Alphabet Fonetik Militer Sekarang(A-Z)

Sejak radio menjadi alat yang penting operasi militer, angkatan bersenjata Amerika Serikat telah menggunakan beberapa abjad fonetik yang berbeda. Itulah sebabnya mengapa Perang Dunia II film memiliki karakter yang mengatakan “Able Baker Charlie” sementara tentara saat ini mengatakan “Alpha Bravo Charlie” untuk ABC yang sama. Berikut ini adalah bagan dari huruf yang digunakan oleh AS dan NATO.

Militer bergantung pada alfabet fonetik untuk memperjelas komunikasi. Dalam situasi militer, pesan yang tidak dipahami dengan benar dapat memiliki konsekuensi penting. Ketika suatu RTO ( Radio Telephone Operator) pemantauan transmisi radio di lingkungan tempur, kualitas sinyal dan kebisingan di sekitar mungkin akan sulit untuk mendengar dengan jelas. Alfabet fonetik meminimalkan kemungkinan membingungkan antara “Kompi C ” dengan “Kompi G” dengan menggunakan pengenalan yang mudah menjadi “Kompi Charlie” dan “Kompi Golf” sebagai gantinya.

(Kompi = Company in English )

101st Airborne Division “Screaming Eagles” – US Army Division

101st Airborne Division dibentuk pada tanggal 15 Agustus 1942. Tidak seperti beberapa divisi lainnya yang memiliki sejarah di Perang Dunia I, 101st Airborne bisa dikatakan merupakan divisi yang benar-benar baru dibentuk seiring dengan keterlibatan AS dalam Perang Dunia II. Seperti yang dikatakan oleh Mayor Jenderal William C. Lee (komandan divisi pada saat itu), “The 101st Airborne Division, activated at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, has no history, but it has a rendezvous with destiny.”

Pada awalnya divisi dibentuk di Camp Toccoa, Georgia. Setelah menjalani proses latihan yang sangat keras (di mana rata-rata hanya 1 dari 3 orang yang akhirnya berhak menjadi pasukan lintas udara), pada bulan Desember 1942 divisi dipindahkan ke Fort Benning untuk menjalani latihan lebih lanjut. Bulan Maret 1943 divisi dipindahkan kembali ke Camp Mackall, North Carolina (diberi nama Mackall untuk mengenang John T.Mackall dari 82nd Airborne Division, anggota divisi lintas udara AS pertama yang gugur dalam Perang Dunia II). Kemudian pada bulan Agustus 1943 divisi diperintahkan untuk berangkat ke New York dan dari New York mereka kemudian berangkat ke Inggris.

Bulan September 1943 101st Airborne Division tiba di Inggris dan ditempatkan di Aldbourne, sekitar 80km dari London. Di Aldbourne ini mereka menghabiskan waktu dengan terus berlatih hingga bulan Maret 1944. Kemudian mereka dipindahkan ke Slapton Sands, Uppottery pada bulan April 1944. Kembali menghabiskan waktu dengan latihan keras hingga akhirnya pada bulan Juni 1944 mereka diterjunkan di Normandia.

Misi 101st Airborne Division di Normandia adalah mengamankan daerah di belakang Utah Beach, agar pasukan dari 4th Infantry Division yang melakukan pendaratan tidak tertahan terlalu lama di pantai. Setelah mengamankan daerah tersebut, divisi bergerak lebih jauh ke pedalaman Perancis. Menghadapi pertempuran sengit, termasuk di antaranya pertempuran memperebutkan Carentan. 101st Airborne Division bertempur hingga akhir Juni 1944 di Perancis, sebelum akhirnya ditarik kembali ke Inggris dan posisi mereka digantikan oleh 83rd Infantry Division.

Ditarik kembali ke Aldbourne, divisi menghabiskan waktu untuk memulihkan kembali kekuatan mereka. Bulan Agustus 1944 mereka dipersiapkan untuk kembali melakukan penerjunan di Perancis, kali ini di Chartres. Namun penerjunan dibatalkan karena Chartres sudah terlebih dahulu dikuasi oleh 3rd Army pimpinan Jenderal Patton. Divisi kembali menghabiskan waktu mereka untuk latihan dan mengembalikan kekuatan mereka karena pada bulan September 1944 101st kembali diterjunkan ke medan tempur. Kali ini adalah Operation Market Garden di Belanda.

