Striker Vehicle Controversy The Stryker family of vehicles has come under intense scrutiny since it was awarded a contract by the US Army . Complaints and concerns have been raised about this vehicle , but there are counter - points to these issues . The Original Concept . In the 1990s the then Chief of Staff of the US Army , General Eric Shinseki , directed that the army would transform to meet future worldwide threats . The ultimate goal of this vision became the Army ’ s Future Combat System ( FCS ) . However , it would be many years before this system would be in place . So , an interim solution using modified current production vehicles was created . This solution was called the Interim Brigade Combat Team ( IBCT ) . ( This was later renamed to Stryker Brigade Combat Team , or SBCT , after the Stryker vehicle was fielded . ) The original FCS and IBCT goals were that the US Army would be able to deploy a brigade , anywhere in the world , within 96 hours . Also , the unit ' s vehicles should be transportable by C - 130 to a range of 1 , 000 miles . After the Stryker was deployed , the FCS goal of being C - 130 transportable was changed to transporting three vehicles aboard a C - 17 . Heavy Armor versus Integrated Mobility . Gen . Shinseki ’ s vision was met with resistance due to it eventually requiring the replacement of the 70 ton M1 Abrams and the 35 ton M2 Bradley with 19 ton FCS vehicles which could be transported by C130 aircraft . ( The Stryker has only replaced HMMWV s . ) Their arguments were : Proponents of the FCS countered with the benefits of a lighter force . The Stryker weighs in . As the Stryker was the lead vehicle in this transformation , it became the target for this debate . The arguments against the Stryker based on its armor and armaments were : Stryker proponents have countered with the following points : Air Transportability . One main aspect of the FCS and IBCT concept was that the unit was to be rapidly deployable by air . Some critics have raised the points that the Stryker cannot air - assault as it takes a few minutes to be made ready after its arrival . These critics are proponents of mechanized air assault , as developed by the Soviet Union in the 1930s . However , this was not part of the US Army ’ s concept for either the IBCT or for FCS . After the Stryker was fielded , the GAO reviewed the unit ’ s ability to meet the 96 - hour ( 4 days ) requirement . While it did show nearly a 50 % reduction in C - 17 flights to move over that of a heavy brigade ( equipped with M1 Abrams and M2 Bradleys ) , it still required between 5 to 14 days to deploy by air . Since this report , the US Army has added a Stryker base in Germany . This should reduce the maximum deployment times since they were to destinations in Africa . However , the report shows that the 96 - hour target could not be reached , as it would take as much as 7 days to air deploy a Stryker unit to , for example , Venezuela . The GAO also reviewed the ability for a Stryker to be deployed by a C - 130 . Results were inconclusive , as the Army ’ s weight vehicle target to meet the 1 , 000 - mile range was 38 , 000 pounds , and this was found not to be entirely true . The GAO recommended that the US Army further clarify the requirement . The following are points cited by the GAO in their report : Tracked Vehicles versus Wheeled . Once the Stryker was chosen for the IBCT , the old tracked versus wheeled argument was revitalized . Track proponents claim that a wheeled vehicle suffers many disadvantages versus a tracked vehicle : In addition , they have raised mobility concerns specifically about the Stryker : Wheel proponents have countered with other points of the Stryker : Band Tracks . In addition to conventional tracks , there are proponents for band tracks . These proponents claim that any advantages a wheeled vehicle has over steel tracked counterparts can be reduced or eliminated by using new band tracks and electric - drive technology . Conventional tracks consist of linked solid metal segments with rubber pads attached ; a rubber band track consists of coils of steel cables coated in rubber . While rubber band tracks cannot support the weight of heavy tanks , they have been tested on light and medium tanks up to weights of 30 tons and were used on US Army half - tracks in the Second World War . The M113 APC and its upgraded MTVL form , the most often proposed alternatives to Stryker , could easily be fitted with these tracks . Between the band tracks and an electric - drive motor , it can actually match the Stryker ' s theoretical road speed of about 62MPH . Counter - points band tracks include the following : Proposal and Protest . In 1999 , the US Army requested proposals for vehicles to equip the recently conceived IBCT . . The Stryker ICV ( the GM / GDLS Proposal ) won this competition against different wheeled ( 4 - , 6 - , and 8 - wheeled variants ) and tracked competitors ( Bionix ICV , from Singapore ; M113 variant , from Turkey ; and MTVL , IFB , and M113A3 , from UDLP ) . The Stryker MGS ( the GM / GDLS Proposal ) won its competition against two wheeled competitors ( one from Cadillac Gage Textron , and the other from GDLS without GM ) and only one tracked competitor ( M8 Armored Gun System from UDLP ) . The Source Selection Authority ( SSA ) established the following criteria for evaluation , listed in order of priority : Since the IBCT is an infantry unit , the choice for the ICV award was made first . Since the Stryker ICV won , this had a major impact on the MGS award . When the awarded contracts were announced , UDLP filed a protest . In the company ' s view , the tests subtly favored wheeled vehicles due to the choice of a road scenario for the mobility evaluation , that different data and assumptions will improve their proposals ' relative position in terms of reliability and that GD was given many subtle advantages throughout . As per procedures , the protest was judged by the Government Accountability Office ( GAO ) . Of the three ICV proposals from UDLP , the M113A3 was determined to be the best . So , the GAO compared the M113A3 versus the Stryker ICV , and the M8 AGS versus the Stryker MGS . The GAO felt that the evaluation had been done reasonably , and estimated that , while UDLP did have some potentially valid points ( especially over the MGS , which may not even have passed a Band 2 requirement ) , they probably were not influential enough to have affected the outcome . Accordingly , the GAO rejected UDLP ’ s protest in this 36 page report . Since the competition , GDLS has bought out GM ’ s defense subsidiary , and became the sole supplier of the Stryker . Also , UDLP has since been acquired by BAE . Additional . Beyond the points listed above , there are additional anti - and pro - Stryker points that have been raised . Field reports . Since the Strykers have been in the current Iraqi conflict , many reports have come back on their performance . These reports have mostly been favorable . Stryker critics caution that any positive testimonial must be evaluated against the fact that five of the six planned Stryker brigades were previously foot - infantry units , hence the Stryker ( or any armored vehicle ) provides a great improvement on their former mobility and protection . Defense Industry Daily : M1126 Strykers in Combat : Experiences and Lessons . Addresses both the Washington Post article and POGO ' s honest but puzzled publication of its surprise at the positive reviews it got from soldiers who had used the Strykers in combat . It includes extensive additional quotes and experiences from soldiers and reporters who have served with Strykers in Iraq , and even a Russian analyst review . It concludes by discussing the broader lessons from these experiences that apply beyond the Stryker itself . " Source : " Stars and Stripes , testimony & analysis in DID article . Soldiers and officers who use Strykers defend them as very effective vehicles ; an article in the Washington Post states : One colonel said that the Strykers saved the lives of at least a hundred soldiers deployed in northern Iraq . See Soldiers Defend Faulted Strykers This article states that the bolt - on slat armor is effective ballistic protection , which , at the time of the article , was the main flaw cited by critics . This same style of armor can be added to an M113 series vehicle , with presumably the same results . Significantly , though , this article does not have any soldiers who compare these two potential rivals . ( The Congress - ordered comparison can be found here . ) They are all soldiers who have been given the mission to integrate the Stryker into the force , not to compare it side - by - side with an M113A3 similarly outfitted . This article acknowledges that the suspensions are a mobility limitation in wet conditions , especially with the added weight of the slat armor . So one point of the M113 Stryker controversy , the superiority of tracked suspension in specific situations ( offroad , wet , overweight ) , is not addressed by this article and none of the suspension or weight based criticisms are otherwise dispelled . Reports from military personnel and analysts indicate the Stryker is superior to other light military vehicles regarding survivability against IEDs ( improvised explosive devices ) . However , due to large IEDs being used in Afghanistan ( some as large as 1 , 500 to 2 , 000 pounds of explosives ) , some soldiers are referring to Strykers as " Kevlar Coffins . " Field tests conducted by the Israeli Defense Forces , IDF , however , sharply contradict these assessments : Israel has received three Stryker variants for trials , the first of which were vehicles from early production and did not include add - on armor . Later models featuring various add - on armor suits and different upgrades . So far , the Stryker has been unable to meet the IDF ' s requirements , and no purchases are planned . Israeli " military sources said that the idea of purchasing the Stryker was effectively " buried for good . " ( . . . ) " It ' s a piece of junk , " said one former senior IDF field commander intimately involved with the Stryker . " Instead of the Stryker , Israel has opted for the Namer , a native - built Israeli IFV . A widely distributed online report by author Victor O ' Reilly , to the ranking Congressman of the House Armed Services Committee initially blasted various points concerning the vehicle , only to have soldiers in the field exonerate its performance in a report by the US Army .