The American infantry fighting vehicle Bradley is very important for the defenders of Ukraine. Ukraine received about 190 Bradley vehicles in several shipments and is one of only five Bradley operators in the world. But now the Russians also have one Bradley and intend to study it in detail. What will they find out?
Bradley infantry fighting vehicle in Ukrainian service. Image credit: АрміяInform via Wikimedia (CC BY 4.0)
Ukraine became an operator of the Bradley platform already during this war. Apart from Ukraine, these infantry fighting vehicles are also used, of course, by the USA, Croatia, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. The Bradley is praised for its excellent level of crew protection, reliability, and an effective 25mm M242 Bushmaster chaingun.
Earlier this year, a video surfaced online showing a pair of Ukrainian M2A2 Bradley unleashing their Bushmaster chainguns and immobilizing a Russian T-90M near Stepove in the Donetsk region. In addition to that autocannon, the Bradley also carries a pair of BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles.
The Bradley is a good friend of the defenders of Ukraine, one of the most important armoured vehicles for small-scale assaults on Russian positions. But war without losses is unimaginable and the defenders of Ukraine have already lost a few Bradley vehicles. One such machine was captured and is in the hands of the Russians, and they claim that they intend to study it.
In February 2024, the Russians began sharing images of a captured Bradley that they began to dismantle, stressing that this IFV would be studied to familiarise Russia with NATO equipment. It is said that the Russians will try to understand the most important engineering principles of Western armoured vehicles and look for their weak spots, which they can later exploit in a war.
In other words, the captured Bradley should help Russia develop its own armoured vehicles and fight Ukrainian Bradleys in the future. In addition, there can be no doubt that this machine will also be used for propaganda purposes. Previously, Russians were very happy to capture the Swedish infantry fighting vehicle CV9040, which they also studied.
Will the Russians learn anything from their Bradley analysis? There are things that will be easier for them to copy now that they have a Bradley IFV at hand. However, there are no particularly modern advanced technologies that would be absolutely unheard of for them.
Bradley has been in service since 1981. Photos and videos of the Bradley IFV are everywhere. Russian spies could see them at various public events. Any way you look at it, the Bradley is just a well-built armoured box with tracks, a Cummins VTA-903T diesel engine, which is sometimes available on Ebay, and a good set of weapons. It’s not as advanced a defence industry product as a jet fighter, a missile, or some laser weapon from the future.
Written by Povilas M.