US Army To Deploy Newer Stryker ICV Prototype In Europe In 2018

The US Army will field a more lethal version of Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle to Europe in 2018.

The US Army had issued an urgent requirement for more firepower for its Germany based 2nd cavalry regiment three years ago.

A prototype of the new Styker, outfitted with a 30mm cannon, was delivered to the Army last month. The upgraded combat vehicles will arrive in Germany around May 2018, the Army said.

“The Russians, it turns out, had upgraded and fielded significant capabilities while we were engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Daniel B. Allyn was quoted by the Army’s official press service. The Stryker’s existing weaponry placed US forces at “unacceptable risk.”

In 2015, the Army “validated the high-priority need” for a 30mm weapons system, which would give more direct-fire support for dismounted infantrymen “when engaging like units,” USAREUR said in a statement at the time, Stripes reported Monday.

The 2nd Cavalry Regiment, which has some of the Army’s oldest Strykers still in operation, asked that 81 of the vehicles be fitted with the 30mm auto-cannons to replace the 12.7mm machine guns currently mounted on the eight-wheel-drive troop transports.

The 2nd Cav is one of two Army brigades permanently stationed in Europe and has played a key role in U.S. European Command efforts to increase the presence of US forces along NATO’s eastern edge, in places such as the Baltics and Estonia.

In 2017, several hundred soldiers from the regiment will deploy to Poland, where they will serve as part of NATO’s new enhanced presence in the region. This includes multinational battalions in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuanian, and northeastern Poland, where US troops will be in the lead.