The US Army still has no viable active protection system (APS) for its Stryker armored fighting vehicles despite a recent attempt to integrate one, a two-star general has claimed.
APS is considered an integral component of an armored vehicle that prevents anti-tank weapons from destroying the ground asset, therefore increasing soldiers’ survivability.
The service has reportedly been looking for a feasible solution that could complement the size, weight, and power of the Stryker vehicles.
However, program executive officer for ground combat systems Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean recently admitted to Breaking Defense that the army still has not found one after years of searching.
“We have been unable to find a technical solution adequate for Stryker,” he said. “Although we continue to keep an eye on what the commercial space may bring and what our partners in the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command are working on.”
Without the APS, the Stryker would remain vulnerable to attack by modern anti-tank weapons, such as Russia’s Kornet and China’s HJ-8 guided missiles.
Stryker APS Candidate
In September, the US Army completed characterization testing of a possible Stryker APS solution called StrikeShield.
Produced by Rheinmetall, it is described as one of the world’s most advanced and effective protection systems for military vehicles “of every weight class.”
Additionally, StrikeShield reportedly provides the fastest reaction time during an ambush, protecting vehicles from missiles by neutralizing them before they hit the platform.
However, Dean said the preliminary findings note that there would be “core platform integration challenges” if the Rheinmetall-manufactured APS were to be selected.
The US Army once considered the Iron Curtain APS developed by Virginia-based firm Artis to improve the survivability of its Strykers.
But army leaders said that while the system generally worked in concept, it would take too much time and money to mature it.
