hello everyone and welcome back again with us  

today we'll show you about how  bradley fighting vehicles work

before and during combat the u.s  military uses the bradley fighting  

vehicle to scout enemy positions and  transport troops into hostile territory

this 500 horsepower amphibious vehicle  has enough armaments to destroy  

enemy tanks and provide protective fire  for the troops it carries to battle

developed as a replacement for the m113  series of armored personnel carriers  

the bradley is more powerful  and faster than its predecessor  

there are two main variations of the bradley the  m2 and the m3 the primary purpose of the m2 is to  

provide transport to battle and the m3 is designed  to battle enemy tanks and perform reconnaissance  

in this video we'll ride into battle  with the bradley fighting vehicle  

you will learn about the bradley's power  and weaponry and how it was developed

the namesake the bradley is named  for general omar nelson bradley  

1893-1981 who served as a braggadier general and  major general for the united states in world war  

ii bradley led forces in north africa  and sicily and later commanded american  

forces in the 1944 d-day invasion to  liberate france from german occupation

bradley was the first chairman of the joint  chiefs of staff from 1949 to 1953 and was  

promoted to a five-star general during his  tenure in that post bradley died in 1981 the  

same year the vehicle bearing his name entered  service the m2 and m3 bradley fighting vehicles  

are light armored personnel vehicles that are  designed to be fast the standard 24.9 ton bradley  

is powered by a 500 horsepower supercharged  eight-cylinder liquid-cooled diesel engine  

giving it enough power to keep up with other  armored vehicles like the m1 abrams tank  

with a power to weight ratio of 20 horsepower  per ton the bradley can reach a top speed of  

40 miles per hour or 64.4 kilometers per hour on  paved roads in comparison the m1 abrams tank is  

powered by a 1 500 horsepower engine and travels  at 30 miles per hour or 48.3 kilometers per hour  

the bradley models have a fuel capacity of between  175 gallons and 197 gallons or 662 to 746 liters  

an upgraded m2a2 bradley has a 600 horsepower  engine that delivers a power to weight ratio of  

24 horsepower per ton similar to a tank  the bradley is a track vehicle with six  

dual tired road wheels and three track return  rollers on each side one track return roller  

is a double roller the other two rollers  support only the inside half of the track  

the bradley is designed to  cross any terrain even water  

and can transition to amphibious mode in 5 minutes  the newest bradley models the m2a3 and the m3a3  

have an inflatable pontoon that is fitted to the  front and side of the vehicle the tracks propel  

the bradley through the water at a top speed of  about 4 miles per hour or 6.4 kilometers per hour  

by the numbers length 21.16 feet width 11.83 feet  with armored tiles 10.75 feet without armor tiles  

height 9.74 feet combat weight 24.73 tons  cruising range 300 miles or 48.28 kilometers  

road speed 40 miles per hour  or 64.4 kilometers per hour  

riding in the belly of the beast the m2 infantry  fighting vehicle has a three-man crew including a  

commander gunner and driver the original m2  also carries seven fully equipped soldiers  

the enhanced m2a2 carries six  soldiers the m3 calvary fighting  

vehicle has the same three-man crew but  only accommodates two additional soldiers

inside the vehicle the driver sits in front  of the hull in a two-thirds reclining position  

the only vision available to the crew is  periscopes the driver's station has four  

periscopes the center periscope can be  interchanged with a night vision scope  

the commander sits to the right of the main  armament an m13a1 filter is located in the  

commander station to provide breathable air in  case of a gas attack the gunner is located to the  

left of the turret the turret is a large section  on top of the bradley that is equipped with a  

machine gun more on fire power later two power  day thermal sights and the customary periscopes  

are available to the gunner the gunner's view  also includes an optical relay to the commander

a compartment for transported  troops is in the back of the vehicle  

this compartment includes a single piece hatch in  the roof and a hydraulically operated rear ramp  

for troop entry and exit the m2 also features  six firing ports the bradley is equipped with  

an automatic fire detection and suppression  system which is also included in the engine  

compartment as well as a central nuclear  biological and chemical protective suit

the entire bradley is covered with aluminum armor  

and the rear and sides are also  covered with space laminate armor  

the tourette has an additional layer of steel and  the whole bottom has additional anti-mine armor

vitals entered service 1981 total produced through  2003 7122 united states 6722 vehicles saudi arabia  

