The WarHorse Brigade at Fort Carson, Colorado began fielding and training on the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station-Javelin and the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station on February 7. The fielding of the new system, which replaces the Remote Weapon Station, is part of a larger effort to give Strykers more lethal capabilities. The CROWS and CROWS-J system also allows for Soldiers to engage threats from inside the Stryker, providing a more lethal approach to eliminating threats from a distance. The systems include improved visual capabilities, increasing Stryker’s lethality. The WarHorse Brigade began its transition from a light infantry brigade to a Stryker brigade in the summer of 2020 and became fully mission-capable as a Stryker brigade in late 2021. These latest upgrades to the brigade’s fleet make it the most modernized in the U.S. Army.
“This modernization enhances our Soldiers’ ability to detect, identify and destroy targets and achieve overmatch against peer threats. Including both optics and control of the primary vehicular weapon system, they allow operators to engage targets from inside the vehicle at an extreme distance with an increased resolution in the camera feed,” said Col. Andrew Kiser, commander of 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
“It improves crew safety and survivability. We can engage farther than a dismounted javelin. It makes us the most lethal Stryker brigade in the Army,” said Sgt. Joshua Carroll, an infantryman with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2SBCT, 4th Inf. Div.
The U.S. Army developed the Stryker Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station – Javelin (CROWS-J) in response to an Operational Needs Statement submitted in March 2015. It is not a Program of Record. When fielding is complete, the 81 Stryker CROWS-J will comprise 50 percent of the vehicles in the rifle and scout platoons in the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (2CR). When equipped with the Stryker CROWS-J, the majority of infantry and scout platoons from the 2CR were able to engage targets with the Javelin missile and accomplish their assigned tactical task and purpose. The Stryker CROWS-J improves unit lethality by enabling crews to detect, identify, and defeat targets at greater ranges
and against a wider array of enemy targets than non-equipped crews. The platform meets reliability requirements for the weapon station without degrading the reliability of the base chassis.
CROWS-J is an M153 CROWS II system manufactured by Kongsberg that has been modified through the addition and
fi re control integration of the FGM-148 Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM). In conjunction with the Javelin missile, the CROWS II mounts either an M2 .50 caliber machine gun, M240 7.62 mm machine gun, or an MK-19 40 mm automatic grenade launcher. The CROWS II is stabilized, electrically operated, and incorporates a Detached Line-of-Sight (DLOS), which allows the gunner to maintain a stable sight picture independent of weapon or ammunition selection. The CROWS-J replaces the legacy Remote Weapon Station (RWS) mounted on the Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) and gives infantry and scout soldiers the ability to engage targets with the Javelin missile while under armor. It increases the range and expands the target array of enemy vehicles that can be defeated by the
Stryker Brigade Combat Team, including armored vehicles.
