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The Strider is a Light Armoured Reconnaissance/MRAP-class vehicle used exclusively by the AAF in ArmA 3.

Overview[]

  • Roles:
    • Troop transport
    • Observation
    • Laser targeting
« The Strider is a medium all-terrain vehicle with amphibious capability and enhanced crew protection, designed for reconnaissance and troop transport roles. It has been adopted by most of the AAF as a replacement for older medium troop transports in the past decade. The unarmed version is fitted with an observation periscope package with thermal imaging and a laser marker.
The armed version of the basic troop transporter is equipped with a Remotely Controlled Weapons System turret fitted with the universal 12.7 mm heavy machinegun or the multi-role 40 mm Grenade Machine Gun. Armed versions share the observation periscope used for reconnaissance missions.
Field Manual
»

Design[]

The Strider is a four-wheel drive armed reconnaissance vehicle. Though its primary mission is observation, it can act as both a light troop transport and scout vehicle as well.

Features
It is available in three variants: a baseline unarmed version that has no weapons mounted on it, and two separately armed versions that have a mounted RCWS turret. The RCWS turrets on the armed variants can either utilise a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun or 40 mm automatic grenade launcher.

Of the three MRAPs, it is the sole vehicle in its class that has amphibious capabilities. It also has smoke launchers that can be used to deploy a thick cloud of smoke to obscure it from view in an emergency. The rear three seats can hold anywhere from one to three passengers, of which none have any control over any of the vehicle (with the exception of the commander, however, who retains control of the periscope camera).

Arma3-strider-00

The adjustable periscope makes the Strider highly useful for reconnaissance purposes.

Notable Traits
In terms of protection, the main advantage that the Strider has over its NATO and CSAT counterparts is the placement of its engine. The engine (and its fuel tank) is located in the rear of the vehicle in a separate compartment instead of being at the front. This can prevent the vehicle from being instantly disabled (or outright destroyed) if it were to be hit by large calibre munitions from the front; though the same cannot be said for the driver.

Drawbacks
The Strider relies heavily on its mobility to avoid being hit in the first place, as even though it shares the same base armour of the other two MRAPs, it cannot protect its passengers from larger explosives and landmines. At the same time, it lacks the slanted windows used by the Ifrit, which would prevent its windows from being shattered so easily by 7.62 mm (or larger) rounds.

Crew Capacity
The Strider always has a seating capacity of four personnel consisting of both the crew and two passengers. The crew includes both the driver and commander and in the case of the armed variants, a gunner as well (who in turn occupies one of the two passenger seats).

Variants[]

Arma3-render-striderdigitalgreen
Unarmed reconnaissance/troop carrier variant. This model supports a driver and up to three passengers.

Arma3-render-striderhmgdigitalgreen
Armed variant.

It is fitted with an RCWS turret that is armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun.

The RCWS comes pre-loaded with a single 200-round and has an extra belt stored in reserve for a combined total of 400 rounds. The gunner sits in the rear left seat next to the commander and controls the RCWS turret via the control station.

Arma3-render-stridergmgdigitalgreen
Alternate armed version of the Strider.

Functionally identical to the HMG variant, with sole difference being the choice of armament, as this variant uses a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher instead. The GMG feeds from a single 96-round belt that is loaded with 40 mm high-explosive (HE) grenades.


(*) Regardless of being armed or not, all variants retain the ability to utilise a laser designator. The designator is integrated into a camera fitted on the top of an extendable mast that is located on the left passenger side of the vehicle (where the commander is seated).

Camouflage[]

  • Digital Green: Digitised semi-fractal camouflage pattern used by all AAF vehicles and aircraft. Suited to forested and grassy environments, but otherwise useless in arid and desert terrain.
  • Sand*: Standard pattern-less olive drab green paint scheme used by all NATO ground vehicles and certain aircraft. This can be universally employed in all types of terrain, but is more suited to arid and forested environments.

(*) Not used by any in-game Strider. Can only be applied via script or using the Virtual Garage.

Protection[]

Striders have base armour values of 200. No matter the variant, they all utilise Composite Armour plating. However, they cannot be fitted with Explosive Reactive Armour blocks/panels, nor can they be fitted with Slat cages.

The following highlighted positions serve as weak points on the Strider:

Arma3-strider-hitpoints

LEGEND
Green = Hull
Orange = Engine
Violet = Fuel tank
Maroon = Turret

Note that although only the armed Strider variant is depicted here, hit zones are identical for all models regardless of configuration with the exception of the turret.


Body[]

The Strider's body can survive 1,600 points of damage. It takes 200% increased damage from high-explosive (HE) type munitions.

Depletion of its integrity will always result in a catastrophic kill.

Hull[]

The hull can resist up to 200 points of damage. Only 20% of damage is transferred onto the Strider's "health" pool.

Munition type Damage reduction (%) Velocity reduction (%)
Armour Piercing None 10
High-Explosive 60* 50
High-Explosive Anti-Tank 60* 80
Tandem High-Explosive Anti-Tank 60* 10

(*) Reductions only apply to the explosive component of the munition i.e. Tandem HEAT explosive charge

If the hull has been compromised, no reductions will be applied to the velocity/raw damage of incoming projectiles.

