The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria of Stryker Vehicles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $1.5 billion. The proposed sale will improve Bulgaria’s rapid infantry deployment and force projection capability. Also included is support service equipment; M-153A4 Common Remote Operated Weapons Stations (CROWS); Forward Repair Systems (FRS); M2A1 .50 caliber machine guns; M6 smoke grenade launchers and associated spares; Harris radios; AN/VAS-5 Driver’s Vision Enhancer (DVE); DVE-Wide; communications equipment; RS6 (LW30) Remote Weapon Systems; TACFLIR 280 HDEP systems; Ranger R20SS Radar; ROVER6Si transceivers; spare parts; Basic Issue Items (BII), Components of End Items (COEI), Additional Authorized List (AAL); Special Tools and Test Equipment (STTE); technical manuals; OCONUS Deprocessing Service; OCONUS contractor provided training and Field Service Representatives (FSR); component assembly in-country; and other related elements of logistics and program support. Bulgaria will use this enhanced capability to strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats. Implementation of this proposed sale will require twenty (20) Stryker contractor representatives to travel to Bulgaria for twenty-four (24) months to conduct contractor logistics support, training, and component assembly support. The principal contractor will be General Dynamics Land Systems, Anniston, AL.
The Government of the Republic of Bulgaria has requested to buy one hundred eighty-three (183) Stryker Family of Vehicles. The proposed sale would consist of:
— ninety (90) XM1296 Infantry Carrier Vehicles – Dragoon (ICVD);
— seventeen (17) M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicles (ICV);
— nine (9) M1132 Engineer Squad Vehicles (ESV);
— thirty-three (33) M1130 Command Vehicles (CV);
— twenty-four (24) M1133 Medical Evacuation Vehicles (MEV);
— ten (10) M1135 Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicles (NBCRV);
— five (5) Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) Light Equipment Transports (LET);
— five (5) Modular Catastrophic Recovery Systems (MCRS);
— two (2) M1120A4 HEMTT Load Handling Systems;
— five (5) M984A4 Wrecker HEMTTs; and
— one hundred seven (107) M240 Coaxial 7.62mm machine guns.
The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. It has four-wheel drive (8×4) and can be switched to all-wheel drive (8×8). The Stryker was conceived as a family of vehicles forming the backbone of a new medium-weight brigade combat team (BCT) that was to strike a balance between heavy armor and infantry. The service launched the Interim Armored Vehicle competition, and in 2000, the service selected the LAV III proposed by GDLS and General Motors Defense. The service named this family of vehicles the “Stryker”. Ten variants of the Stryker were initially conceived, some of which have been upgraded with v-hulls. Throughout its years in service, the Stryker has undergone various survivability upgrades and received “kit” applications designed to improve the vehicle’s ability to withstand attacks. The US Army plans to improve its fleet of Stryker vehicles with the introduction of improved semi-active suspension, modifications reshaping the hull into a shallow V-shaped structure, to protect against improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
