The Foreign Hand

Col Mandeep Singh (retd)

In 1999, the United States (US) Army decided on a transformation plan to adapt to post–Cold War conditions. The plan, named ‘Objective Force’, aimed at enabling the US Army to embrace a flexible doctrine that would allow it to deploy quickly, and be equipped for a variety of operations. To provide for rapid deployment, there was a need for an Interim Armoured Vehicle (IAV) that would be readily deployable, while being adequately protected and armed. These vehicles were to fill the capability gap between heavier and heavily armed, but not easily deployable vehicles such as the M2 Bradley, and easily deployable vehicles that were lightly armed and protected, such as the Humvee.

A total of 2,131 IAV were planned to be inducted by the US Army, for equipping six rapid deployment Brigade Combat Teams, by 2008. The IAV selected was a variant of the Canadian LAV III that had itself been developed in 1995 for the Canadian Army as a replacement of its Sixties and Seventies era armoured personnel carriers. The IAV was produced by General Motors Defence–General Dynamics Land Systems and it was formally named the Stryker in 2002. Over the years, the Stryker has seen service with the US Army in various theatres across the globe and has undergone several upgrades to address the shortcomings noticed during operations. It is this 8x8 wheeled weapons platform that is now planned to be inducted by the Indian Army as part of its own transformation plan.

The Stryker is built with modularity in mind to support multiple combat roles. It offers base protection against 14.5 mm armour-piercing rounds, with optional enhancements such as slat armour, reactive armour tiles, and hull protection kits for defence against rocket-propelled grenades and IEDs. Powered by a 350-horsepower Caterpillar C7 engine, it can reach a top speed of 97 km/h with an operational range of 500 km. Its armament includes a .50 calibre M2 machine gun, a 40 mm Mk 19 grenade launcher, or, in upgraded variants like the Dragoon, a 30mm Bushmaster cannon with airburst munition capability.

Stryker was showcased to the then Army Chief General Manoj Pande in February 2024 during his visit to the US. The visit was part of a tour to strengthen US and India relations and interoperability, ensuring the combined ability to execute today’s global airlift mission. The US subsequently offered Stryker to India and even proposed joint production of the weapon system platform in India. On its part, India appears to be inclined in favour of the proposal.

According to media reports, the proposed plan is to induct the Stryker as part of ‘Make in India’ programme, under which a total of 530 will be acquired in a phased rollout: initial off-the-shelf acquisitions via the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) framework, followed by co-production in India and eventual co-development of variants, including the M-SHORAD. These Strykers will equip 10 mechanised infantry battalions of the Indian Army. They are primarily intended to be deployed in high altitude areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh and the north-east, where a protracted stand-off with China has been continuing since early 2020.

The Stryker deal will be part of broader defence collaboration between India and the US and aligns with the Critical and Emerging Technologies initiative (iCET) that aims to strengthen joint development, diversify supply chains, and enhance regional defence capabilities in the Indo-Pacific. With transfer of technology and future development of the Stryker, the co-production of Styker in India is important part of the proposed deal as it will make India the first foreign producer of the Stryker armoured fighting vehicle.

The proposed deal appears to be advantageous to both countries. For the US, the supply chain is diversified, India is weaned away from Russia even if a tad little bit, and more importantly, a major defence deal gets sealed that will be worth billions of dollars. India, on its part, gets the latest weapon platform for the army, gets access to the cutting-edge technology, diversifies its weapon suppliers and gives a boost to the defence industry. It all seems good. But still the plan raises some concerns on two major counts. First, about the suitability of Stryker itself and secondly, the rationale of selecting Stryker (even if it meets the requirements) when an equally good, if not better Indian alternate is available. The alternate being the WhAP (Wheeled Armoured Platform) that has been developed indigenously and is already in-service with the army and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) albeit in limited numbers.

Both these concerns need a detailed look. Firstly, the concerns about the capabilities and suitability of Stryker.

Legacy design: The Stryker is based on the Canadian LAV III that itself is of the Nineties vintage. In spite of upgrades and incremental changes, the basic design of the Stryker remains a legacy design more suited for an expeditionary force at the turn of the century, and not of a wheeled armoured platform required by India for the wars of tomorrow.

Design Limitations: It appears to be a very capable platform that was found to be effective in urban and asymmetric warfare but its design limits off-road performance, and it lacks amphibious capabilities. The platform initially faced operational failures when it was in service in Iraq and Afghanistan, the main issues being its under-performing engine and its vulnerability to improvised explosive devices (IED). The engine was upgraded, and additional bolt-on armour was installed making it heavier. A modified V-shaped hull was added for increased IED protection and a more powerful and robust electrical supply was added. This increased its weight that in turn restricted Stryker’s air-mobility capability. Its use in Ukraine also came under fire with the Russian defence forces destroying tens of Strykers.

Not tailored to meet Indian requirements: The Stryker was designed to meet the US Army’s requirement for an expeditionary force. It is meant to be a ready-to-deploy system that can be air transported, ensure rapid deployment, and be equipped for a variety of operations. This is not the requirement that the Indian Army seeks for its Indian wheeled armoured platform for use in high altitude areas and in the plains of the western theatre. Inducting Styker means a compromise and making do with a system that is not ideally suited to meet the army’s requireme