M1126 infantry carrier vehicle

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Stryker infantry carrier vehicle

Most numerous of the Stryker combat vehicle family of the U.S. Army, the M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) carries infantry soldiers into battle and provides them with fire support when they dismount. It carries a basic 9-soldier squad and has a crew of two, and is the primary infantry vehicle of the Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

The vehicle has full time four-wheel drive and selectively eight-wheel drive. With its basic armor, it weighs 19 tons and can reach speeds of 62mph.

ICVs belongs to the general class of armored personnel carriers. It has better protection and speed than the M113, but not as heavy as that of the M2 Bradley. The ICV, however, can be air-transported far more easily than the Bradley.

Its basic armor is proof against 14.5mm heavy machine gun fire or equivalent fragments. In addition, a "slat armor" cage of angled strips can be added to deflect shaped charge munitions. For situations in which the fragmentation of reactive armor is acceptable, applique reactive panels are available.

Armament

As opposed to older APCs where the crew had to expose itself to fire its machine gun, the ICV has a Konigsberg Remote Weapon Station: with a universal soft mount cradle, which can mount either a .50 caliber M2 machine gun, 40mm MK19 grenade launcher or 7.62mm M240 machine gun; the weapons has a thermal sight and can be operated from inside the ICV. The vehicle also has four M6 smoke grenade launchers.

Its infantry squad is its most potent weapon. Organized into two four-man fire teams under a squad leader, each fire team has two M4 carbines, a M249 machine gun and a M320 grenade launcher. The squad leader carries an M4 and a AN/PRC-148 radio; other members of the squad have short-range Land Mobile Radios. All carry night vision goggles and light sources mounted on the Picatinny rails of their individual weapons. The squad has one FGM-148 Javelin missile launcher.

Electronics

Related vehicles

The M113 is also a "battle taxi" from which dismounts are the principal means of fighting. In the cancelled Future Combat Systems, the role was given to the XM1206 infantry carrier vehicle, a Bradley replacement.