A Sources Sought Notice was issued today by the U.S. Army for the next major upgrade to the entire Stryker Family of Vehicles, focused mainly on lethality improvements. These improvements will encompass both the flat-bottom hull and double v-hull platforms, and will not be limited to cannon application and improvement.
“The next round of upgrades is intended to improve the lethality of the Stryker formation, so it’s important to find solutions that work well in concert, and go beyond just making an individual vehicle more lethal,” said Col. Glenn Dean, the Army’s project manager for the Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
It is important to emphasize these upgrades will bring more than enhanced firepower. Though the program is still in early planning, the program office indicated it would consider other solutions that could include sensor, protection, or platform network upgrades.
“The team is particularly interested in enhancements that are readily available, such as commercial-off-the-shelf, as well as technologies that will be available in the near-term, added Dean. “We really want to identify technologies and potential contributors that we haven’t specifically looked at yet.”
Last July, the Army approved a Directed Requirement to increase lethality for 81 Stryker vehicles for the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. An accelerated acquisition effort is currently underway to integrate a 30mm cannon on an unmanned turret. This lethality increase addresses an emerging capability gap that will enhance vehicle survivability while providing stand-off against potential threat weapons. Fielding of this increased capability is required by 2018.
“The insights gleaned from the ONS effort will be applied towards planning the fleet-wide lethality program for the Stryker, and is another example of how we are developing combat systems in concert with the Army’s Operating Concept and Combat Vehicle Modernization Strategy,” said Dean.
The intent of these upgrades is to provide sufficient fire support for infantry and scout Soldiers as they dismount in close proximity to the enemy or while mounted. This collection of lethality upgrades do not change the primary mission of the Stryker formation — to provide rapid, protected transport to the infantry and scout Soldiers in the formation. Integrating any such upgrades does not indicate a plan to change the requirements or add new variants to the formation.
“Though ultimately we’re not going to be limited by technology — we’ll be limited by budget,” said Dean. “We will have to select the best mix of affordable capability consistent with priorities outlined in the Army’s Combat Vehicle Modernization Strategy.”
Responses from interested vendors may be provided to include information in one to all of the areas stated in the Sources Sought Notice. The Sources Sought is for informational gathering purposes only.
