Americans' Bradley fighting vehicles earn high praise from Ukrainians
Ukrainians highly praise the M2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles provided by the Americans. They withstand machine gun fire and artillery fragments like rain, and the M242 Bushmaster cannon is likened to a "sniper rifle."
Ukrainians received several hundred M2A2 Bradley ODS (Operation Desert Storm) vehicles, which have become one of the Russians' biggest nightmares. In an interview with United24 journalists, Ukrainian crews highlighted several advantages of these vehicles.
The M2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) provide excellent protection against machine gun fire and shrapnel, giving crews immense courage to perform famous raids on Russian positions. During the first stage of the Zaporizhzhia counteroffensive, the crew of one of the Bradley IFVs initially thought the Russian fire was rain.
Ukrainians also praise the mobility of the American machines, which turned out to be even better than the specifications suggested. For example, one Ukrainian reported achieving a higher speed on asphalt and off-road than the declared speeds of 60 km/h and 50 km/h, respectively. Additionally, the driver praises that everything is intuitive and can be learned in 15 minutes. Another crew during the fight fell into a crater caused by the explosion of a 500 kg FAB aerial bomb, from which the Bradley managed to drive out.
The armament is also praised, as the fire control system paired with the M242 Bushmaster automatic cannon, calibre 25 mm, enables, according to the Ukrainian, hitting a target the size of a soldier at a distance of up to 3 km. Additionally, they mention that the ballistic computer automatically calculates all adjustments for the tracked object, so all they have to do is keep the sight on the target and shoot. The only downside the Ukrainian crews mention is the lack of air conditioning.
M2A2 Bradley ODS — a nightmare for Russians
The M2A2 Bradley ODS weighs about 27,000 kg, making it lighter than newer vehicles such as the CV90 or Puma, which weigh around 40,000 kg. Nevertheless, the M2A2 still offers very good protection for the three-person crew and seven dismount soldiers. It is worth noting that some footage showed eight soldiers in Ukraine.
The basic armour protects against heavy machine gun fire of 14.5×114 mm calibre, while the front armour can withstand 30 mm calibre rounds fired from 2A42 automatic cannons. The Bradley can also be equipped with reactive BRAT armour, offering high resistance to fire from handheld anti-tank weapons or FPV drones. The Bradley also demonstrated good crew protection in the event of mine detonations.
In addition to the already mentioned M242 Bushmaster automatic cannon, calibre 25 mm, with a rate of fire of 200 rounds per minute, firing either armour-piercing or high-explosive incendiary M792 HEI-T ammunition, the M2A2 Bradley is also equipped with a dual launcher for BGM-71F (TOW 2B) anti-tank guided missiles.
These missiles can destroy tanks at a distance of up to 3.7 km, attacking the weakest top armour. Although they are an older generation system that requires manual missile guidance to the point of impact and can only be fired while stationary, they remain effective.
