Stryker M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV)
The Stryker M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) is an armoured personnel carrier used by the United States military. The Stryker (ICV) provides protected transport along with supporting fire for the infantry squad during a dismounted assault. The Stryker is an eight-wheel drive, armoured vehicle weighing approximately 19 tons which carries an infantry squad with their equipment.
The ICV Striker can get up to speeds of up to 65mph on flat road surfaces with a maximum range of just over 300 Miles. The Stryker M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicle provides armoured protection for the two-man crew and a squad of nine soldiers.
Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle
(ICV) Stryker M1126 Carrier
Stryker Interim M1126 ICV
Kongsberg Remote Weapon Station
The Kongsberg Remote Weapon Station is used on the Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle with a universal soft mount cradle, which can mount a 0.50 caliber M2 machine gun, MK19 40mm grenade launcher or the M240 7.62mm machine gun. It's also armed with four M6 smoke grenade launchers.
The Infantry Carrier Vehicles provides protection for tactical and operational mobility of infantry squads to all areas on the battlefield. The ICV being a fully mobile system capable of operating along side the infantry and other elements of the combined-arms team.
Every Stryker carries a crew of two that operates the vehicle. (VC and driver) These mounted crews provide support to the platoon. By operating and maintaining the ICVs and properly employing them on the battlefield to ensure protected delivery of the infantry squads to their dismount point. Once the infantry squads have dismounted the ICVs, the vehicle crew can deploy local defensive armament to defeat "thin-skinned" enemy vehicles (trucks or lightly armored vehicles) or even dismounted infantry.
The ICV's local defensive armament is capable of defeating "thin-skinned" enemy vehicles (trucks or lightly armored vehicles) and dismounted infantry. ICV crews may employ these weapons to augment the base of fire provided by the platoon's weapons squad. These augmenting direct fires can ensure the infantry squad's freedom of maneuver to close with and destroy the enemy. These fires can also provide accurate suppressive fires on enemy personnel, bunkers, or emplacements and destroy enemy infantry in daylight, at night, or during conditions of limited visibility (smoke, haze, and fog).
The platoon's ICVs and infantry soldiers provide mutual protection for each other while performing their assigned missions. Infantry soldiers provide security for the vehicles while halted, and the ICVs provide rapid, protected battlefield mobility and an augmenting base of fire capability for the dismounted infantry assault.
While the platoon remains mounted, the platoon leader controls the movement of the platoon's ICVs. When the platoon leader dismounts to conduct the assault or other dismounted infantry operations with the infantry squads, the platoon sergeant normally assumes control of the mounted element of the platoon. He manoeuvres them in support of the infantry squads and as directed by the platoon leader. For example, if the direct fires of the ICVs are needed to facilitate the maneuver of the squads, the platoon leader may decide to have the platoon sergeant direct the fires of the mounted element to facilitate the platoon's maneuver. The platoon sergeant also can dismount with the rest of the platoon, if required.
The platoon fights as a team. It must be prepared to maneuver in restricted terrain supported by the weapons squad and, when possible, the ICVs and MGS. When the platoon conducts dismounted operations, it has three 9-man rifle squads and a 7-man weapons squad. The key advantage here is that, with the added support of the weapons squad, the infantry no longer has to stay within range of ICV direct fire support. In this case, the ICVs could overwatch, block another avenue of approach, isolate the objective, or conduct other missions.
There are eight other configurations of the ICV that have combat service and combat support roles.
Those configurations include a Commander's Vehicle (CV),
Reconnaissance Vehicle (RV),
Fire Support Vehicle (FSV),
Mortar Carrier (MC),
Anti-Tank Guided Missile vehicle (ATGM),
Engineer Squad Vehicle (ESV),
Medical Evacuation Vehicle (MEV),
and Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBC RV).
M1126 Stryker's Digital Communications Systems
The Stryker has on board FBCB2 (Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below) Digital Communications System. Allowing the commander to communication between vehicles via text messaging and a map network, as well as with the battalion. The map shows the position of all vehicles on the battlefield and the commander can mark the position of enemy forces on the map which can then be seen by other commanders.
Other Helpful Links:
General Dynamics - Details of the Stryker from General Dynamics Land Systems
