The U.S. Army Operational Test Command has already begun testing the latest variant of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle family, the M2A4.
Bradley M2A4 trials are taking place at the facilities of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division of the US Army at Fort Hood military base in Texas.
The upgraded variant of the Bradley vehicle developed by the BAE Systems under contract with the U.S. Army as part of the Army’s combat vehicle modernization strategy and helps ensure force readiness of the Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCT).
The A4 series modification involves the installation of a new 8-cylinder Cummins VTA903E-T675 diesel 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) active protection system for armored vehicles developed by the Israeli Elbit Systems company.
As noted by the company, the new version of Bradley is the finest combat vehicle system in the world.
The Bradley M2A4 features the latest digitized electronics for optimum situational awareness, network connectivity and communication within the Armored Brigade Combat Team. It is equipped with a wide-angle Driver’s Vision Enhancer, improved Force XXI Battle Command Bridge, and Below (FBCB2) software integration improve friendly and enemy vehicle identification, enhancing situational awareness. The addition of a High-Speed Slip Ring, greater network connectivity and Smart Displays that simultaneously display classified and unclassified information also improve situational awareness.
The upgraded vehicle also received lightweight tracks, new shock absorbers and suspension, and stiffer torsion bars. This increased the ground clearance from 380 to 510 millimeters, which increased not only the mobility, but also the protection of the vehicle from anti-tank mines.
Leveraging the lethality functionality from its predecessor, the Bradley M2A4 consists of full ballistic fire control hosted on a new central processing unit, aided dual-target tracking, automatic gun target adjustment, automatic bore sighting and hunter-killer capabilities. The Bushmaster 25mm cannon fires both explosive and armor piercing rounds, while TOW missiles defeat enemy armor. The 7.62mm coaxial machine gun provides high volume fires at close ranges.