Dalam operasi lintas udara terbesar dalam sejarah ini, Sekutu berharap bisa mengakhiri perang sebelum akhir tahun 1944. Jika berhasil menguasai Belanda, Sekutu bisa langsung menyerbu masuk ke wilayah Jerman. Namun operasi ini gagal karena perlawanan sengit pihak Jerman. 101st Airborne Division dalam operasi ini bertugas di wilayah Eindhoven. Salah satu wilayah yang dikuasai oleh 101st Airborne sangat rawan oleh serangan Jerman sehingga mereka menamakannya “Hell`s Highway.” Pada bulan Oktober-November 1944 pasukan-pasukan lintas udara yang terlibat dalam operasi mulai ditarik pulang. Posisi mereka di Belanda digantikan oleh 1st Canadian Army.
Pada tanggal 16 Desember 1944 pasukan Jerman melancarkan serangan mendadak di Ardennes, Belgia. Pasukan Sekutu dipukul mundur oleh pasukan Jerman. Intelijen Sekutu terbukti gagal memperkirakan kekuatan Jerman. Akibatnya maka selain dipukul mundur, Sekutu juga bisa dikatakan tidak memiliki pasukan cadangan yang memadai. Eisenhower hanya memiliki dua divisi cadangan yang bisa dikatakan siap tempur (walaupun dengan perlengkapan seadanya), 82nd dan 101st Airborne Division yang segera diberangkatkan dengan menggunakan ratusan truk. Saking terburu-burunya diberangkatkan ke medan tempur, banyak personel yang kekurangan perbekalan dan amunisi. Bahkan 101st Airborne berangkat tanpa komandan mereka, Mayor Jenderal Maxwell D. Taylor karena dia sedang berada di AS. Bertindak sebagai acting commander 101st Airborne Division adalah Brigadir Jenderal Anthony C.McAuliffe, komandan artileri 101st Airborne.

Battle of The Bulge di Bastogne adalah titik di mana 101st Airborne Division memperlihatkan ketangguhan mereka. Diperintahkan untuk mempertahankan Bastogne, kota kecil yang strategis di perbatasan Belgia dengan Jerman; 101st Airborne bisa dikatakan terkepung oleh pasukan Jerman. Dengan kekuatan utama empat resimen infantry (501st, 506th, dan 502nd Parachute Infatry Regiment serta 327th Glider Infantry), 101st Airborne Division mempertahankan Bastogne dari kepungan dan gempuran tentara Jepang. Sebetulnya tidak hanya 101st Airborne yang bertahan di Bastogne. Selama pengepungan Bastogne mereka juga dibantu oleh Combat Command B dari 10th Armored Division. Juga beberapa tank dari 9th Armored Division, yang berhasil melarikan diri dari gempuran Jerman (sementara sisanya hancur oleh serangan Jerman). Selain itu masih ada 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion, dan tiga batalyon artileri (termasuk 969th Field Artillery Battalion, batalyon artileri kulit hitam). Walaupun demikian, mereka kekurangan perlengkapan, amunisi (sampai-sampai setiap pucuk meriam hanya diberi jatah 10 butir peluru), dan obat-obatan (sebagian besar personel medis dan obat-obatan mereka berhasil ditawan oleh pasukan Jerman pada tanggal 19 Desember 1944).

Pada pengepungan ini, komandan pasukan Jerman yaitu Heinrich Freiherrvon Luttwitz sempat meminta agar pasukan yang berada di Bastogne menyerah. Walaupun terkepung, 101st Airborne menolak untuk menyerah dan McAuliffe menjawab permintaan Jerman tersebut dengan jawaban,”NUTS!”. Jerman terus menyerang Bastogne, tetapi gagal mematahkan perlawanan 101st Airborne. Akhirya pada tanggal 26 Desember 1944, 4th Armored Division dari 3rd Army pimpinan Patton berhasil menembus kepungan Jerman dan memasuki Bastogne.

Setelah Bastogne, 101st Airborne masih terlibat dalam serangan balik terhadap posisi-posisi Jerman. Foy, Nouville, dan akhirnya ditarik dari medan tempur pada Februari 1945. Pada bulan Maret 1945, 101st Airborne Division memperoleh penghargaan Presidential Citation yang diserahkan oleh Jenderal Eisenhower. Dalam sejarah militer AS, baru pada saat itulah Presidential Citation diberikan kepada satu divisi (biasanya diberikan kepada batalyon atau resimen). “Never before has a full division been cited by the War Department, in the name of the President, for gallantry in action. This day marks the beginning of a new tradition in the American Army.”

