The US has approved technology proposals to help India set up manufacturing units in the country to produce Stryker combat vehicles. This would make India the first global producer of the Stryker combat vehicles.
This has come as India and the US announced a collaboration to manufacture sonobuoys necessary for tracking undersea submarines. US company Ultra Maritime and Indian Public Sector Undertaking Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) will produce these sonobuoys in India.
The US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, during his visit to India, announced that clearance of the technology proposal by the Biden administration would mean that India would become the first global producer of Stryker combat vehicles, a leading producer of advanced munitions systems, and the first foreign producer of cutting-edge maritime systems.
The Indian Defense Ministry has proposed a three-phase plan for the project. After the limited off-the-shelf purchase of Strykers through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, the joint production will be in India. This would also pave the way for the development of futuristic armored vehicles.
Produced in India, the armored vehicles are also expected to be exported to third countries.
“So many of these initiatives have the potential to extend beyond the United States and India, to eventually help countries across the Indo-Pacific region upgrade their defensive capabilities as well,” Sullivan said in a statement.
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So far, the fabrication and final assembly of the vehicles have been shared among plants at Anniston in Alabama, Lima in Ohio, and London in Ontario. The Stryker is an 8-wheel-drive combat vehicle developed by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada for the US.
The US has been aggressively advocating for India to purchase the armored vehicle, which is powered by a Caterpillar C7 engine with 350 horsepower, has a range of 483 kilometers, and can run at a maximum speed of 100 km/h.
It has bolt-on ceramic armor for enhanced protection and can withstand improvised explosive devices. The Strykers can be transported via Chinook helicopters, which the Indian Air Force already uses.
The Strykers are to be purchased with an eye on China and are expected to be deployed in high-altitude areas along the border with China in regions like Eastern Ladakh and Sikkim. The Indian Army is looking to modernize its BMP-II vehicles of Russian origin and replace them with wheeled and tracked Infantry Combat Vehicles.
The Stryker variants include Infantry Carrier Vehicles, Mobile Gun Systems, medical evacuation vehicles, fire support vehicles (ICV), anti-tank guided missile carriers, and reconnaissance vehicles.
Stryker can be transported on the ground using trucks or by air on C-17 and C-130 aircraft already in the Indian Air Force fleet. The C-17 aircraft can carry four Strykers. The C-130H can fly safely, carrying a maximum 38,000lb load for up to 1,000nm. The Stryker’s weight, 36,240lb, and size are within the payload limit of the C-130H. The C-130 can operate from smaller airfields in remote locations. All Stryker configurations can disembark from the C-130 in combat-ready status.
It has been 20 years since the Stryker made its debut during Operation Iraqi Freedom II. During this operation, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (now 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team) earned its nickname ‘Ghost Soldiers’.
The Ghost Brigade was the first to operate the vehicle. The occupants of the armored vehicle were kept safe from conventional weapons like rocket-propelled grenades. However, the defeat of Saddam Hussein’s Army led to the rise of the use of Improvised Explosive Device (IED). During one such large IED attack in Iraq, the Stryker sustained extensive damage, but the crew came out unscathed.
It earned the reputation amongst the US Armed Forces that “not only could these trucks bring you to the fight, but they could bring you home.”
Since its introduction in 2002, more than 4,900 Strykers have entered active service, most of them going to the Army. Thanks mainly to their ease of operation and transportability, the Stryker family of vehicles has taken part in every major armed conflict the U.S. Army has engaged in since its first use.
Soldiers drove them on and off-road in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Strykers given to the Ukrainian military have served that country in its war against Russia.
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A statement from the White House also highlighted the collaboration to manufacture sonobuoys, stating: “This will be through a first-of-its-kind partnership on co-production of US sonobuoys in support of the US and Indian defense industrial bases.”
Ultra Maritime CEO Carlo Zaffanella said: “The announcement today by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reflects Ultra Maritime’s commitment to the Indian Navy in partnering with Bharat Dynamics Limited for production and delivery of world-class sonobuoys and our resolute commitment to continue to develop forward-leaning solutions to unique undersea challenges.”
The US Secretary of State has approved a possible sale of anti-submarine warfare sonobuoys to India in 2024 at an estimated cost of US$52.8 million. India has sought to purchase AN/SSQ-53G High-Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare (HAASW) sonobuoys, AN/SSQ-62F HAASW sonobuoys, and AN/SSQ-36 sonobuoys. It has also sought engineering and technical support from the contractor and other logistical support.
The high-altitude sonobuoys are the ones used by P-8I aircraft, which can be dropped from the air and have an umbrella-like opening system underwater. It has signal processing units and transmits the underwater signal detected via the attached RF link component.
In the absence of high-altitude sonobuoys, the aircraft has to descend to drop so as not to damage the sonobuoys.
These sonobuoys amplify underwater acoustics, can provide both range and bearing to the target for accurate position fixing, and evaluate local effects of seawater temperature on sonar propagation and acoustic range prediction. They can be launched from rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft and the decks of surface vessels.
These sonobuoys will be integrated with the MH-60 R helicopters recently acquired by the Indian Navy from the US. The first squadron was raised in March 2024, and all the helicopters are expected to be delivered by 2025.
