Strykers - Armored troop carriers called unsafe for duty

[Shek]

Maybe a CIWS style pill box, sort of a mountain top uav on the ground. A 50 cal semi auto, bore sighted to a sat linked command station in Nevada. Surround it with claymores or command detonated mines and boobytrap it and give it passive sensors and some self autonomy for defensive. otherwise it sleeps and watches and stores 12 volts from a solar cell. A government on the go could R and D one and get it built and deployed in a few months. Here in the states with a great deal more money we could get one prototyped in twenty years. I Vietnam it was known as automatic ambush. I bet that the whole thing could be slung under a LOACH or Blackbird and deployed like any covert op. Put several thousand around the critical areas for overwatch and leave them there for 10 to 15 years without maintenance.
I bet you didn't know that the navy has set ups like this in narrow channels throughout the world. They sit still all day listening to prop wash and listening for a signal from Maryland to tell them who the enemy is. they are armed with torpedoes. At least the navy had them in the 80s.

This will take tens of thousands based on terrain, deadspace, etc. Then you soak up bandwith for the remote capability. Then you have to man the remote control stations. Then you have to have comms with ground units to prevent fratricide. Then you have to set up a schedule to pull maintenance on the weapon and ammo. You also have to add in software to adjust for the effects of the weather.

Bottomline, it's not feasible except in video game land. This war will not be won with gadgets (which isn't to say that some other gadgets aren't welcome). It will be won with and through people.

[Dannybb55]

My guess is we are not strong enough to fill all of the gaps in our arsenals. Granted, I don't think that the F 22 had any adversaries that an F 15 couldn't smash but shouldn't we be able to field 4 or 5 different fighters at the same time and build some COIN a/c also? I bet Burt Rutan could design our next gen fighter that would meet all of the requirements and would be half the size and a sixth of the cost of the F 22. Of course it would take a pilot to fly it and not an IT expert and it would be missing many little expensive extras. On the other hand it might have a 60 mile max altitude and fly around the world un-refueled. His little mud fighter would be one to buy though.....

[zraver]

If they move out of sight then the road is secure.

No its not, you can't cover all the roads, so you don't know whats around the bend.

[TopHatter]

On the other hand, maybe a SuperGavin could have. Just sayin' . . .

Speaking of which, has Sparky finally abandoned his crusade or is he still going strong?

[troung]

More Powerful Strykers to Address Afghanistan Mobility Problems
More Powerful Strykers to Address Afghanistan Mobility Problems
17-Dec-2009 17:02 EST

One complaint heard about the 8×8 wheeled Stryker armored vehicles in Afghanistan was that they had difficulties with the rough, mountainous off-road terrain. The Canadian forces in particular found that their Strykers’ mobility limitations created unacceptable difficulties.

With the deployment of the US Army’s 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team and 300 Stryker vehicles to Afghanistan in the summer of 2009 and more US and allied troops headed to the country next year, the need to have Strykers that can handle the Afghan terrain is keen.

To address these issues and a number of other Stryker limitations, the US Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command has undertaken a Stryker modernization program.

As part of this effort, the command recently awarded a $203 million contract to General Dynamics Land Systems to beef up the engine, suspension system, driveline, tires, and braking system on the Stryker.

General Dynamics told DID that it had received feedback from the Army about Stryker performance in Afghanistan. Based on that feedback, the company said it is making improvements in “mobility, survivability, power, suspension, lethality and integration of new technologies.”

In particular, the upgraded Stryker base vehicle will have:
Quote:

* 450-horsepower diesel engine;
* suspension system and driveline to carry a 60,000-lb payload;
* larger tires;
* new braking system; and
* digital architecture that connects the C4ISR system to situational awareness tools.

The Stryker family of vehicles has 10 variants: infantry carrier vehicle, command vehicle, mobile gun system, fire support vehicle, medical evacuation, mortar carrier, engineer squad vehicle, anti-tank guided missile carrier, NBC reconnaissance, and reconnaissance vehicle.

The US Army has 7 Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCT), 3 of which are deployed in combat zones: 2 in Iraq and 1 in Afghanistan.

The Army has 3,320 Stryker vehicles, with more than 640 currently be used in combat.

The US Army Program Executive Office, Ground Combat Systems (PEO GCS), said that $931.5 million has been appropriated for the Stryker program for fiscal year 2010. In an Oct 6/09 briefing [pdf], the PEO GCS identified a number of technology improvements that the Army is seeking in the Stryker modernization program:


* Improved lower hull survivability;
* 60,000-lb semi-active suspension;
* Increased electrical power generation;
* Gun shot detector;
* Data/video network link;
* 425-horsepower engine;
* Improved embedded training system;
* Larger cooling module for air conditioning;
* Lithium batteries;
* Improved remote weapons station
* Tire fire suppression system;
* Larger tires with axle spacing change; and
* 360-degree situational awareness system.


As part of the Stryker modernization contract, GM GDLS Defense Group, a Sterling Heights, MI-based venture between General Motors and General Dynamics Land Systems, received Nov 25/09 a $42.6 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract increment to bring the program to Milestone B/preliminary design review.

The venture will perfom the work in Sterling Heights, MI (81%); and London, Ontario, Canada (19%) with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30/11. The US Army’s TACOM LCMC Stryker in Warren, MI manages the contract (W56HZV-07-D-M112).