BAE Systems to supply more Bradley IFVs under $190 million contract with US Army
The award includes more than 70 M2A4 IFV and M7A4 fire support team vehicles. This award follows the Early Order Material awards in August and November 2022. Continued upgrades to the A4 from the M2A2 Operation Desert Storm – Situational Awareness (ODS-SA) variant is part of the army’s combat vehicle modernisation strategy to ensure force readiness of the ABCT.
The first Bradley A4 was handed over to the army in June 2020, a delay on the planned handover date of February 2020.
Shephard Defence Insight notes that the US Army originally envisaged upgrading 1,860 Bradleys to A4 standard, sufficient to equip 15 ABCTs. However, current plans call for only five brigades to be equipped with Bradley A4s, one of which will be deployed to support the European Defence Initiative and an order has been placed for 491 vehicles.
Related Articles
US Army orders more Bradley A4s
US Bradley Fighting Vehicles are on the way to Ukraine
In the longer term, older Bradley M2 IFVs which are not upgraded to A4 could gradually start retiring from 2030 onwards depending on the progress of the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle competition, now dubbed XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle.
The M2A2 standard is also finding new life with other customers with Croatia having ordered vehicles and Ukraine also receiving the type.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
Italy signs $784 million deal for tactical and logistic trucks
The contract is for the supply of a variety of military logistic platforms equipped with tactical cabins and based on the new range of IDV SMR6 trucks (Standard Military Range), which includes 4×4, 8×8 and 10x10 variants.
-
Poland declares capability for Wisła medium-range air defence system
Poland has been investing heavily in new defence equipment, including billions-of-dollars in air defence systems such as Narew and Wisła to provide multi-tier coverage, as well as in C2 systems such as IBCS.
-
US sanctions fail to rattle India as it looks to Russian long-range radar
India has been navigating a strategic balancing act in its defence modernisation efforts as it considers deals with Russia and the US.
-
Land Warfare Preview 2025: Questions remain in a time of change
The land war in Ukraine has dominated the posture, spending and actions of Russia and NATO countries for two years. With a new US Government committed to ending the conflict early in 2025, there are implications on all three of those fronts.