M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle appears in Russia with locally made 30 mm cannon
An intriguing photo has emerged from an M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) caught by Russia and equipped with a Russian 30 mm cannon instead of the original Bushmaster M242 25 mm automatic cannon of the vehicle. Whether the installation is intended for operational use, for tests or for another purpose is unclear, but other unorthodox adjustments to armored vehicles have appeared since the start of the war in Ukraine.
The Bradley that is seen in the photo is one of the examples that have been largely taken intact by Russia of the Ukrainian forces. The location and the date of the photo are unknown, just like the original source, but the Bradley in question seems to be in a depot next to other Western armor trapped from the Ukrainian forces.
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Some wondered how Russians can use the Bradley if they have no ammunition for it. Well, that's how:
“Russian repairers installed a domestic 30 mm 2A72 cannon on a caught Bradley instead of the chain-driven bushmaster.” pic.twitter.com/m4szhfvkqe
You can read everything about the Bradley and what it brings for the fight in Ukraine in this earlier characteristic of us.
The most interesting thing is that Russian technicians have replaced the Bushmaster with a 30 mm 2A72 cannon, probably the best known as the main gun of the BTR-82 Wielspantsserpantserde staff carrier.
The 2A72 is a development with reduced weight of the commonly used 2A42, also a 30 mm weapon, that the BMP-2 Infantry Combat Vehicle, BMD-2 and BMD-3 Airborne Combat Vehicles, BTR-90 Armored Staff Carrier, as well as KA-52 HOKLOPERS and MI-28, Helic-3-Havoc-Havoc helicopers.
The 2A72 has a fire speed of 330 rounds per minute and sends its ammunition to an effective reach of almost a mile against an armored vehicle. This is a remarkably faster speed speed than the already impressive 200 rounds per minute reached by the Bushmaster.
Against soft goals, such as infantry, the effective range of the 2A72 is increased to about 1.2 miles. Ammunition options include armored racer (AP-T), high-explosive fragmentation inchendiar (HEF-I) and ammunition with a highly explosive tracer (HE-T).
A video from the Russian Ministry of Defense shows the 2A72 gun in action on a BTR-82A during an exercise:
As for the Bushmaster, this is a weapon that we have discussed earlier, in the context of the Bradley used in Ukraine. The bushmaster can fire two different types of ammunition, fed from boxes via pillows in the car loader. The shooter, sitting to the left of the tank commander, can turn a switch to select between out-running (HE) rounds to hit slightly armored vehicles or exhausted uranium (du) armor-piercing sabot rounds to hit more heavily armored vehicles and even tanks. The shooter can also select between modes with one or more shots.
“Our Du rounds can literally hit one side of an armored staff carrier or infantry vehicle (such as a BRDM or BMP) and leave the other side and will have enough kinetic power to switch off another,” said an armor expert said TWZspeak by condition of anonymity.
Well-known videos show Ukrainian Bradleys who fire 25 mm rounds from their Bushmaster Guns on a Russian T-90m main combat tank from relatively close:
There are three things you can view forever. Such as this Ukrainian M2 Bradley IFV that destroys a “no-analogue” Russian T-90M tank.
Images of higher quality of a pair of Ukrainian M2A2 Bradley IFVs of the 47th Mechanized successfully a Russian T-90m in Stepove Duellers, with a follow-up FPV ammunition strike so that the crew left the damaged vehicle. pic.twitter.com/vor8iuvlbz
More than 300 examples of the M2A2 ODS version of the Bradley were provided by the United States to Ukraine from April 2023. According to the Oryx Open-Source Tracking Group, which only records losses where it has a visual confirmation, at least 12 Ukrainian Bradleys were captured by Russian troops, and much more have been abandoned after being damaged or destroyed. At least some of the abandoned but still intact vehicles could also have found their way to Russian hands, and possibly repaired.
A possible reason behind the adjustment can relate to the Russian operational use of trapped Bradleys.
There are indications that Russia has made some limited use of trapped Bradleys on the battlefield. At least one official video shows Russian troops from the Center Army Group who operates a captured Bradley, after it had returned to the gap, which was eliminated by a mine. Once in the Russian service, the vehicle was equipped with extra anti-drone protection 'Cope Cage' around the top of the hull.
