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The Trophy active protection system creates something equivalent to a hemispheric "force field" around the protected vehicle. It has three elements providing – Threat Detection and Tracking, Launching and Intercept functions. The Threat Detection and Warning subsystem consists of several sensors, including flat-panel radars, placed at strategic locations around the protected vehicle, to provide full hemispherical coverage. Once an incoming threat is detected identified and verified, the Countermeasure Assembly is opened, the countermeasure device is positioned in the direction where it can effectively intercept the threat. Then, it is launched automatically into a ballistic trajectory to intercept the incoming threat...

<p>The deployment of federal troops along the U.S.-Mexico border in October netted a 60 percent increase in apprehensions of illegal aliens by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, a congressional report says.</p> <p>The report given this month to the Senate Armed Services Committee says a Texas-based Stryker-armored reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition squadron helped CBP agents capture 2,000 illegal border crossers in New Mexico and Arizona.</p>

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2006 – More than 150 police recruits and a company's worth of Iraqi soldiers graduated from training in Iraq in recent days. A graduation ceremony was held for Iraqi soldiers of the newly formed Headquarters and Support Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, at the Al Kindi military compound in Mosul, Iraq, March 5. The company is made up of three specialized platoons. The scout platoon, the medical platoon and the maintenance platoon were individually tasked to complete their specific skills training, U.S. officials in Mosul said. U.S. soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade...

More and more European armies, whether in NATO or not, are going over to wheeled armored vehicles. Some are likely to abandon tracked armored vehicles entirely, given current mission requirements (i.e., the increasing demands for troops trained and equipped for "peace and stability" operations). Among armies that have adopted or have announced that they will adopt wheeled armored vehicles are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Span, and Switzerland. In addition, a number of other armies outside of Europe are taking this route, either wholly or in part, including Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S., as...

The use of the new Stryker wheeled armored vehicle in Iraq has accelerated the development of the new "Land Warrior" equipment for the infantry. The Strykers were using a partial set of the "Mounted Warrior" equipment. Put simply, the Land Warrior gear is a wearable computer/GPS/radio combination, plus improvements in body armor and uniform design. The original, 1990s, Land Warrior concept was a lot more ambitious. But this version had a science fiction air about it, and was not expected to appear for two decades or more. The brass eventually got more realistic, especially since September 11, 2001. That, plus...

FORT GORDON, Ga. (Army News Service, Feb. 21, 2006) -- Engineers conducting show-and-tell with a 20-ton robot on the last day of two weeks of trials on Fort Gordon were cautiously optimistic. Karl Murphy, a software engineer from Robotic Research, said there was a new principle of “Murphy’s Law” at work on the test field Feb. 10. "One of my professors reminded us that we have 'sight-ons' present whenever an experiment is being viewed,” Murphy said. “The more 'sight-ons' you have, the greater is the potential for something to go wrong." Tongue in cheek, he continued explaining that sight-on fields...

<p>If you found your hilltop house on fire, would you (A) put out the flames, or (B) buy flood insurance? If your answer is "B," you're suited for a job in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).</p> <p>At a time when our Army and Marines bear by far the heaviest load of our nation's security burdens, OSD proposes reducing the number of soldiers to free up funds for wasteful Cold-War-era weapons systems.</p>

Yet another European nation is replacing its Cold War era armored vehicles, with wheeled vehicles similar to the American Stryker. Belgium has ordered 241 Piranha IIIC vehicles. This vehicle is based on the Piranha III LAV, long used by the U.S. Marines. These vehicles were designed by Mowag of Switzerland, a company now owned by General Dynamics. The 14 ton, 8x8 vehicle has a maximum road speed of 100 kilometers an hour. Belgium is getting several variants of the vehicle, (99 infantry carriers, 32 armed with a 30-mm autocannon, 40 with a 90-mm cannon., 24 command vehicles, 12 ambulances, 17...

General Dynamics Land Systems in Sterling Heights, MI received a $128.3 million firm-fixed-price contract for Light Armored Vehicles (LAV) and Supporting Logistics and Engineering Products. According to General Dynamics, this is increment of a $257 million contract for 130 new eight-wheeled LAV-A2 vehicles in armored personnel (LAV-PC), anti-tank (LAV-AT), command & control (LAV-C2), logistics (LAV-L), and mortar (presumably LAV-EFSS) variants for the U.S. Marine Corps. Note that these are improved variants of the the LAV Gen II models used by the Marines et. al. since the 1980s, rather than LAV IIIs which are called Stykers in the USA. These eight-wheeled...

General Dynamics Land Systems in Sterling Heights, MI received a $24.5 million contract for spare parts that are unique to the two newest Stryker variants: the M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System (MGS) and the M1135 Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV). This contract funds procurement of initial unique spares for the first-time fielding of these two variants, and has a total potential value of $50 million if all options are exercised. So, how does this fit into the evolution of the USA's Stryker vehicle family, and future production plans? The Stryker MGS and NBCRV variants entered low-rate initial production...

