US Army M-2 combat vehicles and M-1 tanks at the Grafenwoehr training area in Germany in 2018.
Just two weeks after the administration of US President Joe Biden announced it would donate 50 M-2 Bradley fighting vehicles, a Ukrainian army brigade has begun training on the vehicles.
And not just any brigade, the 47th Assault Brigade. A new all-volunteer unit accelerating the evolution of the Ukrainian army into a NATO-style force. Not only with the M-2s, but also with American guns and ex-Slovenian tanks armed with British guns.
A video purporting to depict 47th Assault Brigade troopers in an M-2 circulated on social media on Sunday. The troopers apparently traveled to the US Army training grounds in Grafenwoehr, Germany to learn how to operate the 25-ton vehicle.
The version of the M-2 that the United States is donating to Ukraine is not the latest version. No, it is the variant of the infantry fighting vehicle that the US military developed in the aftermath of the war with Iraq in 1991. The Operation Desert Storm, or ODS, variant of the M-2 is now a 30-year-old vehicle. But its age belies its effectiveness.
The three-man M-2 tows a six-man infantry team into battle, protecting the infantry as they dismount, then supporting them with its 25-millimeter autocannon and TOW anti-tank missiles that the crew directs via wires that roll off the missiles. haunts.
After the ’91 war, the U.S. Army upgraded its thousands of M-2s to the M-2A2 ODS standard, which added a laser rangefinder and GPS, and increased the vehicle’s anti-tank firepower by installing racks for shoulder-fired Javelin anti-tank weapons. rockets. The Javelin has an infrared seeker instead of wire guidance, as the TOW has.
Now an M-2 crew and its dismounted infantry squad could both fire missiles at enemy tanks, each relying on a different form of missile guidance. The ODS modifications made the M-2 a slightly better infantry carrier and a much better anti-tank platform.
Enlisted in the Kharkiv-based 47th Assault Brigade, Bradleys could become the missile half of tank-killer teams. The brigade’s 28 super-upgraded M-55S tanks, donated by Slovenia last fall, provide the guns.
The 47th Assault Brigade is a young unit and unique in the Ukrainian order of battle. It is an all-volunteer formation – no conscripts – and reportedly relies heavily on its non-commissioned officers, as brigades in NATO armies do.
The 47th Assault Brigade also possesses a higher proportion of NATO-style weapons than other Ukrainian brigades. Brigade troopers carry American M-16 rifles and M-203 grenade launchers instead of the AK-47 style rifles most Ukrainian troops carry.
The M-55S itself is a hybrid: a 36-ton Soviet-designed T-55 tank hull with Israeli subsystems and a British-made, 105-millimeter L7 main gun firing NATO standard ammunition.
The M-55S can hit enemy tanks as far as 4,400 yards, depending of course on the type of ammunition being fired. The M-2’s turret-mounted TOW missiles, meanwhile, can hit tanks from 3,800 yards away. The infantry in the M-2 can dismount and fire Javelin missiles as far as 4000 meters.
Basically, combined arms teams that combine tanks and combat vehicles with NATO-type guns and missiles can engage enemy armor in three different ways from about 4000 meters. That’s a thousand yards further than a Russian T-72 tank can fire anti-tank shells from its 125-millimeter 2A46 main gun.
Mark Hertling, a retired U.S. Army general who commanded a Bradley crew early in his career, emphasized the benefits of this mismatch in range. The M-2 and other new vehicle types Ukraine is getting from its NATO allies “will enable Ukraine’s emerging combined arms teams to perform maneuvers at a rapid pace,” Hertling tweeted.
That’s especially true in southern Ukraine, Hertling added. There, the terrain is flat and largely devoid of trees – and there are few ways for armored vehicles to hide. Since both armies can see each other coming from miles away, the army that shoots further has the advantage.
It has been common knowledge since late last year that the Ukrainians hope to launch a new southern counter-offensive along the Zaporizhzhia sector – a counter-offensive that could isolate tens of thousands of Russian troops on the left bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine.
