ARMY AL&T


History In response to the changing opera- tional environment facing the Nation and the Army, the Army Chief of Staff announced a new Army vision in October 1999 to build a land-power force capable of strategic dominance across the full spectrum of opera- tions. The vision established an explicit requirement for the Army to become more strategically responsive. The SBCT was the lead element of the Army’s transformation to a lighter, more agile force. The Stryker FOV, formerly known as the Family of Interim Armored Vehicles, includes 10 vehicles built on a common chassis. The vehicles are the primary combat and combat support platform of the SBCT.


The initial acquisition encompassed all 10 Stryker variants and their life-cycle acquisition requirements. Commonality was the centerpiece of the Stryker pro- gram. The Stryker acquisition strategy was structured around the objective of rapidly acquiring the best-value solution for integration, production, fielding, and support while providing warfighters with a safe, reliable, sup- portable, and effective system. To accomplish this objective quickly, an NDI acquisition strategy was followed. This approach favored the acquisition of assemblies and components already in production as opposed to initiating a new developmental program. General Motors (GM) General Dynamics Land System (GDLS) Defense Group LLC was competitively selected to produce the Stryker. The joint venture com- bined the resources of GM Defense of Canada and GDLS to meet the acceler- ated program’s requirements. (Since the award of the vehicle contract in 2000, GDLS has acquired GM Defense.)


The GDLS platform is based on the Light Armored Vehicle Generation III chassis. GDLS delivered the first Strykers just 15 months after contract award. In the fall of 2003, only 19 months after the first vehicle was delivered, the first


12 JULY –SEPTEMBER 2010


The Stryker FOV must evolve to meet existing lessons learned over the last 8 years of warfare, as well as new threats and evolving conflicts. Here, a Stryker ICV is test driven in Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by MAJ Misty Martin.)


Stryker Brigade was deployed to Iraq. Strykers have been in theater for 12 SBCT rotations since November 2003. The vehicles have been driven more than 25 million total miles supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Strykers first deployed to Afghanistan in the summer of 2009. Operational readiness rates remain consistently high despite the high operational tempo and hostile operating environment.


The Need to Modernize The Stryker FOV must now evolve to meet existing lessons learned over the last 8 years of warfare, as well as new threats and evolving conflicts. The vehicles were lightweight and highly transportable to provide superior light- infantry support. Heavy armor and firepower were traded for speed and maneuverability. While the mission has not changed, the threats have. Scalable, add-on-armor kits to counter impro- vised explosive devices, snipers, and rocket-propelled grenade attacks can increase vehicle weights by as much as 30 percent. New communication systems and high-powered frequency jammers are demanding ever-increasing electrical energy. The increase in weight and electrical load impacts vehicle per- formance and reliability.


Stryker modernization is employing the DOD SE process to update and enable Strykers to face current and future threats around the world. The


SE process defines requirements early in the development phase and integrates engineering and nonengineering activi- ties by unifying DOD’s product vision with applicable resources. SE enables optimization of the development pro- cess to overcome cost, schedule, and performance constraints in producing a highly effective system.


Requirements Versus Reality To produce a more capable Stryker, several challenges exist, including cost, space, weight, power, and cooling. Using SE, the Stryker modernization team has completed the process of decomposing user needs into clear tech- nical requirements and is conducting trades to develop the preliminary design. The Stryker vehicle is an intercon- nected system in which each subsystem affects and is affected by the others.


To face the evolving threats, new surviv- ability requirements have been levied on Stryker modernization. At the same time, fuel efficiency requirements limit vehicle weight growth. With the increased weight of the survivability improvements, structural reinforcements are necessary to ensure the integrity of the hull. These reinforcements displace stowage areas and impinge on other vehicle systems. A rigorous SE methodology optimizes the vehicle’s structure while taking into account competing space claims of other vehicle subsystems. While the Stryker modernization team is undertaking an


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