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= XM707/M707 Knight (formerly Striker) =

Description
The M707 Knight (originally known as the Striker and changed to prevent confusion with the Stryker armored vehicle) was a vehicle based on the HMMWV family of vehicles that performed 24 hour terrain surveillance, target acquisition, and target location and mission execution in Combat Observation Lasing Teams (COLT), an element of modular Infantry Brigade Combat Teams, determined by the US Army to be a "key enabler" of the concept. The vehicle could also designates targets for Laser Guided Ordnance, and perform fire support missions, which included command and control of indirect fires.

Components
The initial XM707 Striker configuration utilized an M1025A2 HMMWV weapons carrier provided by Project Manager - Light Tactical Vehicles (PM-LTV) and included the following components:
 * Point and Click Targeting
 * Laser Rangefinder/Designator (G/VLLD)
 * AN/TAS-4B Night Sight
 * Handheld Terminal Unit (HTU) for Dismount Operations
 * Pentium Lightweight Computer Unit (LCU)
 * Host for FOS Software
 * Inertial Navigation System (INS) and Enhanced PLGR

Striker was the functional equivalent of the M7 Bradley Fire Support Team (BFIST) system mounted on a HMMWV.

Production.
An initial operational test and evaluation of Striker was to be combined with the M7 BFIST initial operational test and evaluation. However, the initial operational test and evaluation, planned for 3rd Quarter FY00, was unfunded as of July 2000. The Government Accountability Office suggested in July 2000 that initial operational test and evaluation might be delayed. Strikers were scheduled to be fielded to the 1st Cavalry Division and the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment by the end of 2004, but the 4th Infantry Division was not scheduled to receive its Strikers until 2005. As of July 2000, the initial fielding of the Striker would be to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart.

By 2003 the GVLLD was replaced with Raytheon's Fire Support Sensor System (FS3) instead of the GVLLD. This system was also integrated into the M1131 Stryker Fire Support Vehicle (FSV) and later onto the M1200 Armored Knight. The vehicle remained based on the M1025A2 HMMWV. The M707 Knight equipped with the FS3 would help bridge the sensor capability gap by providing fire supporters with a 2nd Generation FLIR optic (LRAS 3) and a Laser Designation Module (LDM), which greatly enhanced the capability to locate and designate targets. The M707 Knight fitted with the FS3 had 5 times the range capability of the M707 with the older GVLLD. With the FS3 it also exceeded the 5 kilometer night designation ORD requirement, in which vehicles with AN/TAS-4 on the obsolete GVLLD achieved a less than 2 kilometer night designation range.

DRS Sustainment Systems Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri was awarded on 28 July 2006, an $8,303,540 modification to a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract by Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments for engineering and logistics systems technical support for the M707 Knight Vehicle system. Work would be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and was expected to be completed by 20 July 2007.

By 2006, the vulnerability of the M707 Knight led to the development of a replacement vehicle for COLTs utilizing the M1117 Armored Security Vehicle. The resulting M1200 Armored Knight was intended to replace the M707 Knight HMMWV and M981 Fire Support Team Vehicles (FIST-V) used by COLTs in both the Heavy and Infantry Brigade Combat Teams. The M1200 Armored Knight was the solution for fulfilling the Operational Needs Statement entitled "M707 Knight System M1114 Installation Kits," dated 17 April 2006. This was due to weight limitations resulting in excessive operating restrictions when the M707 Knight components were installed on the M1114 Up-Armored HMMWV.

DRS Sustainment Systems Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded on 25 January 2007, a $9,999,948 modification to a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract by US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command for engineering and logistics systems technical support for the M707/M1200 Knight Vehicle Systems. Work would be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and was expected to be completed by 30 September 2008.

DRS Sustainment Systems, Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded on 25 July 2008, a $5,734,002 cost-plus fixed-fee contract by US Army TACOM for engineering and logistics level of effort, systems technical support in support of the M707 Knight and Armored Knight vehicles. Work would be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and was expected to be completed by 30 September 2009.