US FY 2006 Stryker Orders Rise Past Budgetary Plans
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General Dynamics announced that the U.S. Army has placed its FY 2006 order for 306 Stryker wheeled combat vehicles from General Dynamics Land Systems. The order is valued at $463.9 million, and is an extension of a November 2000 contract to provide more than 2,100 armored vehicles. Work will be performed in Anniston, AL; Lima, OH; and London, Ontario, Canada. Vehicle deliveries are slated for April 2007 through March 2008.
An October 4, 2006 release from General Dynamics notes that an additional 3 delivery orders for a total of 109 Strykers are valued at $155 million, and increase the Army’s FY 2006 Stryker procurement to a total of 518 vehicles, significantly higher than the 340 noted in Pentagon budget documents – but note the role of wartime supplementals. Work is expected to be complete by October 2008.
The status of the Stryker program is as follows:
The M1126 Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) is the mainstay of this vehicle family, and DID has reported on its extremely (surprisingly, even) positive performance in Iraq. A number of other Stryker variants are already in service, and as DID noted, low-rate initial production of the new M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System (MGS) and the M1135 Stryker Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV) began in late 2005. Stryker vehicle variants have more than 70% common components, increasing cost-effectiveness of the fleet and easing the Stryker Brigade Combat Team’s training, logistics, and maintenance burden.
An October 5, 2006 corporate release adds that General Dynamics Land Systems just received $3.3 million contract from the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command (TACOM) for the initial phase of the design, engineering development, fabrication and test of a Power and Data Management Architecture (PDMA) to support future Stryker upgrades and improvements. In other words, they’re working on an upgrade to the Strykers’ electronics and computing systems, which will also include improved power systems to feed those hungry electronics. Moore’s Law is inexorable…
As of the October 4, 2006 release, General Dynamics has delivered more than 1,780 Strykers of the 2,691 included in the U.S. Army’s plans for 7 Stryker Brigade Combat Teams. In addition to the 4 SBCTs already fielded:
- 3d Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, WA
- 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Light Infantry) at Fort Lewis, WA
- 172nd Infantry Brigade (Separate) at Fts. Wainwright and Richardson, AK
- 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (Light) at Ft. Polk, LA
...fielding is currently underway for:
- 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, WA
- 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, HI
- Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Fort Indiantown Gap, PA
See the Stryker Brigade Combat Teams Project Management Office for more details re: the procurement end of the program.
(Originally published April 17, 2006)