Bulan April 1945 101st Airborne Division diperintahkan untuk memasuki wilayah Jerman. Mereka menduduki wilayah Sungai Ruhr, dan mereka sempat membebaskan kamp konsentrasi di Dormagen. Mereka lalu diperintahkan ke wilayah Bavaria, menguasai Berchtesgaden pada Mei 1945 dan kemudian menuju Austria. 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment ditarik ke Perancis, sementara unit-unit lainnya tetap berada di Austria hingga perang usai dan akhirnya 101st Airborne Division dibubarkan pada tanggal 30 November 1945. Sekitar 2.000 personel 101st Airborne tewas dalam Perang Dunia II, dan lebih 6.000 lainnya luka-luka.

101st Airborne diaktifkan kembali sebagai unit pelatihan di Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky pada tahun 1948 dan 1950. Walaupun tidak ikut bertempur di Perang Korea, tetapi 11th Airborne Division yang dikirim ke Korea dipersiapkan di unit pelatihan ini. Baru pada tahun 1954 101st Airborne Division diaktifkan kembali di Fort Jackson, South Carolina dan pada 1956 dipindahkan ke Fort Campbell, Kentucky untuk diorganisasikan ulang sebagai divisi tempur. Pada masa ini divisi sempat dikirimkan untuk mengatasi kerusuhan rasial di Little Rock tahun 1957.

Tahun 1965, seiring dengan meningkatnya intensitas konflik di Vietnam, 101st Airborne Division dipersiapkan untuk dikirim ke Vietnam. Secara bertahap unsur-unsur dari divisi mulai diberangkatkan hingga pada tahun 1967 seluruh divisi sudah berada di Vietnam. Selama penugasan di Vietnam, divisi dlibatkan dalam sejumlah operasi militer skala besar dan terlibat dalam beberapa pertempuran besar melawan Vietkong dan tentara Vietnam Utara. Beberapa pertempuran itu antara lain Tet Offensive, Hamburger Hill, dan Firebase Ripcord.

Pada Januari 1968, Vietnam Utara melancarkan serangan mendadak ke Vietnam Selatan yang dikenal sebagai Tet Offensive. Serangan bahkan mencapai Saigon, ibu kota Vietnam Selatan. Unsur pasukan dari 1st Battalion,502nd Airborne Infantry bertempur untuk melumpuhkan pasukan Vietkong dan Vietnam Utara yang sempat menyerbu gedung kedutaan besar AS di Saigon. Sementara 501st Airborne Infantry ikut bertempur bersama pasukan Marinir AS untuk merebut kembali kota Hue.

Salah satu pertempuran yang menandai keterlibatan 101st Airborne Division di Perang Vietnam adalah”Battle of Dong Ap Bia” atau yang lebih dikenal sebagai “Hamburger Hill”. Pertempuran yang terjadi pada bulan Mei 1969 ini ketika pasukan Vietnam Utara dari 29th NVA Regiment menguasai sebuah bukit di Pegunungan Ap Bia, yang dikenal sebagai “Bukit 937”. Mengetahui adanya pasukan Vietnam Utara tersebut, maka 101st Airborne mengirimkan pasukan dari 187th Infantry dan 506th Infantry. Total ada empat batalyon infantry dari 101st Airborne Division dan satu batalyon tentara Vietnam Selatan yang diturunkan untuk menghadapi dua batalyon dari 29th NVA Regiment. Pertempuran berlangsung sengit. Pertempuran juga diwarnai oleh friendly fire, ketika dua heli tempur Cobra malah menembaki pasukan dari 101st Airborne, yang mengakibatkn dua orang tewas dan 35 lainnya luka-luka. Setelah 10 hari pertempuran, pasukan AS berhasil menguasai kembali bukit tersebut. 56 tentara AS dan 5 tentara Vietnam Selatan tewas dalam pertempuran, sementara di pihak Vietnam Utara sebanyak 675 personil mereka tewas.

Hamburger Hill menjadi kontroversi karena pertempuran itu tidak menghasilkan apa-apa. Bukit 937 tidak memiliki arti strategis maupun taktis, dan segera ditinggalkan oleh pasukan AS setelah direbut kembali dari Vietnam Utara. Padahal tidak kurang dari 500 ton bom dan 70 ton napalm dijatuhkan untuk merebut kembali bukit tersebut. Kerugian besar juga dialami 187th Infantry yang harus dibangun ulang setelah pertempuran. Pertempuran ini mendapat kecaman keras di dalam negeri AS sendiri. Hamburger Hill menjadi operasi search and destroy dalam skala besar terakhir yang dilancarkan pasukan AS dalam Perang Vietnam, setelah Hamburger Hill pasukan AS lebih sering bergerak dalam unit kecil dan mempercepat proses Vietnamisation.

