Posted on 08/29/2006 7:07:07 PM PDT by SandRat
FORT LEWIS, Wash. (Army News Service, Aug. 29, 2006) – A long wait is over for Stryker Mobile Gun System (MSG) crews of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
The 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry, received its complement of MGS vehicles last month after more than a year of waiting. They are the first vehicles to be fielded in the Army.
“I think its going to give the infantry a whole new dimension of what they can do. Armor and infantry have kept each other at arm’s length for years and years," said Sgt. 1st Class David Cooper, an MGS platoon sergeant with B Company, 2-23 Inf. "We’ve got some growing pains, but once we get out there and they see what we can do, we’re going to be everybody’s friend.”
Each infantry company is slated to receive three vehicles, though crews don't expect to operate together except on rare occasions.
The vehicles carry crews of three, and are equipped with a 105 mm main gun and a state-of-the-art fire control system. The MGS also has an onboard coaxial machine gun that’s fire controlled.
“You can literally shoot smiley faces with it at 900 meters,” said Cooper. “Even minus the big gun we can give the infantry a lot of support.”
The 105 mm is capable of firing four types of rounds: SABOT, a depleted-uranium armor-piercing round; HEAT, high-explosive anti-tank; HEP, high-explosive plastic; and a canister round. The rounds are loaded using a hydraulic auto-loader in the rear of the vehicle.
The HEP and canister rounds give Stryker units new capabilities, especially in urban areas. The HEP can blow holes in reinforced concrete walls, but unlike the rounds from an Abrams, won’t continue through the target and into surrounding buildings. The canister provides as effective anti-personnel capability.
“The vehicle’s basic role is to support the infantry. It’s not there to take on tanks or go toe-to-toe in the wide-open desert like we did with the Abrams,” said Sgt. 1st Class William Ozmet, an MGS instructor from Fort Knox, Ky. “Its primary function is blowing a hole in the wall or blowing up bunkers.”
Over the past year, the crews have been training with TOW-ITAS Humvees or other Stryker variants. Finally having the vehicles gives the crews a chance to delve into training.
“I can actually start focusing on our training, both on our mission tasks and working with the infantry,” said 1st Lt. Christopher Lilley, the MGS platoon leader in B Co.
The MGS also comes equipped with training software that allows Soldiers to train on various engagements in their own vehicles, instead of going to a simulator somewhere else.
Once the 4th Bde. completes training, instructors from General Dynamics Land Systems will move on to equip and train Soldiers in Hawaii and Pennsylvania. Training for those units may change according to lessons learned here, but the vehicle itself is expected to remain mostly unchanged.
“I’m confident that this will turn out to be a successful piece of equipment for us, the infantry and the Army,” said Lilley.
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The Bad Guys aren't gonna like this little sureprise.
As a former cannon-cocker....all I can say is: S W E E T!
That looks like one serious mo-fo!
ping
AWESOME
New toys w00t! I will admit I was one of the first to bash the vehicle a few years ago, but it's earned it's keep.
Stryker FTW!
I'm with ya on that, my friend!
Anything with a 105 on board has my deep appreciation and respect. That gun just kind of grows on you, if you know what I mean.
Lookee Here
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Depends on which bad guys you mean. Against low tech types, like the terrorists in Iraq, it's probably bad news, although it's got all the same vulnerabilities as the basic Stryker platform.(Don't see any slat "armor" in the photos or videos, but perhaps it had it available. It's out-gunned by various threat system tanks. Sure it's not an anti tank platform, although the HEAT and Sabot rounds are anti-armor rounds, but it still might run up against say Chinese tanks someday, or Russian built/designed ones.
It can't be airlifted in a C-130, and be ready to go when it gets where it's going. That was a key performance parameter in its requirements.
Apparently they've finally got the problem of the vehicle flipping over when the gun is fired to the side. Apparently.
Partially made in London, Ontario ping...
The M551 Sheridan tank was designed in the early 1960's, as a need arose for U.S. forces needing a light tank. Constructed of aluminum armor, it is extremely fast, using a 300 hp Detroit Diesel engine and cross drive transmission. It mounts a steel turret and an aluminum hull. It was air transportable and fully amphibious with the screen around the sides raised. The main gun fired a 152mm standard projectile or a missile. It packed a lot of punch for a small tank.
The vehicle has seen combat use in Vietnam, Panama and Desert Storm, and it is used today for training in the California desert by the Armored Force Opposing Forces training center. Weight is 34,900 lbs. Top speed is 43 mph. It was built by the Allison Division of General Motors.
The -551 was good on paper, but not in the field. Use the gun, break the tank, use the missile and ...oh, that didn't work either.
As far as the gun variant on an aroumred car, I'll withhold final judgement until I see the autoloader actually work in the field, for more than a few days. If South Africa can get a wheeled 155 to work, this thing stands a chance.
Thanks for the ping.
How 'bout ping this to the SBCTTSG (ChABN) for me. I'd do it myself but I can't access my About page on this computer.
Helping out Cannoneer No.4 ping to the Stryker list
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
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