Stryker

IAV Stryker
M1126 Stryker ICV
Type	Armored fighting vehicle, Infantry Carrier Vehicle
Place of origin	Canada
Service history
In service	2002–present
Used by	United States
Production history
Manufacturer	General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada
Unit cost	US$ 4.9 million (2012) US$5.11M (2016) inflation adjusted
Number built	~4,900 including 4,466 vehicles in US Army
Specifications
Weight	ICV: 18.16 short tons (16.47 t) MGS: 20.69 short tons (18.77 t)
Length	22 ft 10 in (6.95 m)
Width	8 ft 11 in (2.72 m)
Height	8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)
Crew	Varies, usually 2
Passengers	up to 9
Armor	14.5 mm resistant
Main armament	M68A2 105mm gun (on M1128 Mobile gun system) or M2 0.50-inch machine gun or MK19 40 mm grenade launcher mounted in a Protector (RWS) remote weapon station
Secondary armament	0.50 in caliber M2 and 7.62 mm M240 machine guns (MGS)
Engine	Caterpillar C7 350 hp (260 kW)
Power/weight	ICV: 19.3 hp/sh ton (15.8 kW/tonne)
Suspension	8×8 wheeled
Operational range	310 mi (500 km)
Speed	60 mph (97 km/h)

The IAV (Interim Armored Vehicle) Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled,armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III and based on the Swiss Piranha III 8×8. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems for the United States Army. It has 4-wheel drive (8×4) and can be switched to all-wheel drive (8×8).

The vehicle is named for two American servicemen who posthumously received the Medal of Honor: Private First Class Stuart S. Stryker, who died in World War II, and Specialist Four Robert F. Stryker, who died in the Vietnam War (no relation).

In October 1999, General Eric Shinseki, then U.S. Army Chief of Staff, outlined a transformation plan for the army that would allow it to adapt to post-Cold War conditions. The plan, named "Objective Force", would have the army adopt a flexible doctrine that would allow it to deploy quickly, and equipped for a variety of operations. An early phase of the plan called for the introduction of an 'Interim Armored Vehicle' which was intended to fill the capability gap between heavy, lethal—but not easily deployable—vehicles (such as the M2 Bradley), and lightly armed and protected—but easily deployable—vehicles (such as the Humvee). A variant of the Canadian LAV III offered by the General Dynamics-General Motors Defence Canada team was ultimately awarded the contract in November 2000 to produce 2,131 Stryker vehicles of all variants for equipping six rapid deployment Brigade Combat Teams. On 27 February 2002, the Army formally renamed the Interim Armored Vehicle as the Stryker. It was called the "Interim" Armored Vehicle because it was initially supposed to be a temporary measure until light air-mobile vehicles from the Future Combat Systems program came online, none of which did before FCS was canceled.