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U.S. Army May End Stryker C-130 Requirement

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  • U.S. Army May End Stryker C-130 Requirement

    U.S. Army May End Stryker C-130 Requirement
    By Kate Brannen
    Published: 17 Nov 2010 11:09
    U.S. Army May End Stryker C-130 Requirement - Defense News
    The U.S. Army may stop requiring its Stryker armored personnel carriers to fit aboard a C-130 airlifter.

    "There is movement afoot to get away from the C-130 requirement," Lt. Col. Aaron Roberson, deputy director for Stryker logistics, said at a vehicle conference Nov. 16.
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    Some commanders don't think it's necessary, Roberson said.

    Service officials are analyzing whether the new double-V hull Strykers can be transported by the venerable cargo plane, Roberson said.

    One Army source said the new variant fits - but also that the service has waived the requirement.

    After several of the eight-wheeled Strykers were damaged in Afghanistan, General Dynamics in January proposed to build a double-V-hull variant that could better fend off IEDs without losing mobility for the Stryker brigade slated to deploy in July 2011. The Army, which has been authorized to buy 450 of the vehicles for use in Afghanistan, is racing to field the first 150 beginning in June, Roberson said.

    The next Stryker-equipped brigade is slated to deploy in July.

    The Army is waiting on test and performance results before deciding whether the new design should be incorporated more widely into the Stryker fleet, he said.

    Even the service's flat-bottomed Strykers are having trouble meeting the C-130 requirement because of the additional weight they now carry.

    Stryker vehicles were originally meant to weigh between 36,000 and 42,000 pounds, depending on the variant. However, certain variants now have weights creeping up to 60,000 pounds due to added survivability kits and other equipment.

    "It's overweight," Roberson said. "I'm blowing through suspensions."

    Space, weight and power are the three reasons why a Stryker modernization program is needed, Roberson said. The first two questions he asks people who propose new capabilities for Stryker are: How big is it? And, how much power does it need? As it stands, Army Training and Doctrine Command has not yet delivered a requirements document for a Stryker modernization program, according to Roberson. The document is still being developed at Fort Benning, Ga.

    A modernization program cannot get underway until that document is completed and approved by senior leaders.

    The plan for the modernization program is to recapitalize and remanufacture the Army's current fleet of vehicles, Roberson said. The Army intends to have a full and open competition for the Stryker modernization contract, he added.
    To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

  • #2
    I could see that putting a damper on moving those vehicles to forward locations. Otherwise I hope the Engineers are ready to build some runways.

    ROKA Engineers built ours in Afghanistan in 2006.
    "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach...just make sure you thrust upward through his ribcage."

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    • #3
      It's sad, but it seems sooner than latter the venrable C-130 will need to be replaced!
      The U.S Army as a whole is so wound up with fighting insurgancy wars in Afghanistan/Iraq, that it is neglecting reality!
      For cost effectiveness the USAF should maybe rehash a modern Boeing YC-14 asd a C-130 replacement?
      Most of the R&D has already been done!
      The YC-14 prototype are still sitting there in the desert (I think?)
      The fuselage/cargobay of the YC-14 is larger than the C-130's


      Regards
      Pioneer

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