AP, WASHINGTON — The weight of the Army's new armored vehicle significantly restricts the flight range of the C-130 cargo aircraft that transport it, say congressional investigators.
In fact, under certain conditions the investigators said the weight of the Stryker vehicle makes it impossible for the military cargo planes to take off.
“The Stryker's average weight of 38,000 pounds — along with other factors such as added equipment weight and less than ideal flight conditions — significantly limits the C-130's flight range and reduces the size force that could be deployed,” according to a report from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.
Friday's GAO report also said a C-130 carrying a Stryker would not be able to take off from all locations in higher elevations, such as Afghanistan, during daytime hours in summer.
The Stryker, an eight-wheeled armored vehicle, is the Army's first new combat vehicle in two decades. It was widely viewed as a visible symbol of efforts to transform the Army into a faster, more agile fighting force. But critics have questioned its survivability and capabilities.
The Army originally outlined operational requirements that sought to have a Stryker weigh 38,000 pounds or less so that it could be transported in a C-130 for up to 1,000 miles.
The report, however, says that under ideal conditions with moderate air temperatures the C-130 would only be able to transport the Stryker for up to 860 miles. Add about 2,000 pounds of equipment and ammunition and the flight range is cut to only 500 miles, the report said.
The Army also initially wanted the Strykers to be ready for combat immediately upon unloading from the cargo plane onto the battlefield. The report challenged whether such a scenario would be possible because of the weight of the Strykers, plus additional gear and equipment.
Calls to the Pentagon for a response were not immediately returned.
But in its response to the GAO report, the Defense Department agreed that “operational requirements for airlift capability for brigade transport need clarification.”
