Oshkosh Defense [OSK] said Wednesday the company has received a $130 million order to outfit 95 more Stryker vehicles with the new 30mm Medium Caliber Weapon System (MCWS).
The latest Stryker MCWS order arrives as Oshkosh Defense completed risk management testing in April, according to the company, while initiating production for the systems set for delivery ahead of production verification testing later this summer.
“We partner with our customers to offer tailored solutions that meet today’s requirements while staying focused on future growth capability,” Pat Williams, Oshkosh Defense’s vice president and general manager of U.S. Army and Marine Corps programs, said in a statement. “For the MCWS program, our team listened to customer feedback to provide a soldier-centric lethality solution in a lightweight package that’s easy to integrate while maintaining the survivability and mobility performance of the Stryker.”
Last June, the Army selected Oshkosh Defense for the Stryker MCWS program and awarded the company a potential $942 million deal, to include an initial $130 million delivery order covering 91 vehicles (Defense Daily, June 3).
With this third order, Oshkosh Defense said the company has now received $356 million to upgrade 269 Strykers with MCWS for three brigades as well as 20 additional vehicles for further testing and logistics development.
Oshkosh Defense is partnered with Pratt Miller Defense and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems on the MCWS program, which aims to integrate a 30mm, unmanned turreted auto-cannon on Stryker DVHA1 Infantry Carrier Vehicles.
The Army has signed off on plans to procure three brigades worth of Stryker MCWS, while the $942 million contract value reflects the potential for the Army to push that up to six brigades, program officials have said previously.
Williams previously told Defense Daily he sees the company’s work on Stryker MCWS as an opportunity to establish itself as a “credible competitor” in the combat vehicle realm, as it pursues programs such as the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (Defense Daily, Oct. 22 2021).