Army to divest Stryker Mobile Gun System

The Army will divest all Stryker Mobile Gun Systems by the end of fiscal year 2022, the service announced May 12.

"After reviewing concerns and vulnerabilities of the Stryker MGS, Army officials made the decision to invest in other substantial modernization efforts to improve the lethality, survivability, maneuverability and maintainability of the Stryker fleet," according to the announcement.

The Mobile Gun System is a variant of the Stryker wheeled ground combat vehicle with a 105 mm gun.

The system has been out of production "for some time," and it could be replaced by the Medium Caliber Weapon System, the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station-Javelin or other weapon systems, all of which are ready to be fielded, the announcement stated.

The divestiture will create "limited capability gaps," and the Army will invest in filling those gaps, according to the announcement.

"Decisions on when it is best to divest a system currently in the force are not taken lightly," Lt. Gen. James Pasquarette, Army deputy chief of staff (G-8), said in the announcement. "The Army has done its due diligence to ensure lethality upgrades will remain intact to provide our Stryker formations the capabilities they need in the future."

The MGS was the first Army system fielded with an autoloader, but it became costly to maintain and was not updated for new threats and vehicle technologies, according to the Army announcement. The MGS still has a flat-bottomed hull, while newer Stryker models have a double v-hull that is more resistant to mines and improvised explosive devices.

Divestiture of legacy systems can make more money available for modernization, according to the announcement. The Army is in the middle of a modernization phase, but budget concerns this year have raised questions about how the service will fund that modernization.

"While updating and providing new capabilities is most commonly associated with modernization, the divestiture of obsolete systems is also an essential component because it frees up resources and manpower that can be applied to other critical capability needs," the announcement states.