Ukraine's Bradleys shielded with cages to counter Russian drones

The M2A2 Bradley ODS infantry fighting vehicles are among the best machines of their type received by Ukraine. Unfortunately, the number available does not meet the needs, but units like the 47th Mechanized Brigade are known for their heroic charges, inflicting significant losses on the Russians.

This has made the M2A2 Bradleys key targets for the Russians, who are attempting to destroy them using their best available equipment. Until now, Ukrainian Bradleys have been relatively safe from FPV drone attacks, as many units were equipped with effective jammers sourced from countries like Lithuania.

The situation changed in recent months when Russians began mass-producing Vandal-type FPV drones. These drones have a unique advantage: they connect to the control station via a deployable fiber optic cable, making them impossible to jam. The only defenses against them are shooting them down before they reach their target or using passive defenses.

The latter category includes mesh screens intended to prematurely detonate a warhead. The recording shows a Bradley unit with its turret encased in a steel cage. The hull doesn't require reinforcement because it is densely covered with BRAT reactive armor blocks.

Due to payload limitations, FPV drones often carry anti-tank bomblets from cluster munitions that can penetrate about 8 inches of steel armor or PG-7VL grenades that can penetrate 20 inches of steel with the tail section removed, used in RPG-7 launchers.

Both weapon types use the cumulative effect to penetrate armor, which offers significant armor-piercing capabilities relative to their mass. However, the resulting cumulative jet has a very limited range. For example, detonating a warhead about 24 inches from the armor can barely perforate 0.8 inches of steel armor, which would not be possible under optimal conditions.

For this reason, adding grills or nets provides good protection against simple cumulative weapons. However, this type of protection can be overcome with a tandem warhead, which has two charges; the smaller first charge breaches the shield for the larger one to detonate under favorable conditions.

This is standard in most modern anti-tank weapons, but not in the case of drones. The main issue is the increased mass of such warheads, which is likely too large for FPV drones that are also carrying spools of deployable fiber optic cables.

The M2A2 Bradley ODS weighs 60,000 pounds, slightly lighter than better-armored IFVs like the CV90 or Puma, which weigh around 88,000 pounds. Nevertheless, the M2A2 Bradley offers significant protection for its three-person crew and seven dismounted soldiers compared to the BMP family vehicles.

The basic armor provides protection against heavy machine gun fire, such as that from the KPW caliber 14.5×114 mm, while the frontal armor can withstand 30 mm caliber projectiles fired from 2A42 automatic cannons. Additionally, the aforementioned BRAT reactive armor offers good protection against weapons using cumulative warheads.

As for armament, the main striking force is the M242 Bushmaster automatic cannon with a 25 mm caliber, capable of firing 200 rounds per minute of armor-piercing or high-explosive incendiary M792 HEI-T ammunition. Additionally, the M2A2 Bradley is equipped with a dual launcher for BGM-71F (TOW 2B) anti-tank guided missiles.

This, combined with a fire control system that includes thermal imaging, allows for rapid detection and elimination of targets both at night and in adverse weather conditions. It is also worth noting that the ODS (Operation Desert Storm) variant is characterized by features such as a newer laser rangefinder compared to the earlier M2A2 Bradley version.