US Army progresses new Stryker armour

The US Army has developed a new armour package for its 8×8 Stryker armoured vehicles which was recently passed to General Dynamics Land Systems, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of Stryker, for future vehicle integration, according to a 10th February press release issued by the US Army DEVCOM Ground Systems Center (GVSC). 

General Dynamics “will perform a System Functional Review of the technology on a Styker platform, using GVSC provided armor designs, integration schemes and durability test data,” the press release states.  A System Functional Review is used in engineering and aims to verify that the system’s functional baseline is solid and can fulfill the requirements outlined in the initial planning stages. It also tries to establish that it can do this within the stated budget.

The armour pack was developed under the Stryker Enhanced Armor programme which was led by the GVSC, it aims to provide an increased level of protection for the vehicles, and appears to have been initiated at some point before 2023. In 2024 the project was passed to the Project Manager Stryker Brigade Combat Team. This is an office led by Mr Clifton Boyd at the time of writing, which is responsible for acquisition, development, and sustainment of the Stryker vehicles. 

Essentially, the new armour pack was developed as a research project, and it has been transitioned from laboratory testing to the point where it may now enter service. “This makes it the first enhanced armor capability to transition from science & technology to PdM VPS on to a platform PM and finally to a vehicle OEM,” the press release adds.

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 This image shows the enhanced armour package ready for automotive tests. Credit: GVSC.

Specifications for the enhanced armour package have not been provided, nor could they be found. However, the baseline M1126 Infantry Combat Vehicle variant of the family was built to withstand 14.5 mm heavy machine gun rounds from certain arcs of fire, which is one of the more serious threats an armoured vehicle can face. It is reasonable to assume that the new armour package covered here will extend protection for the Stryker, possibly up to 23 mm ammunition from certain arcs of fire and ranges. 

General Dynamics and Rafael also developed a reactive armour called SRAT II, which was fitted to Strykers deployed to Iraq providing greater protection than bar armour against RPGs and similar threats. The US Army has also looked for ways to add an active protection system to the vehicle, which would greatly increase its survivability, but those trials appear to have been fruitless for now.