The Army is set to install the Iron Fist – Light Decoupled (IF-LD) system on a dozen existing M2A4 Bradleys, with plans to include it on all future new-manufacture vehicles. This advanced defensive technology utilizes a combination of electro-optical sensors, capable of detecting targets in the long-wave infrared (LWIR) band, and radars to identify incoming threats such as rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles. The sensors feed the main computer with data on the threat, which then crunches out the numbers for a firing solution.
An interceptor, equipped with a small blast warhead, is then launched from the mortar-like launcher bolted to the side of the vehicle. As it passes by the threat, it detonates and creates a cloud of shrapnel and a blast wave designed to disable the incoming projectile before it reaches the vehicle. Some versions of the Iron Fist system even include a “soft-kill” module that emits a dazzling laser to misdirect anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs).
This entire killchain happens in milliseconds, all thanks to the high-powered 360-degree radars that serve as the Iron Fist’s “eyes.” Interestingly, the power requirements of these radars and accompanying sensors, which peak at 820 watts, were so demanding that older Bradley models were unable to support the Iron Fist, as their engines couldn’t generate sufficient power. But considering how the system was able to intercept 90 percent of the 400 threats thrown at it during testing, all that power drawn is put to quite effective use.
