New U.S. Army Stryker

[John Nayduk]

This came from George Bradford’s discussion board at AFV News (http://www.activevr.com/afv/).

New armored car to debut during war games
Published 7/26/2002 6:16 PM
LOS ANGELES, July 26 (UPI) -- The first pre-production version of a new armored vehicle was delivered to the Army Friday and is to make its debut next week during an ambitious military exercise aimed at seeing how the military of the future will conduct its deadly business.
General Dynamics delivered the first of eight pre-production Stryker Mobile Gun System vehicles to the Army in a ceremony in Muskegon, Mich., the city where the heavily armed, high-speed armored car is being developed.
The vehicle is designed to provide armored firepower for the Brigade Combat Teams that are envisioned as the United States‘ first responders to trouble spots around the world in the coming decades.
The Stryker delivered Friday is the first to be armed with a heavy gun that will give Brigade Combat Teams a tank-like weapon that can be quickly brought in to support light infantry troops. The Mobile Gun System is armed with a 105 mm tank gun mounted in a "shoot on the move" turret.
The eight-wheel vehicle will be the centerpiece of a portion of the Millenium Challenge 2002 exercises, which includes a July 31 assault by paratroopers on a mock airfield at Fort Irwin, deep in the Southern California desert.
Once the airborne troops have the airfield secured, the Stryker, along with a dozen other versions of the vehicle, will landed aboard Air Force cargo planes to defend against a possible counterattack by enemy troops and tanks. The Stryker can be loaded aboard C-130 and C-17 cargo planes.
The Army already has several Strykers in its inventory designed to carry troops and supplies, serve as ambulances and operate in environments contaminated by chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
General Dynamics received a $4 billion order in 2000 to build 2,131 Strykers to be assigned to the fledgling Brigade Combat Teams.

 

[silverhorse86]

nowhere does it say anything about them getting it from canada

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Cause it was made in Muskegon, Michigan by General Dynamics! Another one of "General" companies that fall under the umbrella of others like "General" Motors, "General" Electric. Just cause it wasn‘t built in the little plant in London doesn‘t mean the "General" family isn‘t benefitting. As an aside it was this "General" conglomerate that bought out American General of Humvee fame and Mowag, the original designers of the LAV family, hence the Humvee powertrain on the Mowag Eagle of which the GM Brute is an exact copy. Still confused?

 

[silverhorse86]

yeah :crybaby:

 

[Recce41]

They are built in London, they are sent to Mich for the turret and FCS.

 

[silverhorse86]

woohoo i was right :mg: :cam: :warstory: :sniper: :tank:

 

[Coniar]

The Mobile Gun System is armed with a 105 mm tank gun mounted in a "shoot on the move" turret

SO is that it??? is this the way of the future, no tanks???

 

[Recce41]

The styker does not have a 105mm, it has a 50 cal, 25 mm, The Lav 105 has it. It does (105)not have a turret the it has a small box for the breech , coax, and FCS.

 

[Gordon Angus Mackinlay]

Strykers boost infantry tactics at NTC
by Sgt. Kim Dooley and Pvt. Sara Wood

FORT IRWIN, Calif.(Army News Service, Aug. 6, 2002) - The Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle is proving to be a battlefield enabler, according to the infantrymen engaged in battle during the Army Transformation Experiment and Millennium Challenge 2002 at the National Training Center.

"The Strykers exceeded expectations," said 1st Lt. Nathan A. Molica, executive officer for Alpha Company, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry out of Fort Lewis, Wash. "I think they impressed everyone."

Millennium Challenge, which continues through Aug. 15, marks the first tactical deployment of a Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

"A primary advantage of the SBCT is its ability to deploy rapidly," said Col. Mike Rounds, brigade commander for the first SBCT to standup, the 3rd Bde, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Lewis. "We now have a force that is light enough to quickly move into the theater and mobile enough to take on almost any enemy."

The Stryker is an improvement over other warfighting vehicles, said Spc. Todd Lezier, an infantryman from Fort Lewis.

"The vehicle is very agile, it moves well over difficult terrain and provides more space for personnel and equipment," Lezier said.

One of the major advantages the Strykers give the soldiers is a much-needed ride to the battlefield, said Spc. Coby Schwab, squad designated marksman from Fort Lewis.

"We can move farther and faster and not waste any energy doing it," Schwab said. "We are able to get onto the objective as fresh as we can be."

Soldiers were not just impressed with the ride the Stryker offered, but also with the technological advances over enemy that the Stryker gives.

"Inside of the vehicle is a system that gives (the soldiers) total situational awareness," Rounds said. "They know where the friendly forces are; they have a near-perfect read of where the enemy forces are, and can also see the terrain both on a map and real time."

The Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) digital system on the Strykers allows vehicles to communicate with each other through text messaging and a map network.

"With the map, vehicle commanders can see the location of all vehicles on the battlefield," Molica said. "They can also log an enemy position on the map using an icon, and that icon will appear on every Stryker‘s FBCB2 screen. This allows the unit to adjust routes and maneuver accordingly."

