Losses among the Army’s Stryker armored vehicles have been rising steadily as the Sunni insurgents/Ba’athists/dead enders/occupation resisters have learned how to defeat them.

BAGHDAD (AP) -- A string of heavy losses from powerful roadside bombs has raised new questions about the vulnerability of the Stryker, the Army's troop-carrying vehicle hailed by supporters as the key to a leaner, more mobile force.

Since the Strykers went into action in violent Diyala province north of Baghdad two months ago, losses of the vehicles have been rising steadily, U.S. officials said.

A single infantry company in Diyala lost five Strykers this month in less than a week, according to soldiers familiar with the losses, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release the information. The overall number of Strykers lost recently is classified.

The M1126 Stryker was always considered an “interim” vehicle, bridging the gap between the heavy-armor divisions containing M1A1 Abrams tanks and M2/M3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles designed to fight WWIII against the Soviet Union, and the envisioned units planned for the Army’s Future Combat System.

The Stryker was designed with a ceramic armor capable of defeating infantry munitions, such as 7.62 mm and 14.5 mm armor-piercing rounds. It was not designed to withstand anti-armor projectiles, such as RPGs. As it was being designed, there were serious weight considerations and changes had to be made.

"We were able to identify a risk and solve it prior to the first vehicle being built," [Project Manager operations officer MAJ Steven] Wall said. "We saved dollars in retrofitting, cost production and we're going to be able to keep the fielding schedule."

When modifications are made to the armor, the vehicle will be able to stop 7.62mm and 14.5mm armor piercing ammunitions, Wall said. He said the armor modifications could not be explained in detail due to security.

Reducing its weight is another modification the Stryker will undergo 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, Wall said that he expects that the vehicles will meet weight limits, which will allow them to be loaded and transported on a C-130 cargo plane. This is a requirement necessary to meet Shinseki's goal of having brigade combat teams that can deploy anywhere in the world within four days.

The weight-trimming, and armor that was understood to be inadequate to the urban combat in Iraq was met with stop-gap measures such as a cage-like barrier protecting the hull. These have proven to be inadequate in many circumstances.

Its [ceramic] armor is ineffective against Rocket Propelled Grenade attacks, a very common type of attack in Iraq. A 5,000 lb improvised "slat" armor add-on, looking like a fence around the vehicle, was fielded for Iraq operations to give added protection. But a December 2004 report showed that even with the added slat-armor, the Stryker has been only 50 percent effective overall against Rocket Propelled Grenades during combat in Iraq. [1] The slat armor add-on does not protect all of the large wheels and only defeats RPGs with High Explosive (HE) warheads. Binary warhead-tipped RPGs have been known to punch through the slat-armor.

Because the Army has been intentionally vague abut Stryker losses it’s difficult to assess their real effectiveness. The vehicle carries a crew of and 11 infantry men, which is more advantageous than the M2 Bradley, which carries six troops.

The Times article quoted SPC Christopher Hagen, “With Strykers, you're mobile, you're fast. You can get anywhere anytime. They bring a lot of troops to the fight.''

The Army sent a battalion of troops, equipped with about 100 Strykers, into Diyala province in March. On the first day of operations, the troops were met with a strong defense, using AK47s, RPGs and roadside IEDs. By the end of the day the battalion had lost 1 KIA, 12 WIA and 2 Strykers. Losses have mounted since then, prompting MG Benjamin Mixon to call for reinforcements in the troubled province.

Mixon did not specify whether more U.S. or Iraqi forces were needed. He made his comments during a news briefing from Iraq via teleconference at the Pentagon.

"We have plans to put additional forces in that area. ... We have put additional forces in there over that last couple months, an additional Stryker battalion, but I'm going to need additional forces in Diyala province to get that situation to a more acceptable level." [video report available]