US 2nd Cavalry Regiment wants some 30mm automatic cannon on its 8x8 Stryker armored vehicles.

The Army staff officially approved the proposition made by the House Committee on Armed Services. The 2nd Cavalry Regiment wants some 81 of its eight-wheel-drive (8x8) Stryker infantry carrier vehicles fitted with 30 millimeter automatic cannon. Currently, Stryker are armed with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun. Upgraded them with a 30mm cannon would increase considerably their lethality.

There are currently some 100 plus Stryker Mobile Gun System fitted with a 105mm cannon but the project reportedly is unsatisfactory. 30mm seems to be a more manageable size that would give the Stryker significant killing power against other light armored vehicles. It’s actually a bigger weapon than the 25mm chaingun installed on M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.

The 2nd Cavalry wants the weapons because it’s the only one remaining Army’s armored unit in Europe. There are only two US combat brigades still based on the continent, the 2nd Cav in Vilseck, Germany and the 173rd Airborne in Vicenza, Italy, a light infantry formation. The Army has no heavy tank forces permanently stationed in Europe anymore.