[archy]

We could have had turreted Strykers. Several armies do. They are called LAV III's

Which can take on an equally equipped similar-sized vehicle, which a Stryker can't do. And which can swim, at least in relatively slow-moving rivers, which Stryker can't do.

The good news is, those attributes are likely not needed for the Stryker's current task. What would be useful would be an RPG-proof multiple MG turret. Even the current RWS, fitted with a couple of 7,62 M240s or SAWs [better: four] would do. And if one gun suffers a feed stoppage as a result of the flexibility of the RWS mount, no problem so long as the others work. And fired in pairs, that'd help alleviate the need for the gunner to come out from under armour to reload every 105 rounds, about 10 seconds worth from an M2 .50.

[Travis McGee]

Great thread, great info as always!

Question: on your lowboy tractor trailer/old tank combo, is the tank fixed in place on the trailer, or ready to roll off into the battle when attacked?

[historian1944]

A LAV-III with a turret cannot carry a full 9 man squad, or else we would have bought it. The swim requirement was dropped because it was incompatible with the changes we required due to the sometimes mutually exclusive and competing performance parameters in the ORD.

Since the beginning of the program I have argued against the current ammo can configuration, to no avail. Putting a 7.62 machinegun on the vehicle would further degrade the capabilities you are already saying are inadequate to do the task. M240s shoot at a much faster rate than the M2 does, so the ammo change problem doesn't go away.

We had a battalion of Strykers here on Balad for a few months, clearing out the perimeter. They found a lot of arms caches, and attacked quite a few people intent on placing explosives on the MSRs and ASRs. It's not the perfect vehicle for the job in all respects, but it is getting the job done, as this article shows, with a minimum loss of life of crew.

[historian1944]

A LAV-III with a turret cannot carry a full 9 man squad, or else we would have bought it. The swim requirement was dropped because it was incompatible with the changes we required due to the sometimes mutually exclusive and competing performance parameters in the ORD.

Since the beginning of the program I have argued against the current ammo can configuration, to no avail. Putting a 7.62 machinegun on the vehicle would further degrade the capabilities you are already saying are inadequate to do the task. M240s shoot at a much faster rate than the M2 does, so the ammo change problem doesn't go away.

We had a battalion of Strykers here on Balad for a few months, clearing out the perimeter. They found a lot of arms caches, and attacked quite a few people intent on placing explosives on the MSRs and ASRs. It's not the perfect vehicle for the job in all respects, but it is getting the job done, as this article shows, with a minimum loss of life of crew.