week that it had withdrawn its participation in the exhibition after DSEI organizers banned government representatives in response to Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza.

The Trophy active protection system can be integrated in a variety of military vehicles, with the manufacturer claiming it’s “the only fully integrated APS fielded by NATO.”

Battle tank models slated to carry it include the U.S. Abrams, Israel’s Merkava and Namer armored personnel carrier, the UK’s Challenger tanks and Germany’s Leopard 2.

Tzally Greenberg is the Israel correspondent for Defense News. He has experience reporting on economic affairs as well as defense and cyber companies.

耶路撒冷——拉斐尔先进防御系统公司和现代Rotem公司本周宣布，两家公司已联手将以色列“战利品”车辆防护系统集成到韩国K2主战坦克和韩国未来的坦克平台上，并为其提供生产和支持。

两家公司在一份联合声明中指出，此举标志着韩国坦克首次配备此类系统。

该协议包括波兰专用的 K2PL 版本，此前波兰和韩国签署了 180 辆 K2 坦克的供应协议。

以色列和韩国的合作协议是在波兰凯尔采举行的 MSPO 2025 防务展上签署的，就在中国阅兵式的第二天，也是中俄朝三方峰会期间。

两家公司在公告中表示，该协议“体现了双方致力于为韩国陆军提供量身定制的下一代主动防护能力，同时寻求共同开发、本地生产和出口机会的共同承诺”。

Trophy 集成协议也为即将于 9 月 9 日在伦敦开幕的英国防务展 DSEI 带来了推动作用，该展会预计将有多家以色列主要国防公司参展。

以色列国防部上周宣布，由于DSEI展会组织者禁止政府代表参加，以回应以色列在加沙的战争行为，以色列国防部已退出该展会。

Trophy 主动防护系统可集成到各种军用车辆中，制造商声称它是“北约部署的唯一完全集成的主动防护系统”。

计划搭载该武器的坦克型号包括美国的艾布拉姆斯主战坦克、以色列的梅卡瓦和纳梅尔装甲运兵车、英国的挑战者坦克和德国的豹2坦克。

扎利·格林伯格是《防务新闻》的以色列记者。他拥有丰富的经济事务以及国防和网络安全公司报道经验。