Oshkosh wins competition to integrate 30 mm cannon onto Stryker

By Ethan Sterenfeld / June 3, 2021 at 6:02 PM

Oshkosh Defense won the competition to produce the Medium Caliber Weapon System, a 30 mm cannon for the Stryker combat vehicle, the Army announced today.

The contract will be worth roughly $130 million to integrate the unmanned autocannon onto 91 Stryker vehicles for a Stryker brigade, according to an Army announcement. The contract has a potential total value of $942 million to supply up to six Stryker brigades with the MCWS.

The MCWS will retain the infantry carrier's ability to transport nine infantry soldiers and will add "programmable airburst ammunition compatibility through dual feed ammunition handling system, improved optics and extended direct-fire range" over existing Stryker capabilities, the Army announcement states.

The Army announced in May 2019 that five companies would participate in the MCWS competition, which sought to integrate Northrop Grumman's XM813 cannon onto the Double-V Hull Stryker A1 infantry carrier. Two of those companies later dropped out of the program.

The competition was delayed during the coronavirus pandemic to give companies a fair chance to compete, Col. William Venable, Stryker brigade combat team project manager, told reporters during a call today.

Fielding for the first brigade to receive the MCWS is scheduled to finish in December 2023, Venable said. First unit equipped was originally scheduled for August or September of 2022.

"Competition is very important to the Army to try to control costs and to get the best equipment," Brig. Gen. Glenn Dean, program executive officer for ground combat systems, said on the call.

Three Stryker brigades will receive the new weapon system under the contract, and the Army will have an option to purchase systems for an additional three brigades, Venable said.

Each brigade will field 83 MCWS Strykers, and the additional vehicles in the contract will be used for spares and training, Venable said.

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