New reports from Iraq again raise questions about shortcomings in the ability of Strykers to adequately protect the troops from roadside bombs, noting: "analysts have long questioned the wisdom of moving away from more heavily armored tracked vehicles like tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles to wheeled transports, like the Stryker."
In 2005, POGO released a study from the the Center for Army Lessons Learned, which was reported on in the Washington Post, revealing that the Stryker Interim Armored Vehicle was "only 50 percent effective overall against Rocket Propelled Grenades during combat in Iraq."
The Army responded by mounting a vigorous public relations campaign which even included a promotional video (need quicktime to watch) and an invitation for POGO to visit Fort Lewis.
In related news, pressure has been building at the Pentagon to accelerate and expand the purchase of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAPS) vehicles which are slated to replace the failed effort to uparmor Humvees. The Army now plans to buy 17,000 instead of 2,500. The announcement is good news for defense contractors in the running for the contract, including General Dynamics which built the Stryker. More importantly (but is often not the case) it may mean good news for the troops too.
-- Beth Daley
J comments: "We still need a light tactical vehicle for normal use. This is an extravagance we cannot afford."
Have you ever heard of Force Protection's "Cheetah"? Why don't you check into it a bit....it fits the bill perfectly. And yes "J" the MRAPs have demonstrated superior survivability to the "stryker" and in fact the new requirements for upcoming round of MRAP procurement require even greater survivability....the ability to protect against EFPs...not simply the run of the mill IEDs.
Lastly...you make the absurd statement that MRAPs are an "extravagence" we can't afford. What are you callously uninformed or just stupid? I suspect you would feel a bit differently were you or a family member the one's slated to ride in these vehicles. MRAPs are a necessity we can't afford to be without.
It is always best to engage one's brain before openiong one's mouth.
Posted by: Craig | Sep 09, 2007 at 09:38 PM
Come on Beth, don't fall for the MRAP hype. Any POGO analyst ought to be all over this program. If the Strykers are being taken out by enemy explosives, you think the MRAP will do any better? The military may want to buy these 500 million dollar hulks, but they have a limited production line that will require it to run through 2009 to meet requirements. Are we still planning on being in Iraq then?
The MRAP makes for a losey HMMWV. We still need a light tactical vehicle for normal use. This is an extravagence we cannot afford.
Posted by: J. | May 19, 2007 at 02:58 PM