The Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense System (M-SHORAD), also known as the Sergeant Stout, integrates existing guns, missiles and sensors onto Stryker A1 vehicles to create a mobile air defense system against low-altitude threats.

In 2024, the M-SHORAD was renamed the Sergeant Stout in honor of Medal of Honor awardee Sgt. Mitchell William Stout, an artilleryman who died in combat protecting his fellow soldiers in Vietnam.

The Sergeant Stout is designed to defend maneuvering ground forces against unmanned aircraft systems and rotary-wing and residual fixed-wing threats.

The eight-wheeled Stryker vehicle was selected to carry the system because of its superior mobility and protection.

Its advanced electro-optical and infrared onboard sensors provide continuous aerial and ground-based surveillance which enables the identification and tracking of air and ground-based threats as well as situational awareness.

Those sensors are complemented by an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system that provides 360-degree surveillance and detects and tracks missiles and small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Countering low flying threats

UAVs, also known as drones, can be used to penetrate enemy airspace, conduct surveillance, provide support for ground troops and even directly attack targets.

But UAVs can pose a threat from enemies on the battlefield as well -- especially as the technology evolves. US Army leadership considers small enemy drones and drone swarms to be a top threat to soldiers, reports Breaking Defense.

Each M-SHORAD has two AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missiles, which can conduct ground strikes and counter low and slow threats such as hovering helicopters or drones. The missiles can reach ranges of 7–11km while flying at subsonic speeds.

The Sergeant Stout also has an XM914 30mm automatic cannon and an M-240 7.62mm machine gun.

Its ordnance is rounded out by a launcher carrying four anti-air FIM-92 Stinger missiles. The passive infrared seekers of the missiles enable homing on airborne targets, and the missile itself can travel at supersonic speeds of Mach 2.2 within its firing range of about 8km.

In recent years, the Army has been testing Directed Energy M-SHORADs, also known as M-SHORAD Increment 2, which rely on a 50-kilowatt laser as primary armament.

The Army has approval for 162 Sergeant Stout systems but plans to expand that number to 312 systems.

The 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment was the first regiment to be fully outfitted with M-SHORADs in 2022.