New Stryker production, testing approvedThe Army’s effort to quickly build and field Stryker infantry combat vehicles with a hull designed to better protect against roadside bombs in Afghanistan has been approved by the Pentagon.
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Pentagon acquisition executive Ashton Carter authorized the Army to spend up to $99 million to purchase early order material for 330 vehicles.
Carter’s July 6 memo allows the Army to simultaneously test and produce the double-V-hull vehicles, which the service aims to begin deploying in June. But Carter also directs service officials to return to him throughout the process to get permission to proceed.
Carter notes that building and testing simultaneously is risky but worth it to get the vehicles to Afghanistan quickly. “Concurrent production and testing will maximize the number of Stryker double-V-hull vehicles available for the deployed unit,” he said in his memo.
The V-shaped hull distributes the blast and moves the bottom of the vehicle higher off the ground.
The Army plans to integrate the new double-V hull design into eight of the 10 Stryker variants, excluding the Stryker nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaissance vehicles and the Mobile Gun System.
After several Strykers were damaged in Afghanistan, General Dynamics proposed in January to introduce the new hull design before the next Stryker brigade deployed in July 2011.
On July 9, the Army awarded a $30 million contract to the company for additional test assets, as well as early production items, according to a Pentagon contract announcement.
An April 6 acquisition decision memorandum authorized the Army to spend $51 million for the first 120 vehicles. The April memo also authorized up to $191.7 million in research-and-development funding to develop and test the hull design.
A series of decisions are scheduled for this fall, when the Army and the Pentagon can decide to halt the effort if the test results don’t prove the new design provides more protection.
In the July 6 memo, Carter tells the Army it must convene a configuration steering board “to review and assess Phase I test data and survivability enhancements prior to receiving my approval to continue Stryker [double-V-hull] production.”
The Army also has to present Carter with Phase II test data before deploying the vehicles, the memo reads.
In Phase 1 of testing, the Army will compare the performance of the double-V-hull Stryker to the performance of survivability-kit Strykers currently in Afghanistan, according to a June 14 briefing for the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee.
In Phase 2, the Army will compare the double-V-hull vehicle’s test data to MRAP survivability performance requirements and regular Stryker reliability and operational mobility numbers.
The Army must keep Pentagon officials informed of anything that happens during testing that could cause them to reconsider their decision to proceed with the program, according to the memo.
“It is recognized that there is financial risk associated with this acquisition strategy because testing may not demonstrate that Stryker double-V hull provides better protection to crew than existing vehicles,” Carter said.
“Once steel is cut for the double-V-hull effort, it is no longer usable for current Stryker production,” the congressional briefing reads. It outlines the amount of money that will be spent between now and December, when a Defense Acquisition Board review is scheduled.
In early September, the Army will have spent $69 million and will have put nine vehicles together. In mid-October, the Army will do prototype mine-blast tests and automotive testing, and it will have spent $145.6 million. By mid-December, automotive testing will be complete, with costs rising to $310 million.
The Army plans to spend $114 million on research and development in 2010, according to the congressional briefing. As part of a reprogramming request, the Pentagon has asked to shift $102 million in Army vehicle procurement funding toward the Stryker double-V-hull effort. Another $12 million in fiscal 2009 funding for the Bradley fighting vehicle has been moved to fund Stryker.
The research-and-development funding needed in 2011 is $77.7 million. According to the briefing, the Army has committed to fund this requirement.
PROJECT TIMELINE
This fall: Officials can decide to halt testing if results don’t show improved protection.
Mid-December: Automotive testing complete.
Spring 2011: Live-fire and operational testing continues.
June 2011: Begin deploying double-V-hulled Strykers.
February 2012: Deliveries complete.