Following the US Department of Defence’s (DoD) announcement on the procurement of Northrop Grumman’s XM813 cannons for the Stryker Infantry Fighting Vehicles;

Stelios Kanavakis, Defense Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view on the plan:

“The procurement of XM813 cannons for the Stryker Double-V Hull Infantry Fighting Vehicles’ Kongsberg MCT-30 remote weapon stations (RWS) is an important decision due to the firepower capability it will deliver to the platforms and their ability to engage heavier forces compared to when they featured an RWS with a heavy machine gun.

“The decision builds upon the positive experiences acquired from the 2^nd Cavalry Regiment’s Stryker ‘Dragoon’, which was the first to have its vehicles equipped with the MCT-30 RWS in 2018. The regiment is based in Europe, as a result of the Russian aggression in Ukraine. Increased-firepower turrets would allow its vehicles to engage heavier enemy formations and delay enemy advancement until the arrival of heavy units reinforcements.

“The use of the system has been so positive that the USMC ordered a total 150 turrets for its amphibious combat vehicles (ACV). Further to that, the US Army has also decided to equip its robotic combat vehicle-medium with the same turret. That also proves how effective RWS are in increasing a platform’s lethality and ISR capabilities in an affordable manner, even if they are integrated as an upgrade package at a later stage.

“The decision to equip three of its six Stryker Brigade Combat Teams with the turrets shows that lighter and highly-deployable forces still need to maintain an increased firepower capability. That is not necessary only in low-intensity conflict contingencies, but in cases where they will be confronted with near-peer forces such as the Russian or Chinese. Both of these countries employ vast numbers of armored platforms with large caliber guns that cannot be easily matched with light-deployable platforms that do not feature adequate lethality – either in the form of large caliber guns or anti-tank guided missiles.”