M2 Bradley

The M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle currently is the standard US Army IFV. This tracked armored vehicle is intended to transport infantry on the battlefield and to dismount them as close to the enemy as possible. Infantry fighting vehicles have a more substantial armored protection than the armored personnel carriers. Bradley's armor protects the crew from smalbore cannons and artillery shells.

It's primary weapon is an M242 Bushmaster 25-mm chain gun. It has a dual feed mechanism and remote ammunition selection. Main types of ammunition comprise armor-piercing or high-explosive rounds. This gun also has a variable rate of fire - single or 200 rpm modes. Effective range of fire is approximately 2 000 meters, but may vary from the type of ammunition selected. The M2 is capable of engaging enemy tanks and armored vehicles with it's TOW anti-tank guided missiles. It is worth mentioning that the M2 can fire it's TOW missiles only form stationary position. Missiles are manually reloaded by the infantry. Additional armament consists of one coaxial 7.62-mm machine gun.

Bradley has a sufficient cross-country performance to keep pace with the main battle tanks.

During it's service history the M2 Bradley went through a three main capability improvement programmes. Resulting vehicles are designated as the M2A1, M2A2 and M2A3. A number of these improvements were made during military conflicts and peacekeeping operations.

A whole family of armored tracked vehicles was based on the Bradley. One of them is an M3 cavalry fighting vehicle intended for an armored reconnaissance role.