Adoption of the latest Bradley BMP in the United States is postponed for a year
The latest version of the M2A4 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle of the US Army will not enter service on time. During the tests, it turned out that toxic gases are formed in the BMP tower, which are dangerous for the health of the military. Experts are trying to eliminate the identified shortcomings, and the car itself will go to the troops in at least a year.
Problems in the operation of the M2A4 Bradley BMP are associated with overheating of the batteries and the formation of toxic gases in the turret of the machine, writes Defense News with reference to the Bradley program office.
The problem was discovered during extensive operational testing at Fort Hood, Texas. During the testing of the Bradley M2A4 BMP, the vehicle's batteries were connected directly to the test equipment, thereby creating an additional load on them.
The design of the Bradley M2A4 BMP includes a new charger, but not new batteries.
"This creates security threats to the crew and landing vehicles. The program manager was present during the tests and noticed problems with the battery. He supported the recommendation to suspend the remainder of the tests, " the Director of Operational Testing and Evaluation said in a report.
Currently, the Bradley program office expects that they will be able to receive the updated equipment by January 2022, while at the same time it is planned to organize training of personnel and test the new equipment in the field. The new components are expected to arrive in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, according to the report of the Director of Operational Testing and Evaluation.
The units of the first armored brigade will receive the new IFVs in September 2022.
"The A4 modification for Bradley combat vehicles involves the installation of a new Cummins VTA903E-T675 diesel 8-cylinder engine with a capacity of 675 horsepower, a new HMPT-800-3ECB hydraulic transmission, which will allow the M2A4 Bradley to install the Iron Fist Light Decoupled (IFLD) system of active protection of armored vehicles developed by the Israeli company Elbit Systems," Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, told the publication.
The upgraded BMP also received lighter tracks, new shock absorbers and suspension, and stiffer torsion bars. This increased the ground clearance from 380 to 510 mm, which increased not only the mobility, but also the protection of the car from anti-tank mines. The machine is integrated into the network structures of the command and control of the troops, equipped with a satellite communication and navigation system, equipped with thermal imaging sights of the third generation.
The crew of the infantry fighting vehicle consists of three people, and the landing compartment has space for seven infantrymen. Armament is represented by a 25 mm M242 automatic gun, 2 TOW ATGM, as well as a 7.62 mm M240C machine gun.
The BRAT II (Bradley Reactive Armor Tiles) dynamic protection kit is installed on the BMP.
The US Army further reduced the number of modifications to the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle in its budget request for fiscal year 2021 after reducing the list of improvements to this vehicle (in addition to the A4 variant in fiscal year 2020). The U.S. Army is currently working on replacing the Bradley in the future with an optional manned combat vehicle program. But the Bradley BMP will remain in service with armored and mechanized units of the US Army until the 2050s. However, the Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2021 reduced the Bradley program by $161 million due to delays in development.
"The U.S. army has a wealth of negative experience in the creation of tracked infantry fighting vehicles. Actually, the history of the development of the BMP M2 " Bradley "served as the basis for the satirical comedy American film" The Pentagon Wars " (The Pentagon Wars). The army was not armed with quite the same, to put it mildly, combat vehicle that was originally conceived, " he told the newspaper.En "editor-in-chief of the magazine" Arsenal of the Fatherland " Viktor Murakhovsky.
According to the expert, the main problems were excessive weight and large dimensions, with modest weapons capabilities, insufficient protection and poor habitability for the crew and landing troops.
"Modernization measures of the 1980s led to an increase in mass with a slight improvement in performance. The most significant modernization program (variant M2A3) began in 2000, the key elements of which were a new digital fire control system with thermal imaging sights, satellite navigation and communication systems, the terminal of the automated command and control system (ASUV) of the tactical level FBCB2, " Viktor Murakhovsky said.
A new 600 hp engine was installed and the anti-shatter protection was improved. At the same time, the dimensions of the car (height about 3 m) and weight (with additional booking) have grown to completely indecent sizes-over 32 tons.
"Numerous electronic systems have significantly increased energy consumption, which has led to the need to install additional power sources," Murakhovsky said.
Meanwhile, the expert recalled, the program to create a promising BMP XM1206 within the framework of the concept of "Future Combat systems" (Future Combat Systems) failed miserably and was closed in 2009. Overall, $18.1 billion was spent on the FCS project.
"Therefore, the US army is forced to look for options for further modernization of the existing BMP. As we can see, there are also problems along the way. A huge military budget and advanced technologies do not guarantee success in creating promising models of weapons, military and special equipment, " Viktor Murakhovsky concluded.
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Mikhail Khodarenok
