Stryker Overweight
 |
James Joyner | Tuesday, February 17, 2004 |
The Stryker, an armored vehicle being built in Anniston by General Dynamics, was designed to be a medium-weight vehicle that could be sent anywhere in the world within 96 hours.The original plan was to use the Air Forceâs several hundred C-130 aircraft to transport the eight-wheeled vehicles. But thousands of pounds of additional equipment have kept the Strykers heavier than the C-130 payload limits.
To get the Stryker down to an acceptable weight, General Dynamics is using lighter composite materials in some cases, and reducing heavy materials in other parts.
âWe continue to look at other enhancements that we can make on the vehicles, which would further remove weight so that the Army could add on additional equipment in the future,â said Peter Keating, a spokesman for General Dynamics Land Systems in Detroit.
The Stryker is a $4 billion program, part of the militaryâs transformation to a lighter, more flexible force in the post-Cold War era. Given that mission, the weight concerns raised doubts about whether the vehicle was a good investment.
Interesting.
I didn’t realize the Stryker was built in Anniston, Alabama–just 20 miles from where my parents live. The Anniston Army Depot has traditionally been a place where vehicles were retrofitted, not built from scratch.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
Follow James on FriendFeed | Twitter | Digg
- None Found
- OTB Latenight - Jim Croce
- Caption Contest Winners
- What’s the Opposite of Schadenfreude?
- Posse Comitatus? Its a Stupid Law Anyways
- Obama’s Short National Security Team
- Wire Politics
- 10 Funniest Political Quotes Of 2008 -
- Memeorandum Beats Google News
- US in Recession Since December 2007
- Sex Offender Registry Stupidity
I was behind an 18 wheeler carrying two of them (Strykers) a few weeks ago, here in Mobile. They are fearsome looking machines up close.
And you posted this post twice.
Anniston's the depot for chemical weapons too, right? Cause wasn't there a big hubbub when they began destroying those weapons via incineration at Anniston? Or was it some other base?
The chemicals were at Fort McClellan, a few miles down the road, but I believe they actually did the destuction at the Anniston Army Depot. (Which, oddly, is in Bynum ratehr than Anniston.)
---
Comments are Closed
