PM Modi in US: What are Stryker vehicles that Washington is offering New Delhi?

In the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first state visit to the United States, there are reports that Washington is offering New Delhi Stryker armoured vehicles.

But what do we know about these combat vehicles?

Let’s take a closer look:

What are they?

According to Army Technology.com, the Stryker designation refers to a family of eight-wheel-drive combat vehicles.

The Stryker vehicles were jointly developed by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) Canada and the General Dynamics Land Systems Division United States.

According to the website, the Stryker vehicles are a new version of the GDLS Canada LAV III 8×8 light armoured vehicle which has been in operation since 2001.

That vehicle came from the Piranha III built by Mowag of Switzerland – which is now part of GDLS, Europe.

The Stryker was the first new military vehicle inducted into the US Army service since the Abrams tank in the 1980s.

According to Army Guide.com, the vehicle has been named after American servicemen Stuart S. Stryker and Robert F Stryker.

Both men, the former who died in World War II and the latter who was killed in Vietnam, received the Medal of Honour posthumously.

Technology and specifications

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According to Hindustan Times, the Stryker is a V-hull armoured infantry vehicle.

It is equipped with a 30 mm cannon and 105 mm mobile gun.

According to Frontier India, the US army classifies the Strykers as part of the family of Intermediate Armoured Vehicles (IAVs).

According to Army Guide.com, the Stryker hull is built from high-hardness steel.

This offers a basic level of protection against 14.5mm rounds on the frontal arc, and all-around protection against 7.62mm ball ammunition.

The vehicles also come with bolt-on ceramic armour.

This offers a shield against 14.5mm, armour-piercing ammunition, and artillery fragments from 152mm rounds.

According to Military.com, it is manned by a two-man crew and can carry a nine-man infantry squad.

The vehicle is powered by a Caterpillar C7 engine with 350 horsepower.

It has a range of 483 kilometres and can reach a top speed of around 100 kmph.

The Stryker vehicles are said to have a better chance of surviving against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) than other light military vehicles, according to Army Guide.com.

As per The Print, these vehicles can be transported via Chinook helicopter – which the Indian Air Force uses.

An Indian Air Force Chinook displayed this ability during the 2021 Yudh Abhyas, as per the outlet.

Options aplenty

The Stryker has two variants – the Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) and the Mobile Gun System (MGS), according to Military.com.

The US army operates more than 550 Strykers in a variety of configurations including

• Infantry carrier vehicle

• Commander vehicle

• Medical evacuation vehicle

• Fire support vehicle

• Engineer squad vehicle

• Anti-tank guided missile carrier

• Mortar carrier

• Reconnaissance vehicle

• Mobile gun system

• Nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaissance vehicle.

How are they useful?

According to Hindustan Times, the vehicle can be used to formulate a quick response to an insurgency or war-like situation.

The lightly-armoured wheeled Stryker can move a lot faster than tanks on paved roads.

This means it can get infantry squadrons into the fight faster – a godsend for warfare in urban areas.

Washington in January announced it would send 90 of these combat vehicles to Ukraine to help push back against Russia in a move that was hailed by Kyiv.

As US Army Major (retd) Brad Duplessis, who saw the Stryker vehicles operate in Iraq, explained to the website The Drive, “…the Stryker was made to bridge the gap between light forces and really heavy ones in a high-intensity conflict like you see in Ukraine. The Stryker would provide mobility and protection from the kind of threats faced by Ukrainian forces just as it did for our formations in Iraq.”

“It’s quieter than a tank and you can get a Stryker in areas that you probably could not get a tank or a Bradley into, especially in urban areas,” Duplessis told The War Zone.

Duplessis added that the vehicle “was produced and centered around the infantry squad. It is designed to deliver an infantry squad a kilometer or terrain feature away from an objective.”

It “allows mobility in ugly, restricted environments like a city. It allows for the protection of the infantry and at the end of the day, it allows you to put a squad of infantry in a vehicle or dismount with its leaders and organic equipment and weapons.”

According to Newsbytes, the US Army also used the Stryker vehicles in Afghanistan against the Taliban.

Firstpost in January reported that the United States (US) government may allow the Transfer of Technology (ToT) for the Stryker armoured personnel carrier (APC) to India.

This will allow India to manufacture the eight-wheeled armoured fighting vehicle jointly produced by Canada and the United States (US).

It will also enable India to incorporate some of the technology of the Stryker APC into the armoured fighting vehicle being developed domestically for the Indian military.

Although it is not yet clear whether the Indian Army is willing to go for a domestically produced APC over imported ones, the deal for the Stryker armoured personnel carrier (APC) is expected to provide a boost to India’s defence manufacturing industry as part of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative.

With inputs from agencies

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