But the 47th Assault Brigade is currently in Kharkiv Oblast, in northeastern Ukraine, near the border with Russia. The Kremlin has threatened for months to invade Ukraine again from the north – essentially repeating its original strategy from February 2022.
That strategy, of course, failed. After six weeks of hard fighting that ended in April, the overstretched Russian army withdrew from north-central Ukraine. A few months later, last fall, the Ukrainians launched a counter-offensive that also drove the Russians out of the northeast.
It may well be folly on the part of the Russian military to repeat its northern gamble. But the Ukrainian General Staff is not taking any chances. It has shifted forces north, apparently including the 47th Assault Brigade with its M-55Ss and M-2s. While the brigade may be best suited to operations in the wide-open south with its long-range anti-tank firepower, it appears poised for manning defensive positions in the heavily wooded northeast for now.
If there are any signs of the 47th Assault Brigade moving south in the coming weeks and months, it could mean the Ukrainian army is redeploying its brigades to position its farthest firing formations for another southern counter-offensive.
That said, it’s possible that the 50 M-2s the United States has pledged so far are just the first of many. That is, it is possible that more Ukrainian brigades will soon be able to get their own Bradleys. Including brigades already in the south.
Follow me on twitter. View my website or some of my other work here. Send me a safe tip.
Can a Bradley take an RPG?
The Bradley is armored to withstand hits from 30mm rounds and RPGs, and with add-on ERA it’s pretty well protected.
Can a Bradley knock out a tank? The Bradleys have a gun turret and a tube-launched optical-tracked wireless-guided (TOW) missile launcher that can destroy tanks, according to Reuters. This may interest you : US Border Patrol agents seize methamphetamine and cocaine on Interstate 5.
Will an RPG stop a tank?
RPG-7G is a portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket propelled grenade launcher. is one of the most widespread and popular weapons in the world. The aim is to destroy the opponent’s heavily armored tanks, light armored vehicles, firing points and troops.
Can an RPG-7 destroy a Bradley?
The most effective way to destroy the Bradley is explosives (like the RPG) or other heavy weapons like the Tau cannon. To see also : US Grants $10 Million Default Judgment and Permanent Injunction Against Two Michigan Companies and Their Owners for Selling Vehicle Emissions “Superb Devices”. Small arms fire can also damage the Bradley by shooting the turret, although this is extremely slow and not recommended.
Is the m2 Bradley still in service?
The Army plans to procure more than 700 of the new M2A4 Bradleys through 2029. Each vehicle costs about $4. This may interest you : S. Korea, USA stage combined high-tech education.35 million. The Army plans to continue supplying field units with the M2A4 variant until the new optional manned combat vehicle is produced, which will eventually replace the Bradley.
How many Bradley Fighting Vehicles does the US have? The Bradley is capable of closing in on and destroying enemy forces in support of mounted and dismounted infantry and cavalry combat operations. The Bradley Fighting Vehicle family currently consists of two vehicles: the M2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle and the M3 Cavalry Fighting Vehicle.
Will the Bradley be replaced?
By mid-2023, the agency plans to select three teams to continue building prototypes of a high-tech Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) to replace the Reagan-era M2 Bradley.
What replaced the M2 Bradley?
The Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) is a United States Army replacement program for the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. OMFV is part of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle portfolio of programs.
How many Bradleys are in a battalion?
An ABCT includes 87 Abrams, 152 Bradley IFVs, 18 M109s and 45 armed M113 vehicles.
How many Bradleys were in a mechanized infantry battalion? Below we will dissect each of the elements. Mounted Element – The Mechanized Platoon consists of four Bradleys. These four vehicles are divided into two sections of two Bradleys each.
How many soldiers does a Bradley have?
The Bradley is a tracked medium armored vehicle armed with a 25mm main gun. Named after an American general who commanded American 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.
How many Bradleys are in a platoon?
Each rifle platoon is equipped with 4 M2A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, abbreviated BFV for “Bradley Fighting Vehicle”.
How many Bradleys are in an infantry company?
The different Bradley variants include the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle and the M3 Bradley Reconnaissance and Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The M2 has a crew of three, a commander, a gunner and a driver, along with six fully equipped soldiers.