400 vehicles unit price 1.25 million dollars m2  m2a2 and m3a2 1.54 million dollars for the m2a3  

m3a3 manufacturer united defense industries  incorporated variations m2a1 m3a1 entered  

production in 1985 m2a2 m3a2 entered production  in 1988. m2a3 m3a3 entered production in 2001.

armament and history the bradley is a  formidable vehicle it has teeth in the  

form of high-powered machine guns and anti-tank  missiles these armaments are used to provide  

protective fire for the troops it transports  as well as to suppress and destroy enemy tanks  

combined with its speed and agility the bradley is  well equipped to combat enemy vehicles the primary  

weapon of both the m2 and m3 is a 25 millimeter  m242 bushmaster chain gun which features a single  

barrel with an integrated dual feed mechanism  and remote feed selection the m242 is mounted  

on the turret which is the rotating component  that sits on top of the bradley's main chassis  

the gun has a maximum fire rate of 200 rounds per  minute the m2 carries 900 rounds of 25 millimeter  

ammunition 300 ready to fire 600 in reserve  and the m3 carries 1500 rounds both bradley  

models also have twin bgm 71 toe anti-tank guided  missile launchers mounted on the left side of the  

turret tow is an acronym that stands for target  sensitive optically tracked wire guided missile  

an optical sight is used to track each target  after firing the missile the launch transmits  

flight data to the missile's guidance system the  missile can reach any target within a 2.33 mile or  

3.75 kilometer range the m2 carries 7 bgm 71 tow  anti-tank guided missiles and the m3 carries 12.

additionally the bradley is equipped  with an m240 7.62 millimeter machine  

gun for which the m2 carries 2200 rounds  of ammunition 800 ready 1400 in reserve the  

m3 carries 4 400 rounds of ammunition for  the m240 the bradley is equipped with two  

m257 smoke grenade launchers each loaded  with four smoke grenades these grenades are  

deployed during battle and release smoke to  conceal the bradley from visual observation  

history of the bradley fighting vehicle the  development of the bradley dates back to  

pre-vietnam era the early plans of an advanced  armored personnel vehicle were being discussed  

in the early 1960s even as the m113 armored  personnel carrier was just entering service  

the us military recognized the need to address  the needs of battlefield transport as far into  

the future as the 1980s and beyond the search  for a mechanized infantry combat vehicle micv  

began in 1963 the search for an micv was long the  army tested and rejected the mic v65 created by  

pacific car and foundry in 1965. it was not until  1972 that the army signed a contract with fmc  

corporation for its xm723 micv design four years  later the army merged with the micv program with  

the armored reconnaissance scout vehicle program  noting similarities and requirements the resulting  

vehicles were the xm2 infantry fighting vehicle  and xm3 calvary fighting vehicle each of which  

incorporated the 25 millimeter m242 bushmaster  which was also under development at the time  

the bradley fighting vehicle entered production  in 1981 and became a replacement for the m113  

the bradley is considered to be a more powerful  and faster vehicle than the m113 and its better  

suspension increases speed on off-road terrain  within just a few years after the bradley rolled  

into service its survivability and combat  effectiveness became targets of concern  

in 1985 it underwent a series of tests as  part of the joint life fire test program  

during which several u.s and russian munitions  were used to fire on a fully loaded bradley  

in 1988 modifications were incorporated  in the m2a2 m3a2 model including  

new composite armor improved ammunition storage  to protect personnel high water barrier skirt to  

improve amphibious operation improved suspension  system these subsequent enhancements have made  

the bradley a highly survivable combat vehicle  in operation desert storm 2200 bradley vehicles  

were deployed for battle and only three were lost  to enemy fire in 1991 following operation desert  

storm further enhancements were made the operation  desert storm ods upgrades were implemented in the  

upgraded m2a2 ods and m3a2 ods models and included  gps capability anti-tank missile counter measure  

device redesigned seating improved storage for  ammunition the m2a2 and m3a3 bradley models were  

also a result of upgrades made after desert storm  the m2a3 m3a3 package is the most technically  

advanced of the bradley models and was approved  for production in 1994. this package includes  

commander flat panel display unit mass memory unit  driver display unit squad display unit in the true  

compartment with continued modification the army  has reported that the bradley will continue to be  

a key armored vehicle for the us military through  the first quarter of the 21st century for more  

information on the bradley fighting vehicle and  other war technology check out the links below

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