The Biden Administration is sending Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine to fight against Russia’s invasion. The delivery, expected to total around 50 units, comes alongside a commitment from Germany to send its own armored vehicles to Ukraine and a similar move by France.
What is a Bradley Fighting Vehicle?
The Bradley is a tracked, medium-armored vehicle usually armed with a 25-mm gun which don’t appear to have been installed judging by these images.
Named after a U.S. general who commanded U.S. troops in World War II, it is operated by a crew of three and depending on the version can carry seven soldiers around the battlefield. In addition to its turret-mounted gun it can carry a tube-launched, optically tracked, wireless-guided (TOW) missile launcher that can destroy tanks. Made by BAE Systems (BAES.L), they weigh 80,000 pounds and can go about 38 mph (61 kph), according to the U.S. Army.
60 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and hundreds of other equipment from the USA to Ukraine are already in the German port of Bremerhaven.
— SOS-UK-Report (@sosReports) February 15, 2023
There are also 280 units of other various military equipment, according to the Nordsee-Zeitung. pic.twitter.com/F9lSw53vMv
On the topic of Bradleys
Following a redesign of how Elbit Systems’ Iron Fist active protection system is incorporated onto a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, the U.S. Army is now preparing to field the capability to a full brigade.
The Army has worked toward providing the Bradley fleet with APS technology since receiving a directed requirement to do so in 2016, but the service struggled with the original system and configuration in earlier characterization testing.
Israeli company Elbit Systems and Iron Fist’s lead integrator General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems made significant changes to how the system is installed on a Bradley, and they changed the countermeasure solution. The new version of the system is now called Iron Fist Light Decoupled. More here.