Editor’s note: A clarification to this story has been issued since its original publication. HEIDELBERG, Germany — The first U.S. forces to rotate into the future training facility in Romania will likely be from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Stryker), probably some time in the summer of 2007. The Stryker brigade is expected to relocate this year from Fort Lewis, Wash., to Grafenwöhr. One of its battalions plus a few other units are expected to go to Romania for the initial rotation, according to Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, the U.S. Army Europe deputy chief of staff for operations. In the summer...

On Lt. Damon Armeni’s last trip to Iraq, they weren’t sure he’d survive the medical evacuation flight home. Shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade had ripped into his abdomen. He lost his spleen and sections of his colon and intestines. He spent long stretches in the hospital to fight infection. Doctors broke four of his toes and fused the bones together to counter the nerve damage that was causing them to curl up like a claw. And now he’s getting ready to go back to the war zone. He wants to do it. Ever since he was a little kid, he’s...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Jan. 26, 2006) Amidst the 800 shiny new cars at the 2006 Washington D.C. Auto Show, the Stryker stands out like a sturdy green oak in a flower garden. “We’re here in support of recruiting command and basically to show the taxpayers what they’re getting for their money,” said Randall R. Rankin, spokesperson for the Stryker display. “It’s big, it’s green, it’s got a gun on it, and it draws a crowd.” The purpose of the display is to showcase the Army’s newest capabilities, the Stryker family of vehicles being one of the newer vehicles in...

When the Stryker entered service in Iraq with it’s slat armor “cage” (to protect against RPGs), there was some criticism, and some crude humor, directed at that particular rig. But the slat armor did the job, and now Russia is offering it’s similar BTR-80 vehicle, equipped with slat armor. While the United States abandoned wheeled armored vehicles after World War II, Russia kept theirs, and constantly improved their BTR series. While not as heavy, or as high tech, as the American Stryker, the BTR vehicles are popular with many nations, especially for use by police and paramilitary forces. The current...

January 11, 2006: The U.S. Army’s new Stryker wheeled armored vehicle has been in Iraq for over two years now. The first Stryker brigade left its 299 Stryker vehicles in Iraq, when the troops finished their one year tour. Now, after two years, those vehicles are being brought home and refurbished. Seven percent of the vehicles got banged up pretty bad, mostly by roadside bombs. These had to be rebuilt. Those 299 Strkyers averaged about 24,000 kilometers a year. Some put in close to 110,000 kilometers. Military wheeled vehicles operating in that part of the world are in need of...

MOSUL, Iraq—U.S. Army Spc. Lucas Crowe didn’t know what to expect Saturday when he arrived at the home of 2-year-old Muhammad. Two days earlier, Crowe revived the boy after he nearly drowned in a flooded basement. He hadn’t gotten word on whether Muhammad was still alive or suffering lasting effects after he was taken to a hospital by Iraqi paramedics. Crowe and other soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment of the 172 Stryker Brigade Combat Team visited the family’s home Saturday in hopes of finding out how the boy was doing. They didn’t know if he was still...

Associated Press FORT LEWIS — After logging thousands of miles during their first two years in Iraq, the Army's Stryker vehicles are getting an overhaul before being sent back with soldiers. The eight-wheeled, armored vehicles are being worked on by mechanics from General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc., which made the Strykers and has a $69 million Army contract to restore them. Maintenance is taking place at this post south of Seattle and at a company yard in Auburn. The Strykers arrived home by ship in late October. They were used for a year in Iraq by the 3rd Brigade, 2nd...

Sorry about the shameless vanity, but I just wanted to let my fellow FReepers know about a show on Discovery's Military Channel that will be airing tonight called "Anatomy of a Stryker." It's supposed to go into detail about the development and applications of the vehicle. A camera crew filming for this show followed my Stryker company around during a company live fire exercise a few months back, so I figured I'd put in a promotional plug for my kick-@$$ Soldiers. If they show any video of a hard-chargin' infantry platoon clearing a trench, those're MY guys at work! Anyways,...

Considering another side Think about everything you’ve heard about the conditions in Iraq, the role of U.S. forces, the multi-layered complexities of the war. Then think again. I’m a journalist. I read the news everyday, from several sources. I have the luxury of reading stuff newspapers don’t always have room to print. I read every tidbit I could on Iraq and the war before coming. Everything I thought I knew was wrong. Maybe not wrong, but certainly different than the picture in my head. I liken it to this; It was real struggle for me to choose to see the...

Fourth Stryker Brigade soldier killed in Iraq MOSUL: 21-year-old Chicago-area private was stationed at Wainwright. By ROSEMARY SHINOHARA Anchorage Daily News Published: November 21, 2005 Last Modified: November 21, 2005 at 02:19 AM A 21-year-old Fort Wainwright soldier from the 172nd Stryker Brigade was killed Saturday while on patrol in Mosul, Iraq, the U.S. Army announced Sunday. Pvt. Christopher Alcozer, from the Chicago suburb of Villa Park, joined the Army last January and had been stationed at Fort Wainwright since May.