The 30 Millimeter Solution: Army Upgunning Strykers Vs. Russia

[jimmy olsen]

Sounds good.

Click here to read the memo
http://breakingdefense.com/2015/04/the-30-millimeter-solution-army-upgunning-strykers-vs-russia/

The 30 Millimeter Solution: Army Upgunning Strykers Vs. Russia 
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. 
on April 23, 2015 at 2:35 PM

Amidst rising anxieties over Russia, one of the last US combat units still based in Europe, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, has asked for bigger guns. The House Armed Services Committee is already setting aside money for the urgent upgrade, which the Army staff officially approved yesterday in a memo obtained by Breaking Defense:

In brief, the 2nd Cavalry wants 81 of its eight-wheel-drive Stryker infantry carrier vehicles fitted with 30 millimeter automatic cannon. 30 mm is more than twice the caliber of the 12.7 mm machineguns those Strykers currently mount. It's actually a bigger weapon than the notoriously destructive 25 mm chaingun on the much heavier M2 Bradley infantry carrier.

Adding a 30 mm weapon won't make Strykers into tanks: An M1 Abrams' main gun is a whopping 120 mm. But there are physical limits on what a 20-30 ton wheeled vehicle can accommodate. The Army spent years trying to fit a 105 mm cannon on a Stryker chassis, the Mobile Gun System (MGS). By contrast, 30 mm is a manageable size that would give the Strykers significant killing power against other light armored vehicles, such as Russian BMPs.

"MGS was a failure, which is why they stopped producing them," one Hill staffer told me. "That said, MGS is better than nothing in terms of fire support.  These [proposed] 30mm remote weapon stations help quite a bit."

The 2nd Cavalry wants the weapons because it's the Army's frontline force in Europe. There are only two US combat brigades still based on the continent, the 2nd Cav in Vilseck, Germany and the 173rd Airborne in Vicenza, Italy, a light infantry formation with very few vehicles of any kind and nothing as heavy as a Stryker. The Army has no heavy tank forces permanently stationed in Europe anymore, which the House Armed Services Committee has decried as "short-sighted."

Since Russia seized Crimea, both the 2nd Cavalry and the 173rd Airborne have deployed to the Baltic States to deter aggression and reassure those small, exposed NATO allies. (The 173rd has even trained some Ukrainian forces). Just a month ago, a 60-Stryker task force of the 2nd Cavalry conducted an 1,100-plus mile "dragoon ride" back from the Baltics to Germany by way of Poland and the Czech Republic. The maneuver showed off the Stryker vehicles' impressive mobility: As wheeled vehicles, they do better on long road marches than tracked tanks, although their performance is worse off-road. But clearly the Army thought they were lacking in lethality — and that's what this upgrade is intended to correct.

The bigger question: Will the Army stop at upgrading 81 vehicles in Europe, or will it eventually seek funding to install the 30 mm weapons on Strykers in other theaters such as the Pacific. The memo pledges that the powerful Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) will study "potential application... across the broader Stryker force." With the national strategy emphasizing crisis response and "expeditionary" forces, the Army is increasingly looking for armored vehicles light enough to rapidly deploy by air — but still heavily armed enough to fight on arrival.

[Berkut]

It is re-assuring to ourselves, and surely our NATO allies, that our heavy armor in Europe has increased it's firepower so dramatically! From very, very little to very little.

[jimmy olsen]

It is re-assuring to ourselves, and surely our NATO allies, that our heavy armor in Europe has increased it's firepower so dramatically! From very, very little to very little.

You say that like we don't have any tanks.

[Berkut]

It is re-assuring to ourselves, and surely our NATO allies, that our heavy armor in Europe has increased it's firepower so dramatically! From very, very little to very little.

You say that like we don't have any tanks.

We don't - at least none in Europe.

[jimmy olsen]

It is re-assuring to ourselves, and surely our NATO allies, that our heavy armor in Europe has increased it's firepower so dramatically! From very, very little to very little.

You say that like we don't have any tanks.

We don't - at least none in Europe.

We can choose to put bring them back if we want.

[Darth Wagtaros]

It is re-assuring to ourselves, and surely our NATO allies, that our heavy armor in Europe has increased it's firepower so dramatically! From very, very little to very little.

You say that like we don't have any tanks.

We don't - at least none in Europe.

We can choose to put bring them back if we want.

Through waves of backfires and Kilos?

[DGuller]

It is re-assuring to ourselves, and surely our NATO allies, that our heavy armor in Europe has increased it's firepower so dramatically! From very, very little to very little.

You say that like we don't have any tanks.

We don't - at least none in Europe.

Can't we borrow some from Germany?

[Razgovory]

The .50 cal can take out a BMP.  If you really want to increase the firepower vs enemy vehicles they should put some TOW Missile launchers on there.

[KRonn]

It is re-assuring to ourselves, and surely our NATO allies, that our heavy armor in Europe has increased it's firepower so dramatically! From very, very little to very little.

You say that like we don't have any tanks.

We don't - at least none in Europe.

Can't we borrow some from Germany?

Germany no longer has enough tanks to even equip one division, according to news links posted here recently. 

[Alcibiades]

We have large stockpiles and equipment in storage over there.  I believe I remember reading we have enough to equip a brigade or so with vehicles and equipment just sitting in storage waiting for an emergency.

[grumbler]

We have large stockpiles and equipment in storage over there.  I believe I remember reading we have enough to equip a brigade or so with vehicles and equipment just sitting in storage waiting for an emergency.

Only a brigade? 

We used to have more than seven brigades' worth under ReForGer.

[Alcibiades]

Probably is more, but I didn't want to speculate.

Ironically enough I sat in on a small 'forum' this morning discussing the 30mm update in which LTG. Mcmaster spoke at length about this and how necessary it was for our units.  Was interesting and I would have not had an idea about it going in if I hadn't seen it here this morning. 

[Malthus]

Probably is more, but I didn't want to speculate.

Ironically enough I sat in on a small 'forum' this morning discussing the 30mm update in which LTG. Mcmaster spoke at length about this and how necessary it was for our units.  Was interesting and I would have not had an idea about it going in if I hadn't seen it here this morning. 

Languish: influencing US military procurement strategy since 2005. 

[citizen k]

They already have an upgunned Stryker. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C-jleVMORI

[Alcibiades]

It sucks and is discontinued.