Stryker A1 Initial Maneuver Short-Range Air Defence (IM-SHORAD) system is being developed by General Dynamics Land Systems and Leonardo DRS for the US Army.
A prototype of the IM-SHORAD vehicle was unveiled at the 2019 Annual Meeting & Exposition of the Association of the US Army (AUSA) held in Washington.
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The air defence platform is intended to provide air and missile defence against a range of low-altitude aerial threats such as rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft, cruise missiles, as well as Group 1, 2 and 3 unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
IM-SHORAD will also offer protection against artillery, rockets and mortars as well as regional ballistic missile threats such as Patriot and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system.
Stryker A1 IM-SHORAD development
General Dynamics serves as the platform integrator for the IM-SHORAD air defence vehicle, while Leonardo DRS was selected to provide mission equipment package for the IM-SHORAD system.
The US Army obtained a directed requirement to build an IM-SHORAD system in February 2018 to provide direct fire support for its Stryker and Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) against aerial threats.
The US Army placed an order for a total of nine IM-SHORAD prototypes in September 2018. The first prototype was handed over to the US Army in October 2019 and four more systems were delivered by March 2020. The remaining four systems are expected to be delivered in November 2020.
Developmental testing is currently underway, while the operational testing is expected to begin in September 2020.
The US Army intends to procure up to 144 IM-SHORAD air defence systems, which will be deployed to perform combat operations in Europe.
The IM-SHORAD capability is interoperable with Sentinel radar and can be integrated with the existing US Army networks.
Stryker A1 IM-SHORAD vehicle details
IM-SHORAD is installed on General Dynamics’ Stryker A1 8×8 wheeled armoured vehicle that is outfitted with a 450hp Caterpillar C9 engine and a 60,000lb suspension system.
The double-V hull configuration of the Stryker A1 combat vehicle offers high survivability against mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The Stryker vehicle is also fitted with 910-amp alternator to provide electrical power and support in-vehicle network. It has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 63,000lb.
The vehicle has eight tires offering superior mobility and increased speed on all-terrain conditions.
Armament of Stryker A1 IM-SHORAD
The IM-SHORAD air defence system is equipped with Moog’s Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform (RIwP) turret system which provides increased survivability against aerial threats.
The turret is armed with kinetic and non-kinetic weapons to detect, identify, track, and destroy emerging threats.
RIwP allows for different weapon configurations, including a pair of AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire air-to-surface missiles capable of defeating air and ground targets and four Raytheon’s Stinger man-portable air defence systems for engaging light armoured air targets within a range of 4,800m.
The Hellfire missile, which incorporates a millimetre-wave guidance system and fire-and-forget system, offers superior firepower.
The secondary armament of the IM-SHORAD air defence system includes a 30mm XM914 Bushmaster Chain Gun and a 7.62mm M240 coaxial machine gun.
Mission equipment integrated on Stryker A1 IM-SHORAD
The Stryker vehicle is equipped with identification friend or foe (IFF) antenna, as well as Rada’s multi-mission hemispheric radar (MHR) to provide tactical air surveillance.
The MHR features an AESA (active electronically scanned array) antenna, pulse-doppler and software-defined radars used for detecting, locating, tracking both aerial, and surface targets.
An L3Harris WESCAM’s MX-GCS electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sighting system is installed on the Stryker vehicle to provide the commander with 360° aerial surveillance as well as target identification and detection capabilities.
The IM-SHORAD capability also incorporates an electronic warfare (EW) package to provide improved situational awareness.
