{"id":44373,"date":"2018-10-10T00:30:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T00:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/10\/army-in-final-stages-of-hashing-out-stryker-lethality-requirements\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:32:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:32:41","slug":"army-in-final-stages-of-hashing-out-stryker-lethality-requirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/10\/10\/army-in-final-stages-of-hashing-out-stryker-lethality-requirements\/","title":{"rendered":"Army in final stages of hashing out Stryker lethality requirements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Army has entered the final stages of hashing out requirements for ramping up Stryker combat vehicle lethality <\/a>and will make a decision in January on what it wants in order to increase its battlefield effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service in January will hold an Army Requirements Oversight Council meeting, with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, to cement requirements on how it will improve the Stryker fleet\u2019s lethality<\/a>, according to Lt. Gen. James Pasquarette, the service\u2019s new G-8 lead, in charge of program development and justification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AROC will produce a \u201ckind of \u2018Y in the road\u2019 of what we think we are going to want to look at,\u201d when it comes to making the Stryker more lethal, Pasquarette told Defense News in an interview ahead of the Association of the United States Army\u2019s annual meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army conducted a test fire of one of its 30mm cannon solutions on Stryker <\/a>at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, as recently as last month, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know we believe the Stryker has to have capability to defeat light armor,\u201d Pasquarette said. \u201cWe are developing the concept more to validate that on the front-end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army is looking at roughly three different caliber weapons systems, he said. They include a couple of Common Remotely Operated Weapon Stations with different caliber weapons, as well as a 30mm cannon like what was outfitted on Strykers that went to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Germany earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to make sure the concept is tight, about what we think we need based on threat and capability we want to have, then we will have to see what direction we go,\u201d which could include competitions to upgun the fleet \u2014 or parts of the fleet \u2014 in the future, Pasquarette said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are still determining balance. Does everyone need to have this, or is it just parts of the fleet?\u201d Pasquarette asked. \u201cHow do we want to fight Stryker units, if we have this capability in there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more coverage from the AUSA annual meeting, click here.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on an urgent operational need out of Europe, the Army was provided emergency funding from Congress in 2015 \u2014 a little over $300 million \u2014 to rapidly develop and field a Stryker with a 30mm cannon specifically for the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, which is permanently stationed in Germany. The funding covered development, eight prototypes and upgrades to 83 production vehicles, as well as spares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The need for the capability was directly attributed to Russian aggression, and the move would provide the Strykers overmatch to Russian weapons systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army developed and then sent to Europe earlier this year the new Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle Dragoon, not only to respond to the urgent need but to help the service assess how it might shape its future lethality upgrades within medium-weight, infantry-centric brigade combat team formations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army also outfitted Strykers that went to Europe with Javelin anti-tank missiles, typically fired from a man-portable system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe just completed our 2nd Squadron fielding in Germany,\u201d Col. Glenn Dean, the Army\u2019s program manager for Stryker, told Defense News in an interview. And the service also completed fielding its first squadron with Javelin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unit live-fired the Javelin missiles in a test last week, he said, and is headed to a major exercise coming up in the latter part of October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dragoon Troopers assigned to Nemesis Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment assemble after finishing their Zone Lane training to conduct an After Action Review with their Observer Controller Trainers during their unit’s Situational Training Exercise at Hohenfels Training Area located in Hohenfels, Germany, Jan. 18, 2015. The purpose of the exercise is to conduct multinational training as well as improving allied interoperability between U.S. and NATO forces.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All the work the 2nd Cavalry is doing with the upgunned Strykers is feeding into the Army\u2019s decision-making process as it formulates requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, the force at large is really in an information gathering and assessment mode, and we are going to determine what the requirements will be, and we will take that to the AROC,\u201d Dean said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is the acquisition strategy going to be? Well, that really depends on what the requirements are,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between early user testing this year and subsequent fieldings, Dean said, there has been an overall \u201cvery positive response\u201d to the lethality and effectiveness of the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe cannon provides a tremendous standoff and additional maneuver space, and it is very effective against the threats they are concerned about in Europe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some feedback suggests that the physical layout of the vehicle could use some improvements, particularly when it comes to situational awareness, and the program is already moving forward quickly to provide an effective solution to improve the vehicles in the field, Dean said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The turret for the cannon takes up a lot of roof and hatch space and also affects how equipment is stowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are actually making modifications to Dragoon based on lessons we are learning in testing,\u201d Dean said, \u201cso we are adding an enhanced situational awareness system to it. We are changing some of the ways we do vehicle stowage to allow a unit to carry some more equipment, as well as some other minor things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the driving factors for the specific design of the Dragoon version of Stryker was the ability to reload and operate the turret under armor, Dean said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the questions that the community is trying to consider is how important is that capability, really?” he said. “And so, depending on what decision they make there, that could change the nature of the physical solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army has made quick work to enhance the situational awareness in the vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it was first built and fielded, the Dragoon used the existing periscope in a single narrow field-of-view, a driver\u2019s vision enhancer at the front of the vehicle, and the gun sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Users in the field said they had a hard time seeing and maneuvering, especially since they were used to sticking their heads out of the vehicle to move around.<\/p>\n\n\n\t