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New weapon set to psych out insurgents

May- 4-2007 » Filed Under: 4/2 SBCT

By Matthew Cox, Army Times

A fresh Army Stryker brigade recently entered Iraq armed with the Mobile Gun System.

The MGS has a stabilized, direct-fire 105mm cannon mounted atop a Stryker vehicle for destroying hard targets such as bunkers and barricaded enemy positions.

The 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash., is the first these fast-moving units to deploy with the new system.

The unit had a chance to test-fire the new MGS Strykers in Kuwait before crossing into Iraq.

The MGS is equipped with a digital targeting system that calculates effects of wind and barometric pressure on the 105mm rounds to improve their accuracy.

The test fire at Udairi Range marked the first time the unit had fired with live, explosive rounds.

“We are an infantry support vehicle,” Sgt. 1st Class John Abronski, a platoon sergeant with 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, said in an Army press release. Abronski would not discuss specifics about how the Stryker will be used in Iraq but said the MGS will give the unit a psychological edge.

“If I was looking down this barrel, I’d consider it a deterrent,” he said.

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