http://www.army.mil/features/stryker/default.htm

On February 27, 2002, The Army formally named its new Interim Armored Vehicle the “Stryker” in a ceremony at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Stryker, the combat vehicle of choice for the Army’s Interim Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs), is a highly deployable-wheeled armored vehicle that combines firepower, battlefield mobility, survivability and versatility, with reduced logistics requirements.

The vehicle was named in honor of two Medal of Honor recipients: Pfc. Stuart S. Stryker, who served in World War II, and Spc. Robert F. Stryker, who served in Vietnam. The Stryker will be a primary weapons platform for the IBCTs. It will assist the IBCT in covering the near-term capabilities gap between our Legacy Force heavy and light units. The Stryker-equipped IBCT will provide the joint and multinational force commander increased operational and tactical flexibility to execute the fast-paced, distributed, non-contiguous operations envisioned across the full spectrum of conflict.

Not named after a general, but it looks to be a good name for the vehicle.

Nice post - and nice name to me too because it isn't named after a General this time. Hopefully it'll fare better than Sgt. York...

Gunnie

Good post Rob,
But I don't know why I never ould access the links you provide, always appears the error message
Maybe nest time it works
Beto

Good post Rob!!
VERY cool looking vehicle!!!!!! Guys, follow the link and take a look at the brochure.... :-)
Looks a bit like the LAV, doesn't it? And I really like that 105mm gun option.... Didn't we discuss that last week??? LOL
When is one of the manufacturers coming out with a model??

Good question BF47. Either we could get a shocker and Italeri will burn some plastic on it like they did with the surprise LAV-AD Air Defense Piranha - or - we'll be waiting for some time . The Paladin was a pleasant modern release that came relatively quickly too as armor model subjects go. They might decide to try and capitalize on their nice LAV molds...

Gunnie

Rob,
I suggest you send a copy of that mail to those boys at Tamiya e.a. !!!
Looks like a fun machine to model !

Jan :-)

Well, Gunnie, seems like they don't always do that. AFV promised to "soon release the M109 shop van" after they did the M35 and the M49. I never saw it...
(or it never hit our local shops... !)

Problem with putting out plastic too soon is that the vehicles still are going through a developmental and production stage. If one comes out and the bolts for the optional ERA/add-on armor packages are too far apart, the rivet counters will pan the kit and wish someone else would put out a decent Stryker. "Oh why did Academy put one out, since they did an inaccurate one, Skybow will never touch it!"

BTW, did you notice the wheels are the wrong pattern for a block 2 production model used by the 3rd Bde in Bosnia in June 2005?

I think the AFV Club issue concerned a divergence of engineering talent at that time and not a broken promise. AFV Club and Hobby Fan are closely related, but back then Hobby Fan was gearing up to go. If the M109 was destined to come out - and no one says it has been cancelled - then I expect Hobby Fan to release it instead of AFV Club in the future. Look at their recent practices - notably the Lance Rocket and Transporter.

Gunnie

The problem with the M35 variants is they are not too sexy, and may not sell as well as the big gun killers. Heck the AFV prime mover based on the M-18 died on the shelves and is about 1/2 off the MSRP. I don't know how well the M35 variants did as a whole though.

Besides, the deuce is just about phased out of active front line units, might lead them to hold off boxing another variant.

Son of a gun, isn't that a kick in the a@#!!! That took place in my home city and I heard nothing of it... Geeze I could have walked there...oh well.

It does look cool though. And although I don't build modern arms, the more I see these cool vehicles, the more that itch gets me. If it does ever get released in plastic, I may just have to give it a wirl.

Paulo, Go to www.army.mil that gets you the US Army homepage. It is the feature story, big deal in our circles.