By Emelie Rutherford
The Pentagon acquisition chief has given the Army permission to kick off a program to outfit some General Dynamics [GD] Stryker vehicles with blast- deflecting “double-V” hulls so they are more resistant to explosives in Afghanistan.
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Ashton Carter in an April 6 Acquisition Decision Memorandum authorized the Army to use up to $191.7 million “to modify the hull design of a limited number of Stryker vehicles currently in production” to the double V-hull design.
This approval is subject to any required congressional notice and reprogramming actions, Carter wrote.
He directed to Army to work with Pentagon offices to develop detailed test plans and schedules for the double-V-hull effort no later than June 1, and then convene a Configuration Steering Board to asses the test results.
“Pending a review of the findings from the Configuration Steering Board, I will consider authorizing, upon congressional approval, a subprogram for the production and limited fielding of modified Stryker vehicles to support urgent operational needs in Afghanistan,” Carter wrote. “To support that decision, the Army will provide a program plan that includes Stryker Double V-hull production and sustainment plans for FY 2011 and following years, as well as required funding.”
Carter also delegated to the Army the authority to spend up to $51 million on long-lead material for the vehicle-enhancement effort.
The Army had been waiting for approval to build and test prototypes of Strykers with double-V hulls.
“As quickly as we get those prototypes, we intend to take them up to Aberdeen (Proving Ground in Maryland) and blow them up,” Maj. Gen. Thomas Spoehr, the Army director of force development, told two House Armed Services Committee subcommittees on March 17.
Such blast testing would show if the two V-shaped sections on the vehicle’s underside would channel the blast of the charge to where they meet.
“Industry believes not,” Spoehr said at the time about the charge-shaping scenario. “They’ve done some actual blast tests. They’ve done modeling as well. They say, because that apex is significantly higher than the floor of the Stryker used to be, that the exponential difference in height from the IED makes a huge difference in survivability.”
He said only new Strykers coming off the production line would have the new double-V hulls, and the current fleet of 2,000-plus vehicles cannot be retrofitted.
Troops using the eight-wheeled General Dynamics combat vehicle have suffered significant casualties when hit by improvised explosive devices in the southern part of Afghanistan.