An Israeli Merkava tank pulls back from the Gaza Strip near the border with Israel on Aug. 3, 2014. Photo: Flash90.

JNS.org – The US military has completed a nearly $80 million purchase of the Israeli-developed missile-defense system Trophy to protect tanks and armored-personnel carriers, announced the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems contractor Leonardo, which is American.

This development comes after the United States reached a similar $200 million agreement last summer.

As part of the agreement, the United States is expected to pay an additional $120 million for more defense systems, contingent on final approvals, bringing the sum of the two contracts to around $400 million, according to a Rafael spokesperson, as reported by The Times of Israel.

The Trophy consists of a radar-detection system that recognizes incoming missiles and projects their trajectories, with launchers that shoot metal pellets, causing the incoming missile or rocket to explode away from the tank.

It was created by Rafael and the Israel Aircraft Industries’ Elta Group, and became operational in 2009.