The U.S. Army recently selected five defense firms to participate in a design study for mounting a 30mm cannon on a Stryker wheeled vehicle.
The service awarded contracts worth up to $150,000 as part of a two-phase plan to field its first Stryker brigade combat team armed with a more potent 30mm cannon by 2022, Jane's Defence Weekly reported.
The Army had initially planned to begin fielding the new upgunned Strykers to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Europe in May 2018.
An urgent operational needs statement submitted in March 2015 resulted in a directed Stryker lethality requirement, one that included an accelerated acquisition effort to integrate the 30mm cannon on the vehicles.
Since then, the Army has been working to develop a solution to upgrade the Stryker's standard .50 caliber machine guns and Mk19 grenade launchers with a more potent 30mm cannon to give the vehicles more punch against near-peer adversaries such as Russia or China.
The contract awards for the new design study are as follows:
- General Dynamics Land Systems Inc., $149,972
- Raytheon Company, $149,000
- Pratt & Miller Engineering & Fabrication Inc., $110,000
The Army also awarded contracts worth $1 each to Kollsman Inc. and DRS Sustainment Systems Inc., according to the May 22 Request for Quote award notice.
The service made the awards based on the "the lowest total evaluated priced quote(s) meeting the acceptability standards," the April 10 solicitation states.
Firms will be required to conduct a design integration study to integrate a weapon station, which includes a government-furnished XM813 "medium-caliber gun," on a Stryker infantry carrier with a double V hull.
-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
