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Modern armored vehicles face a growing range of threats that traditional armor was never designed to handle alone. Mine blasts can injure crews even when the vehicle survives, shaped-charge weapons can penetrate heavy armor using concentrated energy jets, and drones increasingly attack vulnerable roof sections from above. Simply adding more steel is no longer a practical solution, as extra weight reduces mobility, payload capacity, and operational flexibility.
A new Israeli (Plasan) survivability package called LAPS (Leg Active Protection System), ATHENA, and TAPS (Top Attack Protection System), aims to address these challenges through three specialized protection systems, each designed to counter a different category of threat. Rather than relying on a single armor solution, the approach uses layered protection tailored to the way modern anti-armor weapons actually work.
The first system focuses on one of the most common causes of crew injury: underbody explosions. When a mine or improvised explosive device detonates beneath a vehicle, the blast force can travel through the floor and severely injure occupants’ legs and feet. Instead of simply absorbing the impact, the system uses sensors integrated into the seating structure to detect a blast within milliseconds and rapidly lift the occupant’s legs before the peak shockwave reaches the cabin. According to Interesting Engineering, by physically moving the body away from the incoming force, the system aims to reduce fractures and other serious lower-limb injuries.
A second layer addresses shaped-charge threats such as rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles. These weapons create high-velocity metal jets capable of penetrating armor. Traditional explosive reactive armor counters them by detonating outward, but this can create hazards for nearby troops and equipment. The new system replaces the explosive reaction with a mechanical one. Using composite armor and a rapidly expanding internal layer, it disrupts the incoming penetrator without producing an external blast.
The third component is designed to protect against top-attack threats. Drone-dropped munitions, loitering weapons, and top-attack missiles increasingly target the thinner roof sections of armored vehicles. The roof protection system mounts above the vehicle and acts as an additional protective layer against fragments, kinetic impacts, and downward attacks.
From a defense perspective, the concept reflects a broader shift toward threat-specific survivability engineering. Instead of building heavier vehicles, designers are increasingly developing targeted protection systems that address particular attack mechanisms while preserving mobility and operational effectiveness.