Pertempuran Firebase Ripcord menjadi pertempuran besar terakhir antara pasukan AS dan Vietnam Utara dalam Perang Vietnam. Firebase Ripcord yang ditempati personel 3rd Brigade 101st Airborne dikepung oleh pasukan Vietnam Utara pada 1970. Pertempuran sengit berlangsung selama 23 hari pengepungan. Pasukan AS berhasil dievakuasi keluar pengepungan, walaupun dengan korban 61 orang tewas dan 345 luka-luka. Pada tahun 1971 divisi mulai ditarik dan Vietnam dan di bulan April 1972, seluruh divisi sudah berada kembali di Fort Campbell.

Pada Juni 1968, 101st Airborne Division sempat diubah menjadi 101st Air Cavalry Division. Perubahan ini tak lepas dari konsep airmobile yang diterapkan di 101st. Namun pada Agustus 1968 nama “Airborne” kembali disematkan kepada 101st dengan alasan faktor sejarah. Divisi pun kembali berubah menjadi 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). Setelah kembalinya divisi dari Perang Vietnam dan reorganisasi, pada sejak 1974 101st Airborne ditetapkan sebagai divisi airmobile dan lebih menitikberatkan pada serbuan melalui helicopter. Sejak saat itu pula personel 101st Airbone tidak diwajibkan untuk memiliki wing terjun, dan 101st Airborne tidak lagi melakukan operasi tempur dengan penerjunan (berbeda dengan 82nd Airborne Division, yang masih diberi hak untuk melakukan operasi terjun tempur).

Sepanjang tahun 1980-an, bisa dikatakan 101st Airborne Division tidak banyak dilibatkan dalam operasi militer. Salah satu dari operasi 101st Airborne di era ini adalah ketika dilibatkan sebagai pasukan multinasional di gurun Sinai. Namun tragedi terjadi pada 12 Desember 1985 ketika pesawat DC-8 yang membawa mereka kembali dari Sinai jatuh sesaat setelah tinggal landas di Gander, Newfoundland. 248 personel AS dan 8 awak pesawat tewas. Sebagian besar korban tewas adalah personel 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry. Kemudian pada tanggal 8 Maret 1988 juga terjadi musibah ketika dua helicopter divisi bertabrakan di udara, menewaskan 17 orang.

Periode tahun 1990-an, 101st Airborne kembali dilibatkan dalam sejumlah operasi tempur. Pertama adalah dalam Perang Teluk tahun 1991 ketika divisi menggelar operasi air assault terbesar dalam sejarah. Sebanyaka 2.000 personel, 50 kendaraan dan artileri, serta berton-ton perlengkapan berhasil dikirimkan sejauh 50 mil ke dalam wilayah Irak. Tidak ada personel 101st yang tewas di perang ini. Kemudian divisi juga terlibat dalam operasi pasukan perdamaian di Rwanda, Haiti, dan Bosnia.

Seiring dengan invasi AS ke Irak dan Afghanistan, 101st Airborne Division pun kembali dilibatkan. Namun di Irak inilah nama besar 101st Airborne Division tercoreng dengan adanya kasus “Mahmudiyah Killings”.

Army tests new tactical vehicle

CHURCHVILLE TEST AREA, Md. -- The Army is testing a new vehicle looking to eventually replace the iconic Humvee. Officials said the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle will offer increased protection and performance.

The Army took a group of reporters to a dirt test track about 30 minutes from Aberdeen Proving Ground June 3 to put the new vehicles through their paces. At first glance, the JLTV looks heavier and safer than current light tactical vehicles. The armor plating and bullet-proof glass will offer better protection for the Warfighter, officials said.

The vehicle has different configurations, which seat four to six people.

The JLTV project is a joint project, but also international. The vehicle is a collaborative product between the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Army, the Australian government and three American industry teams.

"There are three contractor teams working on a common phased set of requirements," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Wolfgang Petermann, project manager. "The vehicles have a little bit different design solutions built into them."

Petermann said the contractors delivered the vehicles on schedule and within cost requirements of the contract.

"What you'll see is a balanced solution," he said. "The key attributes for JLTV are to keep that balance, but also to reduce life-cycle costs for the services. We've improved reliability, maintainability. We've designed the vehicle to be, one, reliable, but when it does break down, it is easily repairable."

Petermann said another requirement is transportability.

"We need to be able to get to the fight by a C-130 (airplane) or CH-47 or CH-53 helicopter. We have to be able to get down to different decks on shipping," he said. "We have maintained an expeditionary capability for the services."

The contractors for the project are BAE Systems, General Tactical Vehicles and Lockheed Martin. During the 15-month design and build phase, industry teams interpreted military's requirements to come up with their own vehicle prototypes. Officials said the design and build phase ended May 3 when the contractors delivered the vehicles.

