Fearing that its Stryker armored vehicles were less powerful than Russian and Chinese models, the US military had an idea for a quick solution: develop an unmanned Stryker turret with a 30mm automatic cannon. But shortcuts in the billion-dollar project have led to hardware and software problems that mean the more lethal Strykers won’t be available until at least the end of 2024, a year later than expected.
“By prioritizing cost savings and rapid fielding, the Army assumed additional production risks because it did not follow good acquisition practices,” according to a government accountability office . report.
Although Army leaders said in December 2023: software issues have been resolvedWar clouds in Europe and Asia raise concerns that Stryker units could fight against more heavily armed Russian and Chinese armored vehicles.
Compared to ultra-complex projects such as the F-35 stealth fighter, developing a small remote-controlled turret for an armored vehicle should have been easy. The project began in 2015. Concerned about growing tensions in Europe and increasingly lethal Russian equipment, the Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment, based in Germany, urgently requested heavier armament for the Stryker, a family of eight-wheeled armored vehicles manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems. .
Instead of the Stryker’s normal armament, consisting of a .50 caliber or 7.62mm machine gun, or a 40mm grenade launcher, the troops wanted a cannon capable of piercing enemy armor and reinforced positions. Russia is arming its PGB series of infantry fighting vehicles equipped with 30mm, 73mm or 100mm cannons, while China’s new heavy vehicles VN-20 The troop transport comes with either a 30mm or 100mm cannon.
The Army got involved in 2018 with the Infantry Transport Vehicle-Dragoon, which added a remotely controlled 30mm gun turret – made by Norwegian company Kongsberg – to 91 flat-bottomed hull versions of the Strykers. General Dynamics made the modifications under an existing contract, allowing the Army to develop and implement the upgrade in a relatively quick two years. The Army decided the following year to purchase 269 30mm unmanned turrets, under the Medium Caliber Weapons Systems (MCWS) program, at an estimated cost of $1.1 billion. This would be enough to upgrade the Strykers into three brigades of 83 vehicles each, plus an additional 20 for testing.
But instead of just deploying more Dragoons, the military decided to make some changes. Instead of the flat-bottomed Strykers, the turrets would be mounted on the double-hulled A1 version which is more blast-resistant and could better support the weight and power requirements of a gun turret. Instead of a Kongsberg MCT-30 turret, the vehicles would receive a Samson turret manufactured by the Israeli company Rafael. And instead of General Dynamics, the prime contractor would be Oshkosh Systems, whose bid was a third or more lower than other competitors. However, the gun would continue to be Northrop Grumman’s. XM813 Chain Gun used on the Dragoon.
The military also fast-tracked the project, which should not have been a problem. “Army officials said they chose to accelerate production of the Stryker MCWS, rather than begin development of the system, because the effort incorporated mature, proven technologies: the Stryker Double-V Hull A1 and the 30-millimeter cannon,” the GAO noted.
The problem was that the army was in such a hurry that it neglected some basic precautions. For example, the Oshkosh turret “was not tested by soldiers in the environment intended during sample evaluation,” the report said. “Instead, Sellers acted as commanders and gunners during testing on a firing range.”
U.S. soldiers fire the Dragoon’s 30mm automatic cannon during an exercise in 2022. Kevin Payne/US Army
The Oshkosh demonstration turret was also not built on the actual manufacturing line that would be used for full production. A big wake-up call should have been problems in the turret software that degraded the accuracy of the 30mm gun. Since the shooter controls the gun remotely from inside the vehicle, using a video feed rather than by eye, precise targeting software is important. “The Army stated that these risks were moderate due to Oshkosh Defense’s assurance of a future software patch,” the GAO said. “Army officials acknowledged that they would not have the opportunity to evaluate the success of the software fix before awarding the production contract.”
The perceived need to provide upgraded vehicles to troops on the ground is understandable. But what was unusual was that the military “placed delivery orders for all 269 vehicles before ensuring production line issues were resolved,” Business Insider told Business Insider. Mona Sehgal, acting director of GAO’s National Security Contracting and Acquisitions Team.
The Army awarded Oshkosh the first order in June 2021 for 91 MCWS, followed by a second order for 83 in July 2021 and finally 95 in June 2022, according to the GAO. The first turrets were not actually delivered until July 2022.
Normal practice – in the Ministry of Defense or in the business world – would be to place an initial order to judge the quality of the product, before placing further orders. “The military had structured the agreement to allow this, but chose not to execute it that way,” Sehgal said.
Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine and other publications. He holds a master’s degree in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter And LinkedIn.
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