M1128 Mobile Gun System

The Stryker Mobile Gun System is an eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicle mounting a 105 mm tank gun, based on the Canadian LAV III light-armored vehicle, which in turn is based on the Mowag Piranha. It is in service with the United States and was also being considered for adoption by several other countries, including Canada.

History
Following the end of the Cold War some theorists believed that the existing suite of U.S. armored vehicles, designed largely to fight Soviet mechanized forces in Europe, were not well suited to the lower-intensity missions U.S. armed forces would be tasked with. This led to the development of a new armored fighting vehicle designed for lower-intensity combat, rather than large-scale battle.

This wheeled vehicle would mount a tank gun like the 105 mm gun used in the previous generation of NATO tanks, like the M60 Patton, Centurion, and the Leopard. But, while it would take on some of the roles of tanks, it is not a tank replacement. While it is unlikely to encounter another tank on the modern battlefield, its cousin the M1126 ICV has encountered rocket propelled grenades in Iraq.

Because the Mobile Gun System uses the same chassis as other Mowag Piranha derivatives, it would have the same mobility, and could be rescued or salvaged by a Piranha-derived recovery vehicle. But without a radical redesign, it too would require some re-assembly before it could drive into combat, after being delivered by a C-130.

The turrets proposed for these vehicles have been low profile, remotely controlled, and autoloading. The United States Army version mounts a 105 mm M68A1 rifled cannon (M68A1E4), atop a heavier Stryker chassis, dubbed the M1128 Mobile Gun System.

Canada had liquidated about half of its park of Leopard tanks in the early 2000s, with the intention of replacing them with the airmobile Mobile Gun System. The decision was reversed. In fall of 2006 a squadron of Leopards were sent to Afghanistan, and as of the summer of 2007 Canada is in the process of acquiring 100 surplus Leopard 2 main battle tanks for quick deployment.