The JLTV has now entered a technology development phase giving the team an opportunity to demonstrate "mature technologies integration" as a complete system.

Petermann said the group will conduct performance tests on the vehicles at Aberdeen Proving Ground to "provide an assessment of the technical and performance risks."

The team will also conduct tests at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz. to assess vehicle reliability.

United States Army Research, Development and Engineering Command tank and automotive engineers from the unit's research center near Detroit have been on the job from concept to testing. The Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center assists throughout product development, officials said.

"Our Advanced Concepts Group over in TARDEC from the beginning has taken a look at our requirements from the standpoint of what is achievable," said Chris Brouwer, C4I chief systems engineer with the project. "They've given us that first look on what they think we're going to get with the requirements we have. Because of the work TARDEC did, we were fairly confident what we would end up with."

When the project team had requirements changes, TARDEC engineers would update their concepts.

"They would say, 'this is what we think industry is going to provide you,'" he said. "It really gave us an early benefit as far as what our requirements were actually driving into the design of the vehicle."

Brouwer was on the team three years ago writing the original requirements and scope.

"It's been a great project so far," Brouwer said. "It's very rewarding to see the vehicles out here on the track and performing quite well."

(Editor's note: The JLTV program is aligned with a joint program office under the management of the U.S. Army's Project Manager for Joint Combat Support Systems, which fulls under the leadership of Program Executive Officer for Combat Support and Combat Service Support.)

Stryker Armored Vehicle

Formerly known as the Interim Armored Vehicle, the Stryker Light Armored Vehicle III [LAV III] is at the center of the Army's Interim Brigade Combat Teams. The IBCTs are lighter and more mobile, yet offer firepower no enemy can hope to match. Strykers are being deployed to units at Fort Lewis, WA. In all, six brigades will receive the vehicles. Each brigade will have more than 300 Strykers apiece.

In February 2002 the Army named its new interim armored vehicle after two soldiers who received the Medal of Honor. The Stryker is named in honor of Spc. 4 Robert F. Stryker, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Vietnam War, and Pfc. Stuart S. Stryker, who received the award for his actions during World War II. Both men were killed in action. They were not related. This is only the second Army vehicle named after enlisted personnel. In the early 1980s, the service named the Division Air Defense gun for World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York. The system was plagued with problems before then- Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger cancelled it.

The Army's LAV is being produced in two major variants: the Infantry Carrier Vehicle and the Mobile Gun System. The Mobile Gun System will have a 105mm cannon, the same gun tube as the one on the original M-1 Abrams tank. This is not a tank replacement, but it gives a direct fire capability to support the infantry elements. Before the Mobile Gun System is fielded, units will get the Anti-tank Guided Missile Vehicle which will have a TOW system capable of blasting through reinforced concrete bunkers.

All of the LAVs will be deployable by C-130 and larger aircraft. As of September 2002 the Army was flying Stryker in C-130s under a temporary waiver issued by the Air Force. The waiver was necessary because the vehicle is too wide to accommodate the 14-inch safety aisle around all sides that is required by the Air Force for the loadmaster. Additionally, only a portion of its crew may fly in the same aircraft. Yet, the Army disputes claims that Stryker -- the centerpiece of its new Brigade Combat Teams -- is not transportable via C-130. During the Millennium Challenge exercise the Infantry Carrier Vehicle variant required multiple alterations to fit into a C-130: The crew removed two smoke grenade launchers, all antennas, a left rear bracket that blocked egress over the top of the vehicle, the Remote Weapons System and the third-row wheel's bump-stop. Reassembly upon landing took as long as 17 minutes.

One of the Army's transformation goals is to be able to deploy brigade combat teams anywhere in the world within 96 hours, a division in 120 hours and five divisions within 30 days, according to Army Chief of Staff GEN Eric K. Shinseki. The LAV III is considered an "interim armored vehicle" because it is not the final vehicle that will equip the transformation "objective force" of the future. This is not an experimental force, rather it represents a force capable of meeting the needs of regional commanders in chief, while concurrently assisting the Army in developing doctrine to meet 21st-century threats.

Program

In November 2000 the Army took another step into its Transformation Initiative when it announced that GM GDLS Defense Group had been awarded the contract to supply the Army with the Interim Armored Vehicle. GM GDLS in a joint venture between General Motors, Electro-Motive Divison, and General Dynamics Land Systems Division and is based in Sterling Heights, Mich. The majority of the work on the project is done in the United States and Canada.

Army officials signed a $4 billion contract to produce 2,131 LAVs over six years. The contract's first iteration calls for enough LAVs to equip the first IBCT at Fort Lewis. Each brigade will have more than 300 LAVs, and the six option years of the contract should produce enough LAVs for the first six Brigade Combat Teams.

