HJ-8 ATGM in Syria

This might be the video that best demonstrate the Erena active protection system. Just wonder how this system perform in Syria?

[video=youtube;YpmcmKwWzYo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpmcmKwWzYo[/video]

There is no evidence that any SAA tanks would be equipped with ARENA or Drozd systems. Whole system would most likely cost more than the tank itself, so it would make more sense if SAA got new T-90's.

And you are correct. Assad lacks the money, the time, the resources and at the moment the need. His Iranian backers and there troops are at the moment effective for his needs of forcing the rebels away from his secured territory. Long term IF he can hold the line and maintain his momentum he might not need his tanks, or rather what is left of them. though its still any ones game.

that said I suspect arena might just suddenly find its self as a big seller in the middle east post conflict. ATGM and residual weapons from this Arab spring are going to be floating around and as the Egyptians and Saudis are not exactly happy with Iranian influence and with the scars of the Obama administration bridge burning. Russian, European and Chinese military sales are going to be plentiful.

Don't think these tank defence systems are very good a very eas way to defeat such a system is to have a two stage rocket, the first one takes down the system second penetrates the tank

As a matter of fact the basic RPG can be modified easily to become a two stage rocket

Not sure what you mean by double stage but I'll cover the two things that come to mind.
the first is a tandem warhead. This is a system that is already in use on some RPG7models. The charges are designed to beat reactive armor via using the first charge to penetrate the reactive plate allowing the rest of the warhead to pass through. However against trophy or arena its not facing reactive armor its facing a blast and fragmentation. So even if the first warhead detonated it would do little as the shock wave and fragments from the interceptor are not cleared, even if the RPG round survived its likely been knocked off course.

the other method that comes to mind is that of the RPG30 which is a double projectile system. The smaller first projectile is a decoy. Well the second round is the real deal. It however is theoretically beaten by trench coat, which searches for secondary projectiles and fires multiple countermeasures.

The RPG-30 anti-tank rocket, Israel Defense noted, is a revolutionary innovation. Just before the rocket is launched, a decoy missile is launched which causes the tank's active defense system to act. Only then is the real rocket launched. Experts have estimated that the RPG-30 can penetrate through steel at a thickness of 65 cm.

Israel Defense also reported that the Rafael weapons development authority has developed a similar system, the “Trench Coat”, which takes the RPG-30’s defense system a step further. The “Trench Coat”, the report noted, consists of a 360-degree radar that detects all threats and launches 17 pieces of metal, one of which should strike the incoming missile

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Yes I am talking about same thing maybe not quite a two stage rocket but a first decoy to take down the system and a second misile which penetrates the tank

But really this would work in a urban enviroment mainly for a pretty rich country, it's no wonder Israel has come up with this type of defence

Not just the Israelis, lots of nations are looking into APS.

Yeah but I just don't think it's really a good solution, is any nations tank regiment fully equipped with this system outside Israel? APS has been around for decades it's nothing new maybe it's been upgraded and works better but still overall in the grand schemes of things I don't think it's a game changer

Yeah it works but at the end of the day I don't think it's the be and end all and costs a lot of money, it's easier and more practical just to use cage armour many IASF, NATO and US armoured vehcles use them in Afghanistan much cheaper and much more practical easily taken off and installed, any infantry around the vehicle using APS is likely to get injured

Well they have been around for a while. The technology has only really become practical in the last decade. I mean even the Israelis did not have Trophy available in 2006-2007 during the last major dust up with there neighbors. Its expensive. Requires the technical know how and the only ones really battle tested is trophy and drozd, Even arena has not been bloodied. Also the power demands on the armored vehicle make it hard to use for a less logistically stable nation.
As for the US and NATO they have been penny pinching with armor. I mean look at the Abrams upgrade. Reactive armor slate armor, remote gun all of it should have been there gulf war one. Why was it not? The cold war was over noone wanted to buy expensive army stuff it was all about navy and air force. Then came Iraq. Things changed priorities changed.
I mean MRAPs have been around since the Angolan war in the 1980s so why suddenly did they become the next big thing? There is some times a delay in when a technology is actually implemented from when its available. Sometimes is financial sometimes its resources sometimes its just imagination. So don't be to quick to dismiss my friend.

HJ-8 vs moving T-72