M1126 Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle
The retirement of the M551 Sheridan in the early 1990s left the US Army without a viable air-deployable fighting vehicle: though the C-17, C-141 and C-5 could all carry the M1 Abrams or M2 Bradley, these could not be dropped into landing zones, ready to fight. The end of the Cold War also had the Army questioning if the next war would involve tank battles on the scale of the First Gulf War, or more counterinsurgency operations. There was also the issue of the Army's continued use of the M113, which was closing in on 40 years of service.
With this in mind, in 1999 the Army began looking for an "Interim Armored Vehicle" that could serve as a stopgap vehicle until more advanced light tanks and APCs could be developed. To save money and time, the IAV would use an existing vehicle for a basis, which proved to be the Canadian Army's LAV III. This made sense, as the LAV III was a proven system and the US Marines used the broadly similar LAV-25. The Army ordered over 2100 IAVs in 2000, and in 2002 designated it the M1126 Stryker, named for Stuart Stryker and Robert Stryker, two men who had been awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II and Vietnam.
Almost as soon as the Stryker had been named, it came under fire, but not from the enemy--from Congress. The costs of the Afghanistan War (which had begun after 9/11 the year before) were such that the Army might not be able to afford the full buy of M1126s, and it was questionable whether the vehicle could survive, although it seemed tailor-made for the counterinsurgency war that the United States suddenly found itself in. The Army prevailed, and the M1126 was deployed for the first time in the Second Gulf War, the invasion of Iraq, in 2003. This conventional war rapidly became another counterinsurgency campaign, where the Army was not facing Iraqi Army tanks, but mines, RPGs, and IEDs placed and fired by an elusive enemy--at first former members of the Iraqi Army, and later al-Qaeda itself.
The Stryker was designed to have several variants, similar to the M113 that it partially replaced. The basic M1126 was an infantry carrier, equipped with a remote gun turret capable of carrying a M2 .50 caliber machine gun and a M240B 7.62mm light machine gun, or a Mk 19 40mm grenade launcher. This was felt to be very light armament, and in 2015 the M1126 was authorized to replace the small turret with a larger one equipped with a 30mm autocannon. Even more well-armed is the M1128 Mobile Gun System, which uses a 105mm cannon, turning the Stryker into a light tank. Other variants include mortar carriers, antitank versions with TOW missiles, antiaircraft versions with Stingers and Sidewinders, ambulances, and command posts.
In combat, the Stryker initially received poor results, and it was considerably upgraded with a double hull, slat armor, and more survivable systems. The upgraded Strykers would see heavy use in Iraq, where they got a great deal of praise: IEDs that would completely destroy a HMMWV and kill the crew, or disable a Bradley, would only slightly damage a Stryker. One crew was hit by a daisy-chain 155mm artillery shell IED; not only did the crew survive with minor injuries, the Stryker was back in action within a few days. As of 2020, the Army has deployed well over 4000 Strykers of several variants, and it appears to be here to stay.
At first, I thought this was a Marine LAV-AT--I had no idea the Army had already put a Stryker on public display. This M1126 is on display by the front gate of Fort Carson, and is probably an Iraq War veteran.
Earlier on this trip in August 2020, I'd finally gotten a copy of Colby Buzzell's superb Iraq War history, "My War"; Buzzell was part of one of the first Stryker Brigades to deploy to Iraq. I'd read the book in college, and was glad to finally get my own copy. Along with David Bellavia's "House to House," it's on my short list of excellent Iraq War books. Ironic that I would finally get Buzzell's book, and then see a Stryker...
M1126 Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle
The retirement of the M551 Sheridan in the early 1990s left the US Army without a viable air-deployable fighting vehicle: though the C-17, C-141 and C-5 could all carry the M1 Abrams or M2 Bradley, these could not be dropped into landing zones, ready to fight. The end of the Cold War also had the Army questioning if the next war would involve tank battles on the scale of the First Gulf War, or more counterinsurgency operations. There was also the issue of the Army's continued use of the M113, which was closing in on 40 years of service.
With this in mind, in 1999 the Army began looking for an "Interim Armored Vehicle" that could serve as a stopgap vehicle until more advanced light tanks and APCs could be developed. To save money and time, the IAV would use an existing vehicle for a basis, which proved to be the Canadian Army's LAV III. This made sense, as the LAV III was a proven system and the US Marines used the broadly similar LAV-25. The Army ordered over 2100 IAVs in 2000, and in 2002 designated it the M1126 Stryker, named for Stuart Stryker and Robert Stryker, two men who had been awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II and Vietnam.
Almost as soon as the Stryker had been named, it came under fire, but not from the enemy--from Congress. The costs of the Afghanistan War (which had begun after 9/11 the year before) were such that the Army might not be able to afford the full buy of M1126s, and it was questionable whether the vehicle could survive, although it seemed tailor-made for the counterinsurgency war that the United States suddenly found itself in. The Army prevailed, and the M1126 was deployed for the first time in the Second Gulf War, the invasion of Iraq, in 2003. This conventional war rapidly became another counterinsurgency campaign, where the Army was not facing Iraqi Army tanks, but mines, RPGs, and IEDs placed and fired by an elusive enemy--at first former members of the Iraqi Army, and later al-Qaeda itself.
The Stryker was designed to have several variants, similar to the M113 that it partially replaced. The basic M1126 was an infantry carrier, equipped with a remote gun turret capable of carrying a M2 .50 caliber machine gun and a M240B 7.62mm light machine gun, or a Mk 19 40mm grenade launcher. This was felt to be very light armament, and in 2015 the M1126 was authorized to replace the small turret with a larger one equipped with a 30mm autocannon. Even more well-armed is the M1128 Mobile Gun System, which uses a 105mm cannon, turning the Stryker into a light tank. Other variants include mortar carriers, antitank versions with TOW missiles, antiaircraft versions with Stingers and Sidewinders, ambulances, and command posts.
In combat, the Stryker initially received poor results, and it was considerably upgraded with a double hull, slat armor, and more survivable systems. The upgraded Strykers would see heavy use in Iraq, where they got a great deal of praise: IEDs that would completely destroy a HMMWV and kill the crew, or disable a Bradley, would only slightly damage a Stryker. One crew was hit by a daisy-chain 155mm artillery shell IED; not only did the crew survive with minor injuries, the Stryker was back in action within a few days. As of 2020, the Army has deployed well over 4000 Strykers of several variants, and it appears to be here to stay.
At first, I thought this was a Marine LAV-AT--I had no idea the Army had already put a Stryker on public display. This M1126 is on display by the front gate of Fort Carson, and is probably an Iraq War veteran.
Earlier on this trip in August 2020, I'd finally gotten a copy of Colby Buzzell's superb Iraq War history, "My War"; Buzzell was part of one of the first Stryker Brigades to deploy to Iraq. I'd read the book in college, and was glad to finally get my own copy. Along with David Bellavia's "House to House," it's on my short list of excellent Iraq War books. Ironic that I would finally get Buzzell's book, and then see a Stryker...