A number of subcontractors are used to produce the different LAV configurations and equipment. The prime contractor - GM General Dynamics Land Systems Defense Group LLC -- conducts work in four primary locations. Structure, fabrication and final assembly of the LAVs takes place in both Anniston, Ala., and London, Ontario in Canada. Engineering takes place in Sterling Heights, Mich., and upper hull structures are produced at a plant in Lima, Ohio.

The contract provides the Interim Brigade Combat Team with two vehicle variants that are deployable anywhere in the world in combat-ready configurations. The two variations of the LAV III that are produced for the Interim Armored Vehicle program are the Infantry Carrier Vehicle and the Mobile Gun System. The Stryker has eight configurations besides the basic infantry carrier model - mortar carrier, reconnaissance vehicle, anti-tank guided missile vehicle, fire-support vehicle, engineer support vehicle, command-and-control vehicle, medical-evacuation vehicle and the NBC reconnaissance vehicle. The Strykers are not a replacement for the M1 Abrams tank or the M3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The Strykers are used in places, such as urban areas, where the heavy armored vehicles are not suitable for the mission.

Design

They have a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour and a range of 300 miles on a tank of fuel. The vehicle are swift, easily maintainable and include features designed for the safety of soldiers. The LAV's tires can be inflated or deflated from inside the vehicle to adapt to surfaces ranging from deep mud to hardtop, and it has run-flat tires, a built-in fire-suppression system and self-recovery winch. The vehicles run quieter than the current armored personnel carriers, increasing their "stealth." They will also give the new brigades a reduced logistics footprint, and make the units cheaper to operate than today's heavy brigades. The Interim Brigade Combat Team should be about 25 percent cheaper to operate than today's heavy brigades.

The LAV engine is a Caterpillar engine, which is common to the Army's family of medium tactical vehicles. That means some of the same repair parts can be used. Commonality of equipment reduces the brigade's logistical footprint and support costs and makes the entire vehicle fleet easier to maintain. This will allow the use of the same support structure for all of a unit's vehicles, including mechanics and parts.

Reducing its weight is a modification the Stryker underwent before the vehicles arrive in May at 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division and 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, both located at Fort Lewis, Wash. The Stryker was reported to be 4,000 pounds more than the 38,000-pound requirement. However, officials expect that the vehicles will meet weight limits, which will allow them to be loaded and transported on a C-130 cargo plane.

For vehicles weighing 10-20 tons, tracked vehicles have better cross-country mobility in sand, mud and snow than wheeled vehicles, while wheeled vehicles have much better speed and ride quality over primary and secondary roads than tracked vehicles.

Survivability

Three block improvements are planned for the Stryker. A crew-installable add-on armor kit that provides 360-degree RPG-7 protection, an internal recoil-mounted 120mm mortar system, and embedded training that will be provided beginning with the third SBCT. Block improvements will be retrofitted to SBCTs 1 and 2 in subsequent years.

The Army says the Stryker family of vehicles are considered less vulnerable to small arms and weapons fire than the M113 family of vehicles. The crew and engine compartments of the Strykers are fully protected up to 14.5mm armor piercing (AP) rounds while the crew and engine compartments of the M113s are protected only up to 7.62mm AP rounds. Although a 14.5mm armor design was developed for the M113s, the armor was never produced and fielded.

The LAV's armor protection will stop 50-caliber bullets and protect against 152 mm airburst shells. The basic package on every vehicle is the basic steel hull, which protects against 7.62 mm bullets, and then a ceramic applique, which is added on give protection against 14.5mm machine guns. This is similar to the Bradley add-on armor that is appliqued on top. And just like Bradley armor, the Bradley's don't drive around with that. If there is a situation that requires it, the unit deploys with it, and applies it. The Strykers are protected by armor sufficient to withstand 14.5mm heavy machine gun fire and 152mm overhead artillery fire. A strengthened undercarriage protects the personnel inside from mines.

Beginning in October 2001 the Stryker underwent coupon testing, which is taking small squares of armor and firing at it with various caliber weapons and munitions at varying distances. After the tests, officials discovered that the initial armor proposed by the contractor was not suitable and changes in the armor were ordered in early 2002. When modifications are made to the armor, the vehicle will be able to stop 7.62mm and 14.5mm armor piercing ammunitions.

GM Defense delivered a new, denser ceramic-skin armor for Stryker in May 2002. In the summer of 2003 the first Stryker vehicles had problems with the armor not adequately protecting the crew from 14.5mm fire. This was fixed by backing the ceramic armor on the Strykers with a 3mm steel plate. Depending on the model, up to 126 tiles could be installed. When the LAV-III add-on armor is mounted, the LAV-III weighs 43,000 pounds, which precludes C-130 transport altogether.

