Bradley IFV adapts with cage armor to counter new Russian drones

The M2A2 Bradley ODS infantry fighting vehicles are among the best machines of this type received by Ukraine. Unfortunately, the number available compared to what's needed is too small. However, soldiers from the 47th Mechanized Brigade are known for heroic charges that inflict severe losses on the Russians.

This makes the M2A2 Bradleys one of the key targets for Russians, who aim to destroy them using the best available equipment. Until now, Ukrainian Bradleys have been relatively safe from FPV drone attacks, as many units were equipped with effective jammers provided by countries like Lithuania.

The situation changed in recent months when Russians began mass-producing Vandal-type FPV drones. Their secret lies in the connection between the drone and the control station via a deployable fibre-optic cable, making them impossible to jam. The only defence against them is shooting them down before they reach their target or employing passive defences.

The latter includes mesh screens intended to prematurely detonate a warhead. The recording below shows a Bradley unit with its turret encased in a steel cage. The hull does not require reinforcement because it is densely covered with BRAT reactive armour blocks.

Due to payload limitations, FPV drones most often carry anti-tank bomblets from cluster munitions capable of penetrating about 20 centimetres of steel armour, or PG-7VL grenades able to penetrate 50 centimetres of steel with the tail section removed, used in RPG-7 launchers.

Both methods use the cumulative effect to penetrate armour, which has significant armour-penetrating capabilities relative to their own mass. However, the resulting cumulative jet has a very limited range. For example, detonating the warhead about 60 centimetres from the armour will perforate 2 centimetres of steel armour without issue, which would not be possible under optimal conditions.

For this reason, adding grills or nets provides good protection against simple cumulative weapons. However, such protection can be overcome with a tandem warhead having two charges; the smaller first charge creates a breach in such a shield for the larger one to detonate under favourable conditions.

This is standard in most modern anti-tank weapons, but not in the case of drones. The problem is the increased mass of such warheads, likely too large for FPV drones currently also carrying spools of deployable fibre-optic cables.

The M2A2 Bradley ODS weighs about 27,000 kilograms, which is somewhat lighter than better-armoured IFVs like the CV90 or Puma, which weigh around 40,000 kilograms. However, the M2A2 Bradley still offers a much higher level of protection for its three-person crew and seven dismounted soldiers than constructions in the BMP family.

The basic armour provides protection against fire from heavy machine guns such as the KPW calibre 14.5×114 mm, while the frontal armour can withstand 30 mm calibre projectiles fired from 2A42 automatic cannons. Additionally, the aforementioned BRAT reactive armour offers good protection against weapons with cumulative warheads.

As for armament, the main striking force is the M242 Bushmaster automatic cannon with a calibre of 25 mm, capable of 200 rounds per minute, firing armour-piercing or high-explosive incendiary M792 HEI-T ammunition. Additionally, the M2A2 Bradley is equipped with a dual launcher for BGM-71F (TOW 2B) anti-tank guided missiles.

This, combined with a fire control system with thermal imaging, allows for rapid detection and elimination of targets both at night and in adverse weather conditions. It is also worth noting that the ODS (Operation Desert Storm) variant is characterized, for example, by the use of a newer laser rangefinder compared to the M2A2 Bradley version.