Stryker MGS – Mobile Firepower for the 21st Century Army
The Stryker family of vehicles was adopted by the United States Army as a means of air-delivering mobile fighting units to any battlefield on the planet within a short period of time, enhancing the mobility and robustness of the earliest deploying US forces until heavier forces had time to arrive. As part of United States Army Transformation, the Stryker family will eventually comprise the vehicle components of the six Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, the largest brigade formations of the Active Army. Modular and adaptable, there are a number of configurations available for the Stryker vehicle.
One of these is the Stryker Mobile Gun System – Stryker MGS. Stryker brigades lack the heavy armor component of Infantry and Heavy brigades, the M1 Abrams main battle tank. Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated how essential direct fire can be in performing the missions assigned to the Stryker units, and so the Stryker MGS configuration has been added to the modular Stryker family to give Stryker brigades a platform capable of providing fire support in a fast, rapidly deployable package.
Stryker MGS is essentially a remote controlled tank turret installed atop the Stryker vehicle. This turret mounts an auto loaded M168A1E4 105mm cannon, a proven design that has seen service on early versions of the M1 Abrams as well as the old M60 main battle tank. A coaxial mount is included for an M240C 7.62mm machine gun, another common piece of hardware used on M2 Bradley and M1 Abrams fighting vehicles. Two smoke grenade launchers are also provided to allow for manufactured cover when needed. Weighing in at around 15 tons, Stryker MGS is over 20 feet long, nearly 10 feet wide, about 9 feet tall, and is crewed by 3 soldiers.
As with other vehicles in the Stryker family, Stryker MGS is an 8 wheeled, lightly armored vehicle that operates best in an urban environment. It was not designed to engage enemy battle tanks, but to provide close infantry support, and so its light armor is only meant to protect against infantry weapons – machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, and mortar fire. However, the Stryker MGS can be outfitted with additional armor and defensive systems to enhance survivability. The Stryker MGS’ hallmark is its speed, and organic ability to be airlifted by a C 130 Hercules transport aircraft, albeit with the turret removed for transport then reattached upon arrival. Three Stryker MGS vehicles are attached to each infantry company in a Stryker Brigade, and the interoperability with infantry is of paramount importance in its mission.
The Stryker has been deployed with positive results with the Stryker Brigades of the 2nd Infantry Division based in Fort Lewis, Washington, and can be expected to remain a key component of the Stryker Brigade organizations far into this century.