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Archives by date > 2008 > August > 10th

Up to $1.2B for More Stryker APCs

Aug 10, 2008 18:07 UTC

LAND M1126 ICV Mosul Traffic Jam

Stryker APC in
Mosul traffic jam

General Dynamics Land Systems recently announced that the U.S. Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command has awarded them a contract for 615 Stryker wheeled armored personnel carriers (APCs). Initial funding in the amount of $599 million was provided with the award, and GDLS says that the contract has a total potential value of $1.2 billion. Work will be performed in Anniston, AL; Sterling Heights, MI; Lima, OH; and London, Ontario, Canada. Work is expected to be complete by May 2011.

The Stryker program’s production contracts began in 2000; to date, 2,550 vehicles have been fielded. The base vehicle is also known as the LAV-III (Canada) and Piranha-III (GD MOWAG Switzerland), but American Stryker family APCs are outfitted with a set of communications and electronics equipment that makes them a unique variant. That uniqueness will increase, as a set of modifications including a slightly-sloped v-hull add on, possible addition of Javelin anti-tank missiles, and other changes are currently being studied and proposed as part of a “LAV-H” variant.

Strykers in the field have received mixed reviews. Their mobility on roads and advanced communications has often worked well in Iraq, though heavier IEDs began to take their toll later in the war. It also makes them very attractive to National Guard units for internal and disaster use, but the Army has fielded most of its Strykers with the active-duty Army instead. In Afghanistan’s rough terrain, on the other hand, Canada found that the LAV-III’s mobility limitations created unacceptable difficulties; they responded by fielding M113 tracked APCs and Leopard tanks as supplements, and canceling a planned buy of the M1128 Stryker AGS assault gun for their forces.

Getting More Value from Patriots: Israel’s Sniper EO Add-on

Aug 10, 2008 15:11 UTC

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ORD SAM Patriot Launch Techno

Patriot PAC-2

David Eshel reports that Israel is evaluating an electro-optical add-on system called “Sniper” that can scan for, find, and magnify targets out to the Patriot missile’s full range.

As David explains, many surface-air missiles cannot take advantage of their range right now, because rules of engagement will not allow them to be fired without positive identification. IFF (Identification, Friend or Foe) technology is supposed to provide that, but it is not 100% reliable. This has led to “blue on blue” kills in the past, including the destruction of an RAF Tornado in 2003 by a US Patriot battery over Kuwait. A USAF F-16CJ “Wild Weasel” pilot reportedly escaped the same fate during OIF 2003, by firing a HARM anti-radar missile into a Patriot missile battery that had locked on to his aircraft.

Fighter aircraft have the same problems with beyond visual range air-air missiles (BVRAAMs), and this need for improved identification has been one factor leading to the growing use of long-range IRST electro-optical devices on fighter jets. With those systems in place, on-board missiles can be used at longer ranges, and there are even some benefits with respect to aircraft that depend on radar stealth. The other advantage IRST brings is the ability to find and begin tracking targets without creating radar emissions that can be tracked in return – and this advantage also applies to the ground-based “Patriot + Sniper” electro-optical enhancement.

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