By: Logan M Williams, Warrior Editorial Fellow
On January 17, 2024, Business Insider reported that the United States’ Bradley Fighting Vehicles, given to Ukraine, as part of a military aid package in early 2023, were instrumental in saving Ukrainian defensive positions from being overrun by Russian forces.
Unfortunately, political strife in the United States has threatened the supply of these essential defensive weapons for the Ukrainian freedom fighters.
What makes the Bradley so special?
Put simply, the Bradley is a highly-mobile, light armored vehicle with “tank busting” power, without all of the requisite logistical problems that come with owning, transporting, and fielding tanks.
The Bradley fighting vehicle is equipped with a 25mm M242 Bushmaster Chain Gun, which is a variation of the same weapon that is presently fielded on many of the United States’ naval vessels, such as the powerful Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. When chambered with specialized tungsten armor-piercing ammunition, this Bushmaster is more than capable of destroying any of the common Russian tanks active in Ukraine —the T-90, the T-72, the T-64, and the ancient, Soviet-era T-54.
The Bradley fighting vehicle is equipped with a coaxial 7.62 M240C machine gun, for decimating infantry troops, against which the main gun’s ammunition would be ineffective and inefficient.
But, the real show stopper is the Bradley’s BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile. This missile is a wire-guided, semi-automatic command line of sight (SACLOS) missile, which is capable of being equipped with infrared cameras for use at night. The missile has a top range of just under 2.5 miles and a flight speed of 600-700 miles per hour.
Perhaps the only weakness of the Bradley’s TOW missiles is that, due to the wire-guided SACLOS system, only one missile can be held and fired by a launcher at a time, and the Bradley is equipped with twin launchers, which means that it can only fire two missiles before the crew must stop and reload. Additionally, due to wire-guidance, the Bradley must be stopped to effectively launch these TOW missiles.
The Bradley’s lightweight construction allows it to be more easily transported to combat zones on cargo aircraft, than a tank, and it makes the Bradley far better suited for off-road combat and operations on rugged terrain, than a tank.
The Bradley fighting vehicle has an operational range (range it can drive without refueling) of approximately 300 miles and a top speed of approximately 40 miles.
Importantly, this vehicle can be used to transport six soldiers to and from the front lines, largely protected from enemy fire by the vehicle’s armor.
The tanks most commonly in service in the Russian Army are of the T-72 model, with a maximum speed of 37 mph, and an operational range of approximately 290 miles per hour. During the beginning months of the beastly Russian invasion, the newer T-90 was fielded, which has a top speed of 37 mph and an increased range of 340 miles. However, due to a high attrition rate, the Russian invaders have been increasingly forced to turn towards older models. The T-64 is an older, Soviet-era tank with an operational range of 310 miles and a top speed of approximately 37 miles per hour; the T-54 is an ancient tan first designed in the decade following the end of World War Two, and it has a top speed of 30 miles per hour, s well as an operational range of under 200 miles. Thus, the Bradley fighting vehicle can match or exceed the speed and range of the Russian Army’s fielded tanks, without any of the logistical concerns of tank operation.
It is also worth noting that the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) fielded by Ukraine was based upon the existing Bradley chassis and platform, and thus, training Ukraine’s soldiers to operate one, necessarily increases familiarity with the other.
Most importantly, the Bradley fighting vehicle is plentiful. The United States owns just under 7,000 Bradley vehicles, but it only fields 4,000 of these vehicles, approximately 2800 have been relegated to storage — deemed useless to the Pentagon.
But, these vehicles are not useless to the Ukrainian people. They are essential to expelling the Russian invader, securing the future of a free and liberal Ukraine, and saving lives. The Ukrainian military estimates that it would require 700 Bradley vehicles to decisively transform the Ukrainian war effort, which is only equal to a quarter of the United States stored capacity, drawn from Bradley’s that serve no purpose to the United States. The United States Congress should immediately find increased aid to Ukraine, and Bradley fighting vehicles are an incredibly versatile, cost-effective weapon, which can maximize the value of that aid.
Logan Williams currently studies at the University of Connecticut. He is an International Affairs Researcher; Work Published in Newspapers, Magazines, and Journals, Such As: Geopolitics Magazine, Modern Diplomacy, Tufts University’s The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Democracy Paradox, Diario Las Américas, International Affairs Forum, Fair Observer, History Is Now Magazine, UNC at Chapel Hill’s American Diplomacy, The Center for Military Modernization’s Warrior Maven Magazine,
