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The Face of Anti-Urban Guerilla War
by Eridu
by Eridu
The Stryker is a family of eight-wheel drive combat vehicles, transportable in a C-130 aircraft, being built for the US Army by General Dynamics Land Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems Division of USA (owned by GE). Stryker is based on the GDLS Canada LAV III 8x8 light armoured vehicle, in service since early 2001. The LAV III is itself a version of the Piranha III built by Mowag of Switzerland, now part of GDLS - Europe. Fabrication and final assembly of the vehicles is being shared among plants at Anniston, Alabama; Lima, Ohio; and London, Ontario.
The Stryker vehicle enables the team to manuever in close and urban terrain, provide protection in open terrain and transport infantry quickly to critical battlefield positions.
The key word here is 'urban'. Should we ever face the wrath of these incredible beasts we'd be in big trouble.
Stryker variants include the Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) and the Mobile Gun System (MGS). There are eight configurations of the ICV including Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBC RV); Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM); Medical Evacuation Vehicle (MEV); Mortar Carrier (MC); Engineer Squad Vehicle (ESV); Command Vehicle (CV); Fire Support Vehicle (FSV); and the Reconnaissance Vehicle (RV). They have parts commonality and self-recovery abilities and are equipped with a central tire inflation system.
As you can see most any situation of an urban-warfare environment could be dealt with by one of the Strykers. Operating out of central command centers with air support etc.. they could be undefeatable. But (the more likely chance) they could be used solely, streched thin etc. & from there we can begin to exploit weaknesses.
The Stryker is a full time four-wheel drive, selectively eight-wheel drive, armoured vehicle weighing approximately 19t. The vehicle can attain speeds of 62mph on metalled roads and has a maximum range of 312 miles.
The basic infantry carrier vehicle (ICV) provides armoured protection for the two-man crew and a squad of nine infantry soldiers. The basic hard steel armour is augmented by applique panels of lightweight ceramic/composite armour produced by a team led by IBD/Deisenroth Engineering of Germany. The armour provides integral all-round 14.5mm protection against machine gun rounds, mortar and artillery fragments. RPG-7 protection is optional. In Iraq, in January 2004, Stryker vehicles were outfitted with a "cage" of slat armour, which encircles the vehicle about 18in from the main body, as protection against rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).
I should say the RPG-cage has proven to be ineffective.
I can't think of any readily available explosives that could be used to destroy it. I heard of a case in Iraq of two RPG's hitting a Stryker, setting it on fire, but causing no casualties.
I submit that we have little defenses against such an offesive.