New StrykerX Variant Will Fire Lasers, Launch Drones and Counter Enemy Air Attacks

by Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington D.C.) Delivering armed soldiers into hostile enemy fire with added battlefield awareness, conducting silent reconnaissance without generating an acoustic or thermal signature, or firing air burst rounds from a 30mm cannon with long-range precision targeting are all expanded missions envisioned for the emerging StrykerX infantry carrier.  

StrykerX

The maker of the Army’s well-known Stryker vehicle has unveiled a new, high-tech StrykerX demonstrator vehicle engineered with a series of cutting edge new innovations designed to launch attack drones, fire lasers, conduct EW operations and achieve paradigm-changing amounts of long-term “silent watch” capability with a hybrid-electric engine.

“It’s our attempt to put new technology onto the fleet. You know the Strykers are out there in great numbers. We’re producing the DVH (Stryker Double V-Hull) model today so this would be something new to the Army. If they could choose to go for it, as it’s a hybrid electric engine. Unlike the tank, the vehicle is driven purely by electrical power, the diesel engine is only there to generate electricity into the motor, which then drives all the axles. You get a fair amount of silent move capability, not just a few minutes, but a good period of time,” Tim Reece, Director, US Business Development, General Dynamics Land Systems, told Warrior in an interview.

Video Above: Warrior Maven Exclusive Pentagon Interview: Hon. Gabe Camarillo, US Army Under Secretary 

Given the number of variants of the Stryker vehicle, such as a reconnaissance vehicle, infantry carrier and medical evacuation platform, an ability to implement “silent watch” capability would introduce a wide range of significant tactical advantages.
“There is more than a day’s worth of silent watch capability out of the battery pack without having to turn on your engine. You also get to reconfigure the crew a little bit, instead of having a driver forward in what all the soldiers referred to as the hellhole. The driver and the commander now sit side by side in a cockpit arrangement more like a helicopter or a jet aircraft, sharing a series of screens in front of them so they can function together better,” Keith Barclay, Director of Strategy & Growth, General Dynamics Land Systems, told Warrior in an interview.

The StrykerX also includes more room in the back for an infantry squad and an ability to connect the crew with all sensors.