A screen cap from a video with a caught Bradley in the Russian service. Russian Ministry of Defense Screencap
In the same video, a Russian soldier explains that the Bradley is primarily appreciated for his heavy armor, the size of his troop compartment and his refined fire system.
Another soldier states that they prefer the 30 mm gun on the BMP-2 above the Bushmaster, indicating that the original American gun is still mounted on the vehicle, although its use would be limited by the limited delivery of the correct ammunition.
Gunner 'Molfar', 39, a Bradle crew member of the 47th Magura Mechanized Brigade who participated in the fighting to free the village of Russian troops from Russian troops, is depicted in his vehicle, Zaporizhzhia Direction, Southeast -Aoekraine. Photo by ukinform/nurphoto via getty images
It is clear that at least some front line Russian units find it worthwhile to serve imprisoned Bradleys, even if they can be very little in number, without supporting logistics chain or ammunition.
We can also look at a test installation to investigate whether it is feasible to re -mix the Bradley with a Russian main gun.
It can even be intended for propaganda purposes, where the Russian gun stands in front of the bushmaster so that the vehicle can be demonstrated in parades or in collections of captured Western equipment.
Caught Bradleys (with original weapons) were previously shown under War Booty in Russia, as you can read here. Taking into account the popular nature of these types of exhibitions, this is perhaps even the most likely explanation.
Crowd spectators greet a caught Bradley on a rail-bound propaganda tour through Russia. Via x
There is also a precedent for changes that are made in the original guns on caught armor, whereby one M1A1 Abrams main combat tank in Russia is shown with the broken barrel upside down.
In addition to serving propaganda purposes, Prisoning Bradleys Russia also offers the opportunity to view the Western armor. Recently, Sergey Chemezov, CEO of the State -run defense congress Rostec, various Western armored vehicles used by Ukraine, including the Bradley, in an interview on the company website.
Although Chemezov also emphasizes the good level of crew protection and internal layout of the Bradley, he expresses doubts about its tactical effectiveness.
“Some experts, including ours, praise the Bradley. In my opinion that is unjustified enthusiasm. We have looked at it from all sides: yes, it has some positives in terms of protection and troop compartment Comfort. But that does not prevent our weapons from destroying the vehicle together with his crew and passengers,” he said.
A Ukrainian soldier can be seen near a Bradley in Avdiivka, Donbas, Ukraine, on December 4, 2023. Photo by Marek M. Berezowski/Anadolu via Getty Images Photo by Marek M. Berezowski/Anadolu via Getty Images
Chemezov also criticizes the off-road mobility of Bradley and the lack of amphibious capacity (something that is a fundamental part of the design ethos of Russian IFVs).
“The Bradley has a serious weakness: problems with mobility,” Chemezov continues. “It is struggling off-road and gets stuck in black soil, becomes an easy target because of the large size. And what is the use of better protection if the result is the same? Almost all Bradleys delivered to Ukraine are destroyed. We have to remember, an IFV is not a tank. It should be fast, mobile and is capable of crossing, non-haste.
Of course Chemezov's comments are terribly Heavily colored by the fact that it is his job to sell rival defense equipment, both to the Russian state and to a decreasing number of foreign customers. In the meantime, there are several documented cases of Ukrainian Bradleys that survive several direct hits and resist the effects of drone attacks or mines. The fact that Russia is even able to catch damaged vehicles and to have them work again is also proof of their sustainability.
On the other hand, Chemezov is right to say that the Ukrainian Bradley losses have been heavy. According to figures from Oryx, documented evidence has been destroyed, damaged, damaged and then abandoned or captured. But as long as workable Bradleys can be stored by Russia, they will probably be used, even if only on an ad-hoc base.
Although it is unlikely that Russia will be able to collect a fleet of Bradleys that is large enough to justify a more extensive program to recapture them with weapons produced in their own country, the appearance of at least one of the IFVs with a 30 mm Cannon made by Russian is certainly a remarkable novelty.
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