The Army was concerned about the Rocket Propelled Grenade threat, the enemy's weapon of choice. So two new types of armor have been installed on the vehicles. The most obvious add-on to the discerning eye is called slat armor. It resembles a "bird cage" that will add three feet to the Stryker's width. The slat armor installed on the Strykers resembles a big catcher's mask that wraps around the vehicle. The armor is basically a grill of wire mesh that will cause the RPG to detonate away from the vehicle. Plans are in the works to add another type of armor package to the inventory. That add-on armor is called "reactive armor." Essentially that armor explodes when an RPG or other anti-tank round hits it. It's already on M-2 Bradley fighting vehicles.

United Defense Industries, Arlington, Va., received a $7.9 million contract from GM Defense 04 November 2002 to develop and test add-on applique armor that will stop RPG-7 rounds. The contract requires United Defense to develop and test the applique armor by February 2004. If it passes, the company could build 1,600 add-on armor kits by 2006.

Production Qualification Testing of the rocket-propelled grenade-level add-on armor began in May 2003 and found that the armor performance did not meet Army requirements. As a result, the Stryker program experienced delays in all add-on armor related testing to allow the contractor to refine its armor solution to meet Army requirements. Re-qualification of the new add-on armor solution resumed in September 2003 and will continue through February 2004.

Add-on armor for the Stryker adds approximately 7,000 lbs to the vehicle weight and approximately 12-14 inches to each side. To accommodate the increased weight, the tires were inflated to 90 psi and the Central Tire Inflation System (CTIS) was disengaged. As the vehicles moved from a hard surface to a softer one (in a grove of trees) the vehicle's tires sank into the soft ground. The winch on the Stryker is not sufficient to recover a Stryker with add-on armor mounted; therefore, some other vehicle recovery asset must be used.

Another challenge was the problem moving the vehicles down narrow two-lane roads while they had the add-on armor on the Strykers. The vehicles were unable to pass side by side. One driver had to pull off the road to make room for the other vehicle to pass. When he did this, the vehicle would sink into the dirt and require another vehicle to recover it. This made it important for the battalion staff and company-level leaders to ensure that they did detailed mission planning and route selection to reduce the possibility of two vehicles passing. While this does not appear to limit maneuver, it could cause temporary loss of momentum.

Testing

In September 2002 the Army Test and Evaluation Command started the 16-day field-testing portion of a formal comparison between the new Stryker Armored Vehicle and the M113A3 Armored Personnel Carrier at Fort Lewis, Wash. Formally dubbed the Medium Armored Vehicle Comparison Evaluation, the test was required by the 2001 National Defense Authorization Act. The comparison started with a 50-mile road march, and the first two mission vignettes are schedule to begin Sept. 13. A wide variety of data was be collected from a platoon of four M113A3s rebuilt by Anniston Army Depot, Ala., and a platoon of four new Strykers delivered to Fort Lewis.

The Army's first Stryker Brigade Combat Team conducted its operational evaluation exercise at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Lousiana. The exercise, named Arrowhead Lightning II, was set to assess the SBCT's ability to conduct early entry and combat operations in a mid- to low- intensity environment against an unconventional enemy. The exercise was set to take place from May 15-27, 2003. Following a month-long training event at Fort Irwin, CA, that ended in mid-April, the brigade transported 1,500 vehicles -- including 293 Stryker vehicles -- by air, land and sea to ports close to Fort Polk. Upon completion of the operational evaluation exercise, the Army was to prepare a report to the Secretary of Defense, who would in turn then have certify to Congress whether the results of the evaluation indicate the design of the SBCT is operationally effective and fully trained before it can be deployed on missions worldwide.

The 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry, of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, (SBCT 2) is deployed their equipment and personnel to Fort Knox, KY, to participate in the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) from June-September 2003.

The battalion also discovered that while the Stryker vehicle can easily ford streams and shallow rivers, Soldiers must take care not to exceed certain speeds. They found that if they entered the water at fast speeds, then water would splash up over the front of the vehicle, filling the engine compartment, causing the vehicle to stall. When the vehicle slowed down, the water would not splash over the hull, and allowed the vehicle to move through the water without stalling.

The Stryker test and evaluation program is challenging because of the requirement to test and evaluate ten different variants. The Army's OE Report concludes, "current design and training performance of the first SBCT meets the requirements of the Organizational and Operational Concept." Based on the Army's assessment, DOT&E does not believe there are any unit design issues. However, the OE was not sufficient to completely address the operational effectiveness and suitability of an SBCT, nor did it address the operational effectiveness, suitability, or survivability of the Stryker vehicles themselves. Stryker vehicle effectiveness, suitability, and survivability will be assessed in the BLRIP report.

