U.S. to ‘upgun’ Canadian-made Strykers

Bigger guns will be added to Canadian-made military armour in Europe as NATO allies grow nervous about the Russian threat on the continent.

The U.S. House and Senate Armed Services Committee has approved spending of $411 million to, in military parlance, “upgun” 81 Stryker armoured vehicles. The vehicles will get a 30mm cannon replacing a machine gun, as an answer to the growing threat of Russian aggression.

“It reinforces the platform by adapting it once again to a strategic threat,” said David Perry, a senior analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute in Ottawa.

It’s believed the work will take about 18 months to complete and the Europe-based 2nd Calvary Regiment will get the armour featuring “increased lethality,” according to military reports.

The contract underlines the fact the armoured vehicles — which saw extensive service in Iraq — are adaptable to different areas of conflict, he said.

“One of the big advantages of the Stryker is its mobility,” Perry said.

Heavy armour, such as tanks, is costly and difficult to move on roads and rail systems, unlike the wheeled Stryker.

General Dynamics Land Systems Canada, which builds the lightarmoured vehicles in London, Ont., played down the news, with spokesperson Doug Wilson-Hodge saying it’s too early to say what the impact will be.

“This is early in the process and we cannot speculate on any impacts this may have to GDLS or London jobs,” he said.

It’s likely some work will be in London, said Perry.

More than just adding a gun, it’ll require a change to the vehicle’s suspension, among other things.

The 30mm cannon will replace a 12.7mm machine gun, costing about $4.5 million per vehicle.

The vehicles will be used to reassure NATO allies and serve as a “deterrent” to Russia moving into European countries.

According to Breaking Defense, a military news website, the U.S. army plans to build the new guns on Strykers that are not now in use and have been mothballed.

Those Strykers were parked to make room for Strykers with bomb-resistant hulls.