"An infantry or armor brigade combat team could not have done Dragoon Ride," the unit’s commander, Colonel John Meyer was quoted as saying. "We just reassured our allies by conducting a 2,200 km movement […] and we could not have done that with a different type of formation."
Nevertheless, in April the Army staff approved a request from Meyer to equip 81 of the carriers with a 30-milimeter cannon against the current 12.7-mm gun.
According the colonel, the 30-mm would permit the Stryker to "destroy like-type vehicles" and clear the way for infantry to use anti-tank missiles.
After the Dragoon Ride, it turned out that the Stryker is outgunned by the Russian BMP-3 transport vehicle, which has either a 100-mm low velocity gun or 30-mm auto-cannon, and Russian BTR-80/82 infantry transporters, which are equipped with a 30-mm automatic cannon, Defense News wrote citing Jim Hasik, a Brent Scowcroft Center resident senior fellow for defense.
He also noted that US allies along the eastern frontier have 30-40-mm guns on their carriers.
According to Hasik, the US Army is considering the 30-mm Bushmaster II cannon to be installed on the Stryker.
The estimated cost to upgrade the Strykers is $3.8 million each. The first unit will be equipped in 27 months.
