Problems with Armor Found On Stryker Combat Vehicle

Seattle Times ^ | 9/5/03 | Ray Rivera

[centurion316]

I know that this will add fuel to the fires of the naysayers, but might as well get it out there - not sure that this is anything more significant than any other developmental hiccup, but we will see. Perhaps this is the big new that SLB was talking about

[centurion316]

Read to the troops at the next formation.

[LibKill]

For better or worse, this wheelie is about to get a real field test.

Best of luck to the guys inside.

[caisson71]

I look at the source of this info - Seattle Times - and am doubtful.

[D. Brian Carter]

But Army procurement officials recently found that the military subcontractor hired to provide the armor deviated widely from specifications, providing 39 manufacturing variations of the plates, the sources said. The Army had approved only six variations.

Testers at Aberdeen found that at least one variation of the armor could not stop a 14.5-mm round, the Army officials said. The armor's supplier, German military contractor IBD, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

What the hell are we doing being supplied by Germans?

[Texas_Jarhead]

If it can stop 50cal then that is certainly an improvement over current vehicles

[grapeape]

I would like to know where they got the story from.

[Ben Ficklin]

click on the link

[cavtrooper21]

The much vaunted and praised M1A1 Abrams MBT has as its main gun a 120mm smooth bore made by: (drumroll, please)

Rienmetal GmBh of Germany

Its the same gun found on the Bundesweher's MBT.
If I'm not mistaken, the Brits use it to.

[agincourt1415]

Just curious what is the advantage of smooth bore? Higher Muzzel Velocity or Range or something else?

[cavtrooper21]

I'm not sure.
Archy would know, he's a treadhead.

[KiaKaha]

Challenger 2 L30, 120mm rifled tank gun from the Royal Ordnance division of BAE

Leopard L2A6 120 millimetre L55 Gun, has been developed by Rheinmetall GmbH of Ratingen, Germany to replace the shorter 120mm L44 smoothbore tankgun on the Leopard 2.

M1A2 Abrams 120mm M256 smoothbore gun, developed by Rheinmetall GmbH of Germany.

Sourced from

http://www.army-technology.com/projects/index.html

[cavtrooper21]

Cool, thanks.
All that I was aware of was that all three tanks used 120mm
guns and ours was German made (by Rheinmetall)
I didn't deal with tanks much, but I sure like watching them do the dance.

[Poohbah]

Actually, the British use their own 120MM (I believe it is rifled).

[Poohbah]

Just curious what is the advantage of smooth bore? Higher Muzzel Velocity or Range or something else?

Long rod penetrators (20:1 and higher l/d ratios) cannot be spin-stabilized because the centrifugal forces would actually bend or break the penetrator.

[dogbyte12]

Ted Stryker was unavailable for comment.

[lmr]

Shirley you can't be serious... or is it series...

[mark_interrupted]

Actually the British use their own cannon which is rifled. The German cannon is smoothbore.

[Bedford Forrest]

"The armor's supplier, German military contractor IBD, could not be reached for comment yesterday."

We are buying mission-critical components from the fricking Krauts??????? What in blazes is going on??? This was put in place by the Klintonista Kwislings - whenever will the Bushies realize that they are obligated by their oaths of office to extirpate, fumigate and obliterate the Klintonista virus from all of the agencies. Next we will learn that the rotor blades for Marine One are being purchased from the Krauts or the Frogs or the Swedes, for the Lord's sake. Bad, really bad.

[centurion316]

We actually buy many things from foreign sources, especially NATO countries. In most cases, we require a U.S. Manufacturing capability, by a U.S. subsidiary operating under license to the foreign source. A few examples of German kit: the Fox NBC vehicle, Unimog engineer vehicle, 120mm cannon for M1 tank.