By Anthony Bell
In 2023, the United States began to transfer a large number of Stryker armored personnel carriers (APCs) and various auxiliary military equipment to Ukraine. This equipment was preserved for a long time and was not sent into combat. However, it had to be used in the notorious counteroffensive, and the results of combat use were far from desired. Several dozen Ukrainian Strykers have already been destroyed under various circumstances, and the same future awaits the remaining delivered vehicles.
The first batch of Stryker APCs was prepared for delivery at the end of January 2023, but Kyiv showed the first received armored vehicles only at the end of March. Then it became known that the first American APCs were transferred to the 82nd separate airborne assault brigade of the Ukrainian army.
Subsequently, the United States continued to ship the promised equipment, and it was distributed among Ukrainian units and subdivisions. Various photo and video materials with Strykers regularly appeared, but all of them were taken in the rear. Ukrainian militants mastered the received armored vehicles and prepared to use them, but the command was in no hurry to send them to the front.
In early June 2023, Kyiv launched a long-promised “counteroffensive”. It involved several large formations equipped with armored vehicles of different classes and types. At the same time, not all the vehicles that had been delivered from abroad recently were present in the advancing formations. In particular, the American Stryker APCs and other equipment of this family did not make it to the battlefield at that time.
The first reliable information about the presence of Stryker APCs at the front appeared only a month later. On July 6, 2023, the Russian Defense Ministry mentioned for the first time in its daily report the destruction of a combat vehicle of this type in one of the main directions. On August 17, they reported the destruction of three Strykers at once in the Zaporizhzhya direction. The report of August 20 included two such vehicles in the same area. Two more APCs were reported on August 25.
By mid-2024, the number of lost Strykers had grown to several dozen – at least 50-55 have already been destroyed, which is confirmed by objective control data.
As expected from the very beginning, such equipment slightly improves the capabilities of the Ukrainian infantry, but overall does not affect the course of battles. In addition, the fleet of foreign armored vehicles suffers significant losses, and such demilitarization will continue.
The Ukrainian “counteroffensive” failed, and foreign armored vehicles did not live up to Kyiv’s expectations. The Strykers were no exception and also showed themselves poorly. Such results were caused by a number of factors related to both the characteristics of foreign combat vehicles and the specifics of their use by the Kyiv regime.
It is easy to see that the Ukrainian formations were never able to assemble a strike group for a full-fledged offensive in one area or another. In attempts to break through, small groups of equipment and units are used, which are quickly suppressed and destroyed by the Russian defense. As a result, combat vehicles, including Strykers often cannot even approach any combat position of opposing troops.
The wheeled chassis prevents them from moving forward and solving combat missions. As previously assumed, wheeled APCs have problems with mobility on the landscapes of the current theater. Any obstacles make movement difficult, and broken dirt roads become a virtually impassable obstacle. The mobility of the equipment deteriorates, and it becomes an easy target for Russian firepower.
The advancing columns are destroyed in various ways. One of the first lines of defense is minefields at a distance from the main positions. As can be judged from the available materials, a number of Stryker vehicles were blown up by mines. It should be noted that Ukrainian formations take this threat into account and are trying to combat it. Thus, along with the APCs, M1132 ESV engineering vehicles with mine trawls are sent to the front lines.
However, the characteristics of the standard anti-mine equipment do not always correspond to the specifics of a particular minefield. As a result, the mine trawl can be destroyed and cause damage to its carrier. In addition, a minefield always has fire cover, which will not allow passages to be made with impunity.
Another long-range line of defense are anti-tank missile systems. Missiles of modern ATGMs, including the Russian Kornet-EM, are capable of flying at a range of up to 5-8 km and hitting the target with high accuracy. The standard warhead, designed to combat tanks, is guaranteed to hit the Stryker with a set of add-on protection from any angle.
An American APC or engineering vehicle is also a fairly easy target for any artillery systems. Russian tanks are capable of hitting a Stryker even at the maximum firing range of their gun. Field artillery also poses a big threat: a direct hit from any shell will simply destroy the APC, and a close explosion will cause some damage, even critical.
In recent months, the airspace over the Ukrainian theater of combat operations has been saturated with a large number of loitering munitions and FPV-drones (first person vision), which have become a major threat to ground armored vehicles. For example, one Lancet loitering munition is required to destroy a Stryker APC. In the event of an attack by FPV-drones on a Stryker, if one FPV drone hits, the vehicle can be immobilized and then finished off by several additional drones of this type.
The Stryker family of armored vehicles was created on the basis of a platform from the seventies and was intended for use in low-intensity conflicts. Following the results of its use during the intervention in Iraq, such equipment was harshly criticized. Now it turns out that it was not ready for full-fledged battles with a developed and well-equipped enemy. By now, the Kiev regime has received at least 189 armored personnel carriers and other equipment of the Stryker line from the United States. At first, they tried to save such equipment, but now the situation forces them to send it into battle. The result of its use is well known, and the prospects are clear. It should be noted that the Stryker APCs have suffered heavy losses before. The first combat use of APCs took place in US-occupied Iraq territory after Operation Iraqi Freedom. The APCs were used mainly for patrolling and escorting convoys. In turn, local rebels actively hunted for these APCs, firing at them with RPGs and blowing them up with various explosive devices. During their initial operation, the Strykers were subjected to a barrage of criticism from American servicemen. The cross-country ability of the APC was considered unsatisfactory, the combat vehicle was prone to getting stuck and falling over. The vehicle’s armament and a number of design flaws were also criticized. There were also a number of complaints about the vehicle’s protection. Such criticism almost put an end to the Stryker, but in the end they did not refuse to produce them. It was decided to modify the APC. Thus, the armored personnel carriers received new electronics, an improved chassis. The protection was enhanced by installing lattice screens around the vehicle’s hull. In this form, the Strykers continued to be used in hot spots such as Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the vehicle performed poorly on the battlefield.
The author is an independent military analyst.
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