Ukraine's Bradley: A formidable foe against Russian forces
Infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) M2A2 Bradley ODS are renowned for their numerous charges against Russian forces by the 47th Independent Mechanized Brigade crews. During an operation near a village in the Donetsk region, the M2A2 Bradley ODS encountered a Russian transporter, MT-LB. Here's an insight into this encounter.
In the video below, you can see the M2A2 Bradley ODS catching a Russian armoured tracked carrier MT-LB as it was deploying troops and immediately opening fire. The large flashes indicate that the M2A2 Bradley ODS was using high explosive incendiary-tracer ammunition M792 HEI-T.
The MT-LB was hit in the rear of its hull, with several impacts causing damage to the fuel tank and starting a fire. It's possible that the driver survived, but there's also a chance he was already dead, with the vehicle continuing to move due to a stuck accelerator.
The Russians' nightmare from the Persian Gulf War
The Ukrainians received the IFV M2A2 Bradley in the ODS version, an updated model from the 1980s. Named after Operation Desert Storm, the ODS variant features advanced optoelectronics, including a high-resolution thermal imaging camera and a new laser rangefinder.
The M2A2 Bradley weighs 28 tonnes and can be outfitted with special reactive armour BRAT, significantly enhancing protection against handheld anti-tank weapons with HEAT warheads and stopping warheads from Lancet-3 drones. Its front armour is impervious to fire from 30 mm automatic cannons, while the sides can withstand impacts from large-calibre machine guns of 14.5mm calibre.
This gives the IFV M2A2 Bradley superior protection for its three-person crew and six infantry squad members. The M242 Bushmaster automatic cannon, its primary weapon of 25 mm calibre, can engage a wide range of targets, firing anti-tank and high-explosive incendiary ammunition effectively over distances up to 2 miles.
The most commonly used ammunition in Ukraine, M792 HEI-T, has a projectile weight of about 6 ounces, with around 1 ounce of this being the high-explosive compound RDX. The remainder comprises a steel body generating shrapnel and an incendiary component. This projectile features an impact fuse with a lethal radius of at least 16 feet.
Additionally, the vehicle is armed with a 7.62x51 mm NATO machine gun and a twin launcher for anti-tank guided missiles BGM-71F (TOW 2B), capable of destroying tanks at distances up to nearly 2.5 miles. However, this older generation system requires the missile to be guided until impact, and the launcher cannot be used while the vehicle is moving.
