AFU will fight Russian troops having one of the best vehicles: what makes M2 Bradley so powerful on the battlefield?

The beginning of 2023 was marked by a number of positive news from Ukraine's allies regarding supply of new weapons, and one of the most interesting samples among all "new products" that Ukrainian Armed Forces will receive is Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.

So, in a record package of defence assistance, the United States will immediately give us 50 of these infantry fighting vehicles, as well as ammunition of 500 TOW anti-tank missiles and 250,000 25 mm rounds for automatic cannon of this infantry fighting vehicle.

The USA will hand over 50 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. https://www.politico.com/

It is difficult to overestimate importance of supply of this machine to Ukrainian Armed Forces, because, firstly, it is a kind of "call to action" for other countries and, for example, Germany has already announced supply of its Marder vehicles, and, secondly, this equipment will help to form a "fist" for further counteroffensive operations of Ukrainian Armed Forces. So let's try to figure out what kind of machine it is that will strengthen our Armed Forces.

How Bradley infantry fighting vehicle appeared

And to begin with, some history. The M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle was created in the second half of 1970s - this machine was supposed to be an improved alternative to M113 armored personnel carriers (which are also in service with Ukrainian Armed Forces) and was created taking into account the experience of using Soviet BMP-1 and development of German Marder IFV.

This vehicle was adopted in 1981, and was tested in a number of armed conflicts. And among all, it is worth noting that during Operation Desert Storm, M2 Bradley IFV with TOW ATGM destroyed more tanks than that same Abrams.

How many such vehicles does the USA have?

One of the good news about M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles is that since the beginning of serial production of these machines, thousands of them have been created and currently there are many of these infantry fighting vehicles in US warehouses, which could, in theory, strengthen Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Military Balance indicates that the US has more than 2,500 M2A2/A3 M2A2s in service, with more than 2,000 M2 Bradleys in storage. And this amount is enough to regularly supply these vehicles to Ukraine.

What version of M2 Bradley will Ukrainian Armed Forces receive?

As reported by Pentagon's official representative, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, Ukraine will receive Bradley infantry fighting vehicles in the M2A2 ODS version, and this is actually a very powerful choice for our military.

But first, let's talk about the M2A2 version, production of which started in 1988, when the vehicle received a number of advantages that will allow it to be used more effectively on the battlefield.

The following should be noted about weapons. Bradley infantry fighting vehicle is equipped with a 25 mm M242 Bushmaster cannon, which allows it to destroy targets at a distance of 2 km. At the same time, it was in the M2A2 version that this machine got the opportunity to hit the enemy with new M919 APFSDS-T rounds with a depleted uranium core, which are primarily designed to counter such Russian machines as BMP-3.

This vehicle is also equipped with two launchers of anti-tank missiles of TOW complex, which can penetrate up to 900 mm of dynamic protection armor at a distance of about 4 km.

In the new version, the machine also received more powerful armor, which can protect against 30 mm shells, and also demonstrates itself effectively against anti-tank grenade launchers. At the same time, additional armor increased the combat weight of the machine to 30-33 tons, and Bradley eventually began to be equipped with a more powerful engine (up to 600 hp) and received an upgraded transmission. This slightly reduced the cruising range (up to 426 km on the highway) and maximum speed (up to 61 km/h).

As for modernization of M2A2 ODS, it was already created taking into account the experience of using these machines during the Operation Desert Storm, and primarily concerned electronic systems of this IFV.

For example, the vehicle received the combat information system FBCB2 or Force XXI Battle Command Division and Below, thanks to which machine can exchange intelligence, in particular, with other machines that have the same system on board. At the same time, in order to integrate FBCB2 into Bradley, tactical navigation system TACNAV was also installed on this IFV, which is required to determine coordinates of the vehicle and parameters of movement. Among the updates are laser rangefinder Eye-safe Laser Rangefinder, which works at a distance of up to 10 km with accuracy of up to 5 m, and digital orientation system DCS (Digital Compass Systems) and other devices.

After all, the landing compartment was redesigned taking into account the fact that fighters could leave the vehicle faster (Bradley infantry fighting vehicle in this version is designed for 3 crew members and 6 paratroopers).

Therefore, Ukrainian Armed Forces will receive a rather powerful infantry fighting vehicle, which was created taking into account countermeasures against Soviet equipment in battles. Now the question is how quickly these machines will reach Ukrainian Armed Forces and how many machines are in the plans for next packages of defense assistance.

Oleksiy Levkov, Defense Express - specially for Espreso TV.