The Army has completed the Stryker IOT&E. DOT&E's independent evaluation is ongoing. This evaluation will determine the operational effectiveness and suitability of eight of ten Stryker vehicles types that were available for testing.

Deployment

The first interim brigade combat team contains three substitute vehicles, because the mobile gun system and support systems for the nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaissance vehicle, and the fire support vehicle, would not be ready by May 2003. The Army will not field an interim brigade combat team supported by all configurations of the Stryker until 2005.

For the first time since World War I, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division deployed overseas. The brigade's Stryker vehicles and other equipment arrived 12 November 2003 in the port of Kuwait on board the USNS Shughart and USNS Sisler after a three-week voyage from Fort Lewis, Wash., via the Port of Tacoma. The deployment marks the second time that Stryker vehicles have landed on foreign soil though. In August 2003 a platoon from the Army's first Stryker Brigade Combat team conducted a capabilities demonstration in South Korea.

The Army is betting much of its future on the success of this 19-ton wheeled combat vehicle wrapped in a steel-grilled hoop skirt. In Iraq, the vehicle's combat debut is unfolding with the Army's first Stryker Brigade combat team. This much-debated $10 billion experiment aims to field as many as half a dozen 3,600-soldier units equipped with these high-tech, lightly armored vehicles that can speed infantry to a fight. Unlike an Abrams tank or a Bradley fighting vehicle, the Stryker is a medium-weight, eight-wheel vehicle that can carry 11 soldiers and weapons at speeds of more than 60 miles an hour. With its giant rubber tires instead of noisy tracks, it is fast and quiet and draws on the brigade's reconnaissance drones, eavesdropping equipment and the Army's most advanced communications gear to outflank an enemy rather than outslug it.

Panser Anoa Bersaing dengan Produk Renault

PT(Persero) Pindad menargetkan penjualan pertama 32 unit panser 6X6 "Anoa" ke Malaysia dapat dilakukan akhir 2010. "Ya kita berharap bisa November atau paling telat Desember 2010," kata Dirut PT Pindad Adik Avianto di sela-sela kunjungannya di Defences Services Asia Exhibition and Conference 2010 dan PT SME Ordnance di Kuala Lumpur Jumat. Adik Avianto mengatakan, untuk memenuhi kebutuhan panser 6x6 , maka Malaysia telah melakukan penjajakan ke tiga perusahaan dari tiga negara yakni PT Pindad (Indonesia), Dosaan (Korea Selatan) dan Renault (Perancis).

Dari tiga perusahaan yang dilirik, Malaysia menetapkan dua calon perusahaan yang akan memenuhi kebutuhannya akan panser 6x6, yakni PT Pindad dan Renault.
"Jadi ini suatu kebanggaan juga kita bisa mengungguli Korsel. Kita tinggal melakukan yang terbaik untuk bisa unggul dari Renault," ungkap Adik. Ia mengemukakan, Pindad dan Renault akan unjuk kebolehan dihadapan tim pengadaan Malaysia pada Mei 2010. "Dari segi teknik dan kemampuan, produk kita tidak kalah dengan Renault. Bagaimanapun dia sudah ribuan unit yang diproduksi bahkan Indonesia pun sebagai salah salah pengguna panser sejenis buatan Renault," tutur Adik.

Namun, lanjut dia, dari segi , maka harga Pindad bisa memberikan harga yang lebih bersaing. "Ya kami berharap, bisa lolos pada unjuk kebolehan nanti. Sehingga bisa segera dilakukan kontrak," katanya. Panser 6X6 Pindad merupakan kendaraan tempur pengangkut personel dengan sistem penggerak roda simetris yang dirancang khusus untuk TNI AD, khususnya kavaleri. Panser ini dapat mengangkut 10 personel dengan tiga kru, satu komandan, dan satu "gunner". Panser juga dilengkapi dengan "mounting" senjata 12,7 mm yang dapat berputar 360 derajat. Panser "Anoa" tersebut merupakan salah satu produk primadona PT Pindad yang dipamerkan dalam arena Defences Services Asia Exhibition and Conference 2010 dan PT SME Ordnance di Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Saat ini 13 Panser Anoa juga digunakan oleh TNI dalam misi perdamaian UNIFIL di Lebanon Selain panser, maka PT Pindad juga menampilkan berbagai varian persenjataan personel baik senapan laras panjang maupun pendek.