Portugal mulls adding active protection systems to tanks

摘要

The Portuguese Army is considering adding an active protection system (APS) to its Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks (MBTs), providing them with 360° detection, tracking, and interception of incoming anti-tank munitions. This possibility is being studied and discussed and could eventually become part of the planned mid-life upgrade (MLU) of the fleet, Major Ricardo Jorge Parcelas Araujo e Silva, an area co-ordinator at the Forces Planning Division, told Janes. The Mechanised Brigade (Brigada Mecanizada: BrigMec) fields 37 former Royal Netherlands Army Leopard 2A6s acquired from the Dutch Ministry of Defence's Defence Materiel Organisation through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency in January 2008. The MLU is set to take place between 2026 and 2030 for about EUR46 million (USD55 million). However, the Army High-Staff is looking to begin it early, in line with the review of the Military Programming Law 2019-30, which is scheduled to be carried out in 2022.