Engine[]

The engine can survive up to 100 points of damage. At least 40% of incoming damage on the engine will always be shared with the Strider's "health" pool. It reduces up to 20% of incoming damage from HE-type munitions.

Destroying the engine will not cause a catastrophic kill on its own unless the Strider is at critical "health" status.

If damaged: Reduces power output, acceleration is decreased and it may become impossible to climb uphill. The Strider will have incredible difficulty fording over bodies of water.
If destroyed: Instantly immobilises the Strider, regardless of whether it is on land or above water.

Fuel tank[]

The fuel tank can resist up to 100 points of damage before it ruptures. Only 20% of incoming damage against the fuel tank is transferred onto the Strider's "health" pool. It takes 20% less damage to hits to HE-type munitions.

A destroyed fuel tank will not cause a catastrophic kill unless the Strider has been critically damaged.

If damaged: Gradually leak 20% of remaining fuel over time.
If destroyed: Rapidly lose entire fuel supply over several seconds.

Wheels[]

All four of the Strider's wheels are able to resist just 250 points of damage. The tyres are susceptible to small arms fire and take 400% additional damage from HE-type munitions. However, no amount of incoming damage will be transferred onto the Strider's main "health" pool.

Destroying all of the Strider's wheels will be needed to immobilise it. Depending on which and how many are remaining, it is entirely possible for the Strider to continue driving even with three of its tyres missing (any type of manoeuvre will be almost impossible to perform, however).

RCWS[]

The RCWS turret on armed variants can only survive 40 points of damage before failing. Damage upon the turret will not be shared with the Strider's main "health" pool.

Munition type Damage reduction (%) Velocity reduction (%)
Armour Piercing None 10
High-Explosive 60* 50
High-Explosive Anti-Tank 60* 80
Tandem High-Explosive Anti-Tank 60* 10

(*) Reductions only apply to the explosive component of the munition i.e. Tandem HEAT explosive charge

If the RCWS turret's armour plating has been compromised, no reductions will be applied to the velocity/raw damage of incoming projectiles.

Armament[]

The gunner position exclusively controls all weapon systems remotely on the armed variants. The gunner's optics have variable zoom capability, and can toggle either day, night or black-/white-hot thermal vision mode:

RCWS HMG 12.7 mm[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-strider-rcwshmg127mm

NOTE: Only available on the Strider HMG variant.

Base damage value Aerodynamic friction Initial velocity (m/s) Penetration depth (mm)
30 -0.00086 910 35.49

General-purpose 12.7 mm heavy machine gun.

The RCWS HMG can attain a fire rate of up to 600 rounds per minute and requires 20 seconds to reload a fresh box or to fully rearm from a logistics vehicle. Accuracy-wise, it has a fixed dispersion of 0.0012 rad regardless of distance.

The Fire Control System is only able to automatically zero on stationary targets and requires 1 second to finish adjusting. Manual zeroing is also possible, though only in increments/decrements of 100 m (up to a maximum of 2000 m).

RCWS GMG 40 mm[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-strider-rcwsgmg40mm

NOTE: Only available on the Strider GMG variant.

Damage type Base damage value Aerodynamic friction Initial velocity (m/s)
High-Explosive Anti-Tank 100 -0.001 241

40 mm automatic grenade launcher. Fires grenades fitted with high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads. They have a blast radius of 4 metres.

It can attain a fire rate of up to approximately ~ 349 RPM. It also requires at least 20 seconds to reload a fresh belt of grenades or to fully rearm from a logistics vehicle. Accuracy-wise, the GMG has a dispersion of 0.005 rad.

The FCS can only zero onto stationary targets and requires 1 second to finish adjusting. Like the RCWS HMG, manual zeroing is also possible with adjustments being made in increments/decrements of 100 m. However, it is restricted to a hard cap of 1500 m which cannot be exceeded even by the FCS.

Trivia[]

  • The Strider is based on the real-world "LGS Fennek" LARV.
    • It is incorrectly classified in-game as an MRAP. While the real-world Fennek is sufficiently protected against fire from small arms calibres ranging from 5.45 mm up to 7.62 mm and other non-IED hazards, it is still very much just a dedicated scout vehicle. It does not have the necessary level of armour protection that would be required to ensure the safety of its occupants or the vehicle itself from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).[1]
    • In-game however, the Strider is unrealistically shown being able to resist an impossible amount of punishment even from medium-sized IEDs as statistically, its body has an even higher armour value than that of the Hunter's. Nonetheless, it will still blow up soon after being struck by one due to its increased damage penalty from explosives.
  • Although it was prominently featured in pre-Alpha promotional screenshots, the Strider would not become a driveable asset until the release of the Beta (as part of Game Update 0.70).[2]
  • Despite its deceptively small size and seemingly light weight, the Strider is actually the heaviest of the three MRAP-class vehicles in ArmA 3, with the AAF's own Mohawk helicopter being unable to slingload any variant of the Strider.
  • Prior to the Laws of War DLC (pre-Tanks DLC armour overhaul), the Strider's frontal armour was strangely capable of withstanding multiple direct hits from 30 mm/40 mm HE and AP-type autocannon shells. Its resistance to such projectiles was greatly reduced after Game Update 1.76.[3]
  • After the Tanks DLC was released, the Strider's armour plating was significantly weakened for unknown reasons. This made it possible to destroy the Strider catastrophically by just emptying a single magazine's worth of 7.62 mm bullets into it. This was eventually fixed by the release of Game Update 1.84.[4]
  • Following an overhaul to ArmA 3's thermal imaging systems in Game Update 2.10, the commander's terminal now properly renders its display in green-/black-hot thermal vision when either mode is activated and the user isn't "looking" through it (previously the display could only render in white- and black-hot).[5]
The information below details unused, pre-release or removed content.
  • Arma3-natogorgonstrider

