Stryker Brigade lands in Kuwait (Welcome To the War, Boys)

ARNEWS Army News Service ^ | Nov. 12, 2003 | Sgt. Jeremy Heckler

[Graybeard58]

Also on Nov. 12 the first main-body flight of Arrowhead Brigade soldiers completed their day-and-a-half trip from Fort Lewis Kuwait

My son is part of that - with the 724 Transportation Division. it took about a day and a half as reported via N.Y. to Germany, then to Kuwait. About two weeks there then he says they have been told they will go to near Takrit.

One correction to the article. Ft. Lewis is in Washington, not Kuwait.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy. -- Tommy Franks

[dts32041]

Laz, Hell Glock time, give those Stryker's some real fire power.

[M1Tanker]

But a Javelin is not a LOSAT. The problems with the LOSAT are that they're big, clumsy to aim, difficult to reload, and only work Line Of Sight. A cannon is much faster and more effective.

The Javelin is man-portable, Fire-and-Forget, easily reloadable, and the crew only has to see the target for a short time before it locks on.

With all that's going on in development of new munitions, the Army probably won't want a LOSAT anyways.

My worry is these Strykers will become coffins, but they will hold up better then the 998 and 1114 HMMWVs patrolling Iraq now.....I hope.

[.cnI redruM]

Awesome!

[dts32041]

I thought Benny Hill was dead.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

How would you like to be recruited for the Stryker Brigade Combat Team Tactical Studies Group (Chairborne)?

Most of us would be interested in what your son has to say.

[Graybeard58]

The picture is my son and my g/daughter (his niece) He is a policeman in civilian life, has a wife and three year old son.

Can you tell me more about Stryker Brigade Combat Team Tactical Studies Group (Chairborne)?

[Cannoneer No. 4]

That ain't Benny Hill, that's Lord Bach.

Contract signed for new light armoured vehicle

[Lazamataz]

I know LOSAT isn't Javelin. The two videos make that clear.

And I guess LOSAT is actually getting a little old these days. They were initially developed in the late '80s. I understand they've got primitive mass launchers (rail guns) coming on line soon. No gunpowder at all -- carry all kinetic rounds in your ammo box. All the versatility of a cannon with the bennies of LOSAT. Hypervelocity rounds cutting right through OPFOR like butter.

[FreedomPoster]

A ping list run by Cannoneer and Archy. There are some incredibly knowledgeable people posting on armor topics on the threads, focusing on Stryker. Mostly I watch. We're very interested in following the deployment of this vehicle, and tracking it's performance.

[PISANO]

When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy. -- Tommy Franks

This is just too good NOT to repeat again.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

The Stryker Brigade Combat Team Tactical Studies Group (Chairborne) is my ping list to rapidly disseminate Stryker info to interested people. There have been many threads posted on FR in the last 4 years about the Stryker vehicle, the Interim Brigade Combat Team, and Army Transformation. Click keyword Wheeled Armor to get an idea of the kind of discussions we get into. There are several outstanding subject matter experts, some still active duty, posting on these threads. Sometimes we approach the level of a volunteer think tank. The synergistic effect of all those years of experience is being noticed in high places.

[Graybeard58]

Please add me to your ping list.

My son is with the 724th Transportion Company a support unit for the Stryker Brigade, he drives a fuel truck. I don't know how much he or I will be able to add to the discussion but I am interested. Thanks.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Please add me to your ping list.

Welcome aboard, sir.

[archy]

But a Javelin is not a LOSAT. The problems with the LOSAT are that they're big, clumsy to aim, difficult to reload, and only work Line Of Sight. A cannon is much faster and more effective.

The Javelin is man-portable, Fire-and-Forget, easily reloadable, and the crew only has to see the target for a short time before it locks on.

With all that's going on in development of new munitions, the Army probably won't want a LOSAT anyways.

My worry is these Strykers will become coffins, but they will hold up better then the 998 and 1114 HMMWVs patrolling Iraq now.....I hope

The most attractive feature of LOSAT is flight time from launcher to target of 2 seconds or so, all without unspooling wires, fiber optic cables, laser trackers or sensors eating up warhead payload. A 10KM-range LOSAT is probably a desirable and usable item, even if not perfectly so, particularly if teamed with a secondary system like ground-launched Hellfire, AKA Brimstone, maybe in conjunction with a 25 or 30mm gun for lesser targets, as per the Russian *Kliver turrets* being fitted to both new production and older BMD/BMP/BTR/MTLB vehicles and the T55 and T72 tanks being reworked into personnel carriers.

But at least a LOSAT HUMVEE can be air-transported aboard a C130 and air dropped or LAPES delivered. And it's not much of a stretch to imagine a twin or triple tube LOSAT launcher capable of being fit on one of the Ranger battalion Land Rovers, which can be carried aboard a CH-47. If we can't have fighting vehicles capable of fording rivers, we'd better have at least some that can get across via other means, unless we plan on always stopping at the blue lines on the maps.

-archy-/-

[Cannoneer No. 4]

One obstinate problem with the Stryker's mobility remains, the Army acknowledges: "The one area where it's not performing as promised is in fuel consumption," said Lt. Col. Dennis Thompson, commander of the brigade's support battalion. While the vehicle gets the advertised 5 to 6 miles per gallon on the highway, it gets only 2 to 3 mpg in stop-and-go maneuvers over rough terrain. As a result, Thompson's fuel trucks must resupply each Stryker unit every 48 hours instead of the planned 72

Your son has his work cut out for him. Nobody rolls without go juice.

[archy]

I'm going to assume that those wheels are puncture and bullet proof... right?

No. Because on the necessity of having a Central Tire Inflation System on the vehicles, the sidewals are necessarily thin and subject both to easy penetration and deflation beyond the capability of the CTIS package to cope with such deflation in the event of hits of .50/ 12.7mm or larger. The tires ARE fitted with runflat inserts; which may get the vehicle out of the beaten zone unless the tires catch fire; there's an unarmored external fuel tank in the wheel well behind the two rear nonsteering tires, and multiple fuel cans are frequently carried in racks on either side as well.

The necessity of the two front pair of tires to turn for steering prevents the fitting of effective armor sideskirts. And the handling characteristics of a Stryker with all flat tires on one side are iffy indeed; there've been rollovers in training with all tires inflated, much less with multiple flats.

-archy-/-

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Post 57 was meant for you.

[archy]

At $75,000 a missile, Javelin isn't much cheaper than LOSAT, and Javelin's shorter range (2,500 meters) is not seen as a problem.

Unless, of course, they ever go up against Russian BMP or BTR vehicles equipped with the 9M123-2 Khrizantema antitank guided missile system, with a 4KM range now, expected to be improved to 7.5 KM in its next generation.

The good news, such as it is, is that as planned at present, each BMP will carry only 15 missiles in the loading rack for the twin-tube launcher. After that, they'll only have the 100 mm main gun with 40 rounds, plus 10 bore-riding guided AT missiles for it, then the 30mm gun.

Then there are the 9M114 *Sturm missile launch vehicles with a 6 KM range, already being fielded for long-range AT vehicles, helicopters, and even coastal patrol vessels. Between Kornet, Konkurs, Khrizantema and Sturm, not to mention all those 100mm missiles in every BMP-3 [and those 50,000 *obsolete* T-54/T-55s, suddenly not so obsolete any more.] Maybe we'd be well advised to have something with a bit more than a 2.5KM range....