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US-made Stryker armoured infantry combat vehicles
Context:
India is set to conduct trials for US-made Stryker armoured infantry combat vehicles in Ladakh and desert terrains to enhance its mechanised infantry.
About Stryker armoured infantry combat vehicles:
- The Stryker is a family of eight-wheel-drive combat armoured infantry combat vehicles.
- It is jointly developed by Canada and the United States.
- Indian Army aims to procure approximately 530 new infantry combat vehicles (ICVs) with the Stryker as the most favourite.
- This initiative falls under the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), which promotes joint production and technology collaboration between the two nations.
- The Strykers can be transported via Chinook helicopters, which the Indian Air Force uses.
- It is a V-hull armoured infantry vehicle equipped with a 30 mm cannon and a 105 mm mobile gun.
- The Stryker hull is constructed from high-hardness steel.
Importance
- The Stryker can formulate a quick response to insurgencies or war-like situations, moving much faster than tanks on paved roads, thereby getting infantry squads into the fight more swiftly.
- This capability is particularly valuable in urban warfare.
- The Stryker vehicles have seen action in Afghanistan against the Taliban. Washington has also sent these combat vehicles to Ukraine to aid in the conflict against Russia, a move that was welcomed by Kyiv.
- The potential Stryker deal is set to boost India’s defence manufacturing under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, with possible US Transfer of Technology (ToT) allowing joint production and integration into Indian armoured vehicles.