    Sand paint scheme applied to the Gorgon and Strider. The Strider can still have its NATO texture applied in the Virtual Garage, though the same cannot be done to the Gorgon without use of scripting commands.

    Media released during the pre-Alpha phase of ArmA 3's development indicated that the Strider was originally meant to be used by NATO as well, similar to how the A-143 Buzzard itself was originally intended to be a CSAT jet aircraft.[6]
    • By the time of the Alpha's release however, the Strider was changed to be used exclusively by the AAF. NATO on the other hand, would be altered to use the Hunter as their MRAP-type vehicle instead (which also used to be a CSAT vehicle prior to the Alpha's release).
    • The pre-Alpha NATO texture can still be applied to the Strider, although it can only be done in the Virtual Garage or through the setObjectTexture scripting command.[7]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Army-technology.com 2000, Fennek – Wheeled Armed Reconnaissance Vehicle, Army-technology.com, viewed 24 March 2023, <https://www.army-technology.com/projects/fennek/>.
  2. Bohemia Interactive a.s., 2013, What's New in the Beta, Arma 3, viewed 21 December 2022, <https://arma3.com/whatsnew/beta>.
  3. van 't Land, J.J. 2017, SPOTREP #00073, Arma 3, viewed 28 November 2023, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00073>.
  4. Kovařič, V 2018, SPOTREP #00081, Arma 3, viewed 28 November 2023, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00081>.
  5. van 't Land, J.J. 2022, SPOTREP #00105, Arma 3, viewed 23 August 2022, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00105>.
  6. Arma Platform 2012, Arma 3 - 'Stratis' Teaser, 6 April, viewed 24 March 2023, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXIoEUq8YE8>.
  7. ARMA 3 2013 [Video Game], Bohemia Interactive a.s., \a3\soft_f_beta\mrap_03\data\mrap_03_ext_co.paa

External links[]

See also[]

Vehicles of comparable role and configuration[]

Vehicles of ArmA 3
Wheeled AFV-4 GorgonAMV-7 MarshallHatchbackHEMTTHunterIfritKartMB 4WDMSE-3 MaridOffroadProwlerQilinRhino MGS (UP) • StriderSUVTempestTractorTruckQuadbikeUGV StomperVanZamak (MRL)
Tracked 2S9 SochorAWC NyxBTR-K KamyshCRV-6e BobcatED-1D Mini UGV (ED-1E) • IFV-6a CheetahIFV-6c PantherFV-720 MoraM2A1 Slammer (A4 UP) • M4 ScorcherM5 SandstormMBT-52 KumaT-100 Varsuk (X Futura) • T-140 Angara (T-140K) • ZSU-39 Tigris
Rotor-wing AH-9 PawneeAH-99 BlackfootAR-2 DarterCH-49 MohawkCH-67 HuronDemining DroneMH-9 Hummingbird (M900) • Mi-48 KajmanMi-290 TaruMQ-12 FalconPO-30 OrcaUH-80 Ghost HawkUtility DroneWY-55 Hellcat
Fixed-wing A-143 BuzzardA-149 GryphonA-164 WipeoutCaesar BTTF/A-181 Black Wasp IIKH-3A FenghuangMQ-4A GreyhawkTo-199 NeophronTo-201 ShikraUCAV SentinelV-44X BlackfishY-32 Xi'an
Aquatic Assault BoatMotorboatRHIBSpeedboatSDVWater Scooter
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Karts DLC | Helicopters DLC | Apex DLC | Jets DLC | Laws of War DLC | Tanks DLC | Contact DLC
Arma3-factionicon-aaf AAF - Vehicles (ArmA 3)
Wheeled AFV-4 GorgonQuadbikeStriderUGV StomperZamak (MRL)
Tracked AWC NyxED-1D Pelter (ED-1E Roller) • FV-720 MoraMBT-52 Kuma
Rotor-wing AR-2 DarterAL-6 PelicanCH-49 MohawkWY-55 Hellcat
Fixed-wing A-143 BuzzardA-149 GryphonK40 Abalil-3
Aquatic Assault Boat (Rescue) • Speedboat MinigunSDV
Parenthesis denote variants.
Jets DLC | Laws of War DLC | Tanks DLC | Contact DLC
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