The Stryker MGS (full name: Mobile Gun System) is a tank destroyer variant of the Stryker in ArmA 2. It was added with the release of the Operation Arrowhead expansion pack.
Overview[]
- Roles:
- Tank destroyer
- Fire support
- Armoured assault gun
| « | The IAV Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled, all-wheel-drive, armored combat vehicles used by US Army. The vehicles are employed as a part of the Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, light and mobile units based on the Brigade Combat Team Doctrine. This fire support vehicle is armed with a M68A1 105mm rifled tank gun. Armoury Description
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Design[]
The Stryker Mobile Gun System (MGS) is a modified variant of the baseline Stryker IAV which has been retrofitted with a remotely-operated, autoloader-equipped gun turret.
The MGS is designed to serve as a highly mobile tank destroyer/armoured assault gun that can fire a mixture of anti-vehicle and anti-personnel munitions.
Armament
Its rifled 105 mm cannon is loaded with 6 rounds of armour-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) shells by default, and can alternately switch to firing 12 rounds of high-explosive squash head (HESH) shells instead.
Meanwhile, its externally-mounted coaxial M2HB heavy machine gun feeds from a single belt box with 100 rounds of .50 cal ammunition, and has a further five more boxes in reserve (for a total of 600 rounds).
MGS Strykers in combat.
Features
Unlike its parent vehicle, the MGS does away with the hull slat cage and lacks passenger transport capabilities. In exchange, it packs heavier firepower while possessing the same high mobility and good handling of the Stryker.
The Stryker MGS can quickly manoeuvre into a position behind enemy tanks to attack their engines and exposed components, exploiting the weak rear armour that all tanks have in ArmA 2.
Alternatively, its HESH shells can be used to blast open a hole in structures occupied by enemy infantry, or demolish it entirely to clear them out in one go, making it a powerful asset in urban fighting.
Drawbacks
However, it should be noted that although it's intended to be a tank destroyer, the anti-tank capabilities of its 105 mm cannon are rather mediocre. Its APDS shells mostly have limited effectiveness against the armour of modern Main Battle Tanks like the Russian T-90.
Additionally, the vehicle's chassis hasn't been changed in the slightest from the baseline Stryker variants, and therefore shares the same flaw of having relatively thin armour plating.
It is only capable of resisting small arms fire and a very limited number of hits from autocannon shells. Anti-tank missiles, rockets and tank cannons will instantly shred the MGS if it's left exposed to their fire. As a result, it is more effective at providing the firepower of a light/medium tank for infantry squads instead of being used to fight tanks head on.
Crew Capacity
The Stryker MGS only supports a crew of two that consists of the driver and the commander, who doubles as the gunner. It cannot transport any passengers as the rear compartment has been refitted to store ammunition and other components.
Protection[]
The Stryker MGS has a base armour value of 150.
Successful strikes to any of the following highlighted sections will inflict full damage to the component:
Body[]
The hull can resist up to 150 points of damage.
Engine[]
The engine can survive 75 points of damage before failure. A damaged engine will prevent the Stryker MGS from being able to attain its top speed.
Fuel tank[]
The fuel tank can only take a meagre 21 points of damage before rupturing. Incurred damage will cause the Stryker MGS to gradually leak fuel over time.
Wheels[]
The wheels can only take up to 45 points of damage. Bursting the tyres will not affect the Stryker's "health" pool.
Turret[]
The unmanned turret can take 120 points of damage before failure. 30% of damage is always transferred onto the Stryker's "health" pool.
A disabled turret cannot be swivelled in any direction by the gunner, but they can still fire the M68 gun regardless of its status.
Armament[]
NOTE: For specifics on the M68's munitions, see its related section listed here.
Both weapons systems are controlled exclusively by the commander position. For optics, the commander's sight has access to two fields of view and can toggle a day, night or black-hot/white-hot thermal vision mode:
M68[]
105 mm rifled gun. Can load either HE or AP-type munitions.
It can attain a fire rate of 10 rounds per minute (6 second delay) but only requires 2 seconds to swap between shell types. It features an integrated laser rangefinder and can "lock-on" for simplified aiming.
M2HB[]
| Base damage value | Aerodynamic friction | Initial velocity (m/s) |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | -0.00068 | 930 |
Coaxial .50 cal heavy machine gun.
It can attain a fire rate of ~ 545 RPM and has a muzzle velocity of 930 m/s. It takes 6 seconds to reload a fresh belt box. Accuracy-wise, the M2HB has a dispersion of 0.001 rad at distances of up to 1,200 metres away.
Trivia[]
- Unlike other armed variants in the Stryker family, the MGS is the odd one out in that the gunner position's controls are used by the commander instead.
- Despite the fact that its model actually supports having a gunner control the turret, it is not configured to do so by default without a custom addon.
- This often causes issues in Warfare scenarios as the commander position will not be recognised as the gunner, which means that an AI crewman will not be spawned with the vehicle once its deployment is completed.
Gallery[]
External links[]
See also[]
Variants[]
Vehicles of comparable role and configuration[]
- Rhino MGS/Rhino MGS UP (NATO successor, ArmA 3: Tanks only)
 U.S. Army - Vehicles (ArmA 2)
| |
|---|---|
| Wheeled | ATV • HMMWV • Motorcycle • MTVR • Stryker (MGS) |
| Tracked | M1 Abrams (M1A2 TUSK) • M2 Bradley • M270 MLRS |
| Rotor-wing | AH-6J Little Bird (AH-6X) • AH-64D • CH-47F Chinook • MH-6J Little Bird • UH-60 Black Hawk |
| Fixed-wing | A-10 Thunderbolt II • C-130J Hercules • MQ-9 Reaper |
| (Parenthesis) denote variants. Operation Arrowhead | |