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Stryker armored fighting vehicle

The US was considering the possibility of transferring a batch of Stryker armored fighting vehicles to Ukraine in preparation for the expected Russian offensive. This is reported 10 January 2023 by Politico with reference to its sources. The US administration may announce a new military aid package. Whether Stryker armored vehicles will be included in this package is currently unknown, as the final decision has not yet been made. At the same time, the interlocutors of the newspaper emphasized that the administration can send these armored personnel carriers in the next package.

Stryker as a family of wheeled armored fighting vehicles is developed and manufactured by the U.S. company General Dynamics Land Systems. In its basic version, Stryker armored fighting vehicles were accepted to service with the U.S. Army in 2003. This configuration allows to transport up to twelve people, including three crew members. Armored vehicles in this version are usually armed with a 12.7mm M2 Browning heavy machine gun or a Mk19 40mm automatic grenade launcher.

At the beginning of January, it became known about the intentions of the USA to deliver 50 Bradley fighting vehicles to Ukraine. Compared to them, Stryker armored vehicles are not as effective in combat, but have some other advantages. The Stryker moves more quietly than the Bradley and can also carry more soldiers - nine versus six.

The supply of Stryker by the US was thought about in connection with Russia's plans to conduct a second wave of mobilization for a major offensive in the spring. Combat vehicles can satisfy the acute need of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for armored vehicles and increase their combat capability.

A representative of the US Department of Defense stated: "Ukrainians need armored personnel carriers, and this is what we have in service. Not as good as the Bradley for tank combat, but good for infantry protection and combat mobility."

Previously, Politico wrote that after the delivery of armored vehicles, the United States may begin supplying tanks to Ukraine. At the beginning of 2023, France announced that it would provide the Armed Forces with AMX-10 RC armored vehicles (they are also called light or wheeled tanks) to repel Russian aggression. Soon after that, Germany announced the delivery of Marder combat vehicles and a battery of Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems.

The Stryker armored vehicles that may be included in the new package of US military aid to Ukraine are poorly suited for rugged terrain and have drawn a lot of criticism from Washington itself, Vladimir Chizhov, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council on Defense and Security, said 10 Januaey 2023.

"Washington’s declared intent to augment (apparently, in the future) the Kiev regime’s arsenal with Stryker armored vehicles looks like yet another exercise in creating the impression of both a boundless readiness to pump Ukrainian neo-Nazis with ever more heavy weapons, as well as the unlimited capacity of their own arsenals and financial resources. Plus, there is an apparent desire to encourage doubting European allies,” Chizhov said.

"In reality, though, even before they started implementing their previous plans (50 Bradley armored vehicles), the Americans rush to announce shipments of an undefined number of wheeled armored vehicles, extremely inconvenient to transport by air (not every plane can lift a Stryker – in Iraq, for example, the external armor was transported in a separate Hercules plane), and, most importantly – poorly suited for use on rugged terrain even for transportation of infantry,” the senator said. According to Chizhov, it is difficult to come up with a different use for this weapon, which has “already attracted much criticism from the US itself.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other Russian officials have pointed out the danger Western weapons tThe possible transfer of Stryker armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) by Washington to Kyiv only indicates that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have nothing to replenish the stocks of light armored vehicles, and the AFVs themselves do not represent anything revolutionary. This was stated German Minister 13 January 2023 to TASS in the People's Militia of the Donetsk People's Republic (NM DPR).

“This news from a military point of view means a very simple thing: we are destroying their light armor at such a rate that the supplies of BMPs [infantry fighting vehicles] that were before are no longer enough. Those stocks of archaic BMP-1s that were supplied from Eastern Europe, have already been knocked out. They are not enough even to make up for losses in those units that have already been formed. Moreover, they are not enough to equip the mobilized and form some parts of them. Therefore, Western sponsors are already considering options for supplying their own armored combat vehicles, " - said the source of the agency.

According to him, the Stryker is an armored personnel carrier designed to protect personnel from small-caliber small arms. At the same time, it will no longer protect against the main armament of the BTR-82A, BMP-2 or any grenade launcher.

"Although for the States, the Stryker itself is a rather modern thing. And those brigades in which there is a Stryker are considered the most combat-ready in the States. But this thing is of interest only in fairly rare modifications - when a command and staff vehicle is made from it due to additional equipment or artillery fire control. These are single specimens that may be of interest in a narrow area: target designations, communications, surveillance systems. But in general, nothing outstanding, an ordinary wheeled armored personnel carrier," the representative of the NM DPR concluded. o Ukraine spreading to other regions. Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov warned that the Western militarization of Ukraine directly threatens European and global security.

According to military expert Oleksandr Musienko , Stryker can be used to support ground operations of mechanized or amphibious units. "In fact, Strykers are analogues of armored personnel carriers. That is, they are used when conducting special counteroffensive actions when surveillance is necessary. They allow you to be mobile, move quickly, destroy enemy manpower and lightly armored targets, and are also intended for strengthening positions", said Musienko.

Musienko added that the Stryker is an excellent complement to the M2 Bradle IFV. "- We see that the USA is preparing battalions and brigades for us, which are actually equipped according to the models of the American army, which includes Bredly, Stryker, etc.," the expert added.

Oleg Zhdanov explains that if the US transfers Strykers to Ukraine, everything will depend on the modification and quantity. "It is worth emphasizing that there are simply many modifications. The main modification is an unguided turret, which is controlled by a remote fire module, has a 12.7 machine gun, a 7.62 machine gun, a 40 mm grenade launcher and the ability to install an anti-tank complex. It takes up to 10 infantrymen and three crewmen on board, the expert explains."

According to Zhdanov, Stryker will be of great help to the Armed Forces. "If the Strikers are handed over to Ukraine, it will help a lot on the battlefield. It should be understood that we have a very big problem with armored personnel carriers. If we still have infantry fighting vehicles, then we have problems with armored personnel carriers."