The Army’s planned total buy of its Stryker-mounted short-range air defense platform, newly named the SGT Stout, could potentially grow from 312 up to 361 systems, according to officials.
Along with the acquisition objective update, officials confirmed the service is set to complete fielding of the system formerly known as M-SHORAD Inc. 1 to the first four air defense battalions in fiscal year 2026.
“We’re now on a path to field multiple battalions with this capability at a rapid pace,” Doug Bush, the Army’s acquisition chief, told reporters. “We now are actually fielding a short-range air defense that, among other things, provides counter-UAS capability to forward forces, which everyone can see [the] increasing danger from UAS and other threats. So I think we really got this one right and we did it really fast.”
The SGT Stout SHORAD program integrates a mission equipment package onto Strykers that’s designed to take down unmanned aircraft systems, rotary-wing and fixed-wing threats, as well as cruise missiles.
Leonardo DRS supplies the payload suite for the SGT Stout, which includes the Moog [MOG.A] Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform (RIwP) turret, the XM914 30mm cannon and M240 machine gun, Stinger and Hellfire missiles and Rada USA’s Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radar.
“The great thing about the SGT Stout system is that it combines multiple elements and capabilities that are critical on an ever-evolving battlefield. One is the maneuver and mobility with respect to the platform. Two, the inherent force protection that the Stryker platform and the turret provide. [Third] is the lethality aspects associated with the Stinger vehicle universal launch system, the Stinger [missile], the associated built-in radar and the FAAD C2 command and control elements along with the 30mm chain gun which provides not only air defense capabilities but also some protection capabilities, Brig. Gen. Frank Lozano, Program Executive Officer for Missiles and Space, told reporters.
The new SGT Stout name for the SHORAD platform was unveiled at the Army 249th Birthday Festival last Saturday, with Bush noting the designation was in honor of a “hero of the air defense branch.”
“The name derives from Sgt. Mitchell Williams Stout who was killed in combat in Vietnam on March 12, 1970 when his bunker position came under heavy enemy mortar fire and ground attack. As the attack subsided, an enemy grenade was thrown in the bunker. Sgt. Stout ran to the grenade, picked it up, held it close to his body and started to get out of the bunker. Upon reaching the door, the grenade exploded. Having shielded the blast with his body, he protected his fellow soldiers from further injury or death. Sgt. Stout is the only air defense artillery man in history to earn the Medal of Honor, which he did on that day. The heroism of this soldier demonstrates the Army’s exact need for the Sgt. Stout vehicle,” Bush said.
Lozano confirmed the Army has completed fielding of SGT Stout platforms to two air defense battalions, one in Germany and another based in Fort Sill in Oklahoma, and is working now on fielding a third battalion at Fort Cavazos in Texas before starting to field to a fourth battalion at Fort Liberty in North Carolina in FY ‘25.
“By the end of June, we’ll have all this initial set of capabilities on contract and will be prepared to complete fielding activities through FY ‘25 and FY ‘26,” Lozano said.
The Army’s currently approved directive requirement is for the first 162 systems covering the initial four battalions and systems for training, while Lozano said that number could “rise up as high as 361 based on future Army decisions.”
Lozano said the current objective acquisition plan is to build a total of 312 SGT Stout systems, but the larger number could be required as the Army eye potentially outfitting four more battalions worth of the capability for the National Guard.
“We’re making plans to do more production and fielding into the future,” Lozano told reporters.
Bush cited the SGT Stout program as a successful example of the Army fielding a new capability at “high speed” using a rapid prototyping strategy, and noted the service is replacing the Avenger air defense systems it’s provided to Ukraine with the new Stryker-based SHORAD capability.
“This is an example of ‘send old, buy new’ and Congress has been very supportive of letting us do that,” Bush said.
The Army in May released a Request for Information seeking industry’s input on potential solutions for an M-SHORAD Inc. 4 solution that could be integrated on Joint Light Tactical Vehicles and ground robots to support dismounted maneuvers (Defense Daily, May 10).
“We’re really in the infancy of understanding what that program increment might look like. But the bottom line is this platform is great for a lot of formations but the current platform’s not really optimized for light divisions,” Lozano said. “I think there are a lot of companies in this space. There’s a lot of innovation. So we’re hoping for some competition options.”