The FBCB2 also allows vehicle commanders to communicate with their battalion to send reports or request support, Molica said.

"Despite the advantages it offers, the FBCB2 does have drawbacks," Molica said. "Commanders sometime become fixated on the system and don‘t look at terrain as much as they should."

Although the Stryker‘s main advantage is its ability to move troops quickly, the training emphasis is still on the troops themselves and their individual infantry tactics, Molica said.

"We don‘t want to use the Stryker as a fighting platform, but as something to get us to the battlefield," Molica said. "We‘re still infantrymen, and our main fight is on the ground."

(Editor‘s note: Sgt. Kim Dooley and Pvt. Sara Wood are both members of the 13th Public Affairs Detachment.)

http://12.110.174.166/newpages/iavphotogallery.shtml

 

[Linc]

Sorry to revive a dead thread but some corrections need to be made:

First of all, despite the fact that so many compaines have the word "General" in the title, none of the ones mentioned by recceguy are even remotely related to eachother, just a big coincidence, just like the General Store and Variety Mart around the corner here is not affiliated with them either.

Secondly, Recce41 is right, Stryker chasis are manufactured here, as well the American-made turrets are also applied to the vehicle here also check out this article

 

[portcullisguy]

I heard the Stryker plant in Mich. has had to lay off several dozen non-US and non-Canadian employees whose security checks hadn‘t cleared, following new legislation in the defense industry in the U.S.

Comforting to know those tanks are potentially being partly built by Osama‘s friends, eh?

I know, a bit alarmist! I‘m sure all the laid off folks are actually pretty patriotic and eventually their security checks will probably clear and they can go back to working on the tanks again.

Still, makes you wonder who is building the darn things!

 

[Linc]

Ya well actually, it was also anyone who held citizenship other than US or Canadian, including ppl who held dual citizenship with any other country. I read of one worker who had dual Canadian/British citizenship who was let go because of this. I also *thought* I read this was happening in London too.

 

[Linc]

Ya here it is:

Workers on Army project banned
Mark Blanchard
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Published 8/22/2002

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TORONTO — About 175 Canadian workers have been banned from working on a new light-armored vehicle for the U.S. military because of security concerns, raising the prospect of delays in a project that has won high marks from Pentagon officials.
Union officials denounced the suspension of the workers, all of whom are dual citizens of Canada and a second country other than the United States. Most of them hold Canadian and British citizenship.
"Big Brother speaks," said John Graham of the Canadian Auto Workers union, which represents 45 of those affected. "The workers have been sent home with full pay in the meantime, but they‘re worried if they‘ll ever be back."
The workers, employed at a plant in London, Ontario, about 120 miles from the U.S. border, have been told they are subject to a U.S. law that requires workers making military materiel to have U.S. security clearances.
GM Defense, a unit of General Motors Corp., makes the vehicles known as Strykers under a $4 billion contract awarded by the U.S. Army last year.
Pentagon officials hailed the plant in March for delivering the first Stryker, the first new military vehicle accepted by the U.S. Army since the Abrams tank in the 1980s.
Lt. Gen. John Caldwell, military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, predicted at a ceremony to mark the occasion that the vehicles would prove invaluable in the U.S. war against terrorism.
"We could use these in the valley now," he said, referring to an area in Afghanistan where U.S. forces were operating at the time.
Terrorists responsible for events like the September 11 attacks "grossly underestimate the power in the free world," Gen. Caldwell said. "This program is the hallmark of what can be done when we put our minds to it."
General Motors says it is abiding by the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which require military-related workers to be licensed by the State Department.
But the State Department says it could take several months to complete the process, partly because such security clearances must be approved by Congress.
A GM Defense spokeswoman says the company hopes to resolve the situation before it disrupts an already tight delivery schedule.
"The best course was for us to ensure we were compliant and send people home until we had that clarified," said company spokeswoman Sheri Woodruff.
"We are working hard to make sure it does not affect our contract with the U.S. Army, but it‘s too soon to say unequivocally whether it will or will not."
No matter what the outcome, she said, the company does not consider any of the affected Canadian employees to be security risks.
Still, some workers feel "insulted" by GM‘s order to stay away.
"If you were told you weren‘t trustworthy to work for your company, how would you feel?" asked Bill Walker, a 28-year veteran at the plant who holds Canadian and British citizenship.

Copyright © 2002 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved

 

[rolandstrong]

Blah, blah, blah.

Dual citizens of the united states closest allies...britain and canada...cannot work on a canadian (predominantly) product. So if another country buys u.s. products...such as aircraft...are u.s. workers a security threat? Sometimes the americans go overboard a bit I think....

 

[Linc]

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GM Defense employees called back to work

By ESTANISLAO OZIEWICZ

Wednesday, August 28, 2002 – Print Edition, Page A8

Suspended General Motors Defense employees are being called back to work after GM instituted new security measures at a London, Ont., plant that makes missile-firing tanks for the U.S. Army.

The precautions include blocks in computer systems narrowing the ability of workers to view restricted technological data. About 170 employees with dual citizenship have been on leave for a week after GM decided to verify their security status.


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