M2 Bradley Combating Car Looks In Russia With Within the neighborhood Made 30mm Cannon

An interesting characterize has emerged of an M2 Bradley infantry fighting automobile (IFV) captured by Russia and fitted with a Russian-made 30mm cannon relatively than the auto’s normal Bushmaster M242 25mm automated cannon. Whether or no longer the set up is meant for operational utilize, for trials, or for some assorted operate is unclear, nevertheless other unorthodox changes to armored autos maintain appeared since the delivery of the battle in Ukraine.

The Bradley seen in the characterize is judicious one of many examples captured largely intact by Russia from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The positioning and date of the characterize are unknown, as is the authentic source, nevertheless the Bradley in interrogate appears to be like to be in a depot alongside other Western-equipped armor captured from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Some puzzled how can Russians utilize the Bradley in the occasion that they save no longer maintain ammo for it. Effectively, that’s how:

“Russian repairmen installed a domestic 30mm 2A72 cannon on a captured Bradley instead of the chain-driven Bushmaster.” pic.twitter.com/m4SZhfVKQe

— SIMPLICIUS Ѱ (@simpatico771) June 12, 2025

You possibly can read all about the Bradley and what it brings to the struggle in Ukraine on this past characteristic of ours.

Most interestingly, Russian technicians maintain replaced the Bushmaster with what appears to be like to be a 30mm 2A72 cannon, presumably simplest identified as the essential gun of the BTR-82 wheeled armored personnel provider.

The 2A72 is a reduced-weight pattern of the broadly former 2A42, furthermore a 30mm weapon, which fingers the BMP-2 infantry combat automobile, BMD-2 and BMD-3 airborne combat autos, BTR-90 armored personnel provider, besides to Ka-52 Hokum and Mi-28 Havoc attack helicopters.

The 2A72 has a rate of fire of 330 rounds per minute, sending its ammunition to an efficient vary of practically a mile in opposition to an armored automobile. Here’s a significantly faster rate of fire than the already impressive 200 rounds per minute completed by the Bushmaster.

In opposition to soft targets, equivalent to infantry, the effective vary of the 2A72 is elevated to around 1.2 miles. Ammunition options encompass armor-piercing-tracer (AP-T), high-explosive fragmentation-incendiary (HEF-I), and high-explosive-tracer (HE-T) ammunition.

A Russian Ministry of Protection video shows the 2A72 gun in action on a BTR-82A in the future of an exercise:

As for the Bushmaster, that is a weapon that we now maintain discussed sooner than, in the context of the Bradley being former in Ukraine. The Bushmaster can fire two assorted kinds of ammunition, fed from containers by chutes into the autoloader. The gunner, sitting to the left of the tank commander, can flip a swap to make a selection between high-explosive (HE) rounds to strike lightly armored autos or depleted uranium (DU) armor-piercing sabot rounds to hit extra closely armored autos treasure IFVs and even tanks. The gunner can furthermore pick out between single- or a lot of-shot modes.

“Our DU rounds can literally hit one aspect of an armored personnel provider or infantry fighting automobile (treasure a BRDM or BMP) and exit the opposite aspect and could maintain sufficient kinetic force to disable one other one,” one armor knowledgeable told TWZ, talking on situation of anonymity.

Effectively-identified videos existing Ukrainian Bradleys firing 25mm rounds from their Bushmaster guns at a Russian T-90M essential combat tank from relatively discontinuance vary:

There are three stuff you would also impress forever. Cherish this Ukrainian M2 Bradley IFV obliterating a «no-analogue» russian T-90M tank.

: forty seventh Mechanized Brigade pic.twitter.com/4NwvEryE3Y

— Protection of Ukraine (@DefenceU) January 18, 2024

Increased quality footage of a pair of Ukrainian M2A2 Bradley IFVs from the forty seventh Mechanized efficiently dueling a Russian T-90M in Stepove, disabling it, with a note up FPV munition strike causing the crew to desert the broken automobile. pic.twitter.com/Vor8IuVlBZ

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) January 13, 2024

More than 300 examples of the M2A2 ODS version of the Bradley were offered to Ukraine by the United States from April 2023 onwards. Per the Oryx launch-source monitoring neighborhood, which simplest records losses that it has visible affirmation of, no longer no longer up to 12 Ukrainian Bradleys were captured by Russian forces, and deal of extra were abandoned after having been broken or were outright destroyed. As a minimum a few of the abandoned nevertheless peaceable intact autos could maintain chanced on their procedure into Russian hands, too, and could were repaired.

One possible reason in the again of the modification could express to the Russian operational utilize of captured Bradleys.

There could be evidence that Russia has been making some restricted utilize of captured Bradleys on the battlefield. As a minimum one reliable video shows Russian troops from the Center Army Community working a captured Bradley, after it turned into as soon as returned to running grunt, having been disabled by a mine. Once in Russian provider, the auto turned into as soon as fitted with extra anti-drone protection ‘cope cage’ around the prime of the hull.

In that same video, a Russian soldier explains that the Bradley is prized, above all, for its heavy armor, the size of its troop compartment, and its sophisticated fire-adjust system.

One other soldier states that they desire the 30mm gun on the BMP-2 to the Bushmaster, indicating that the authentic American gun is peaceable fitted to the auto, even though its utilize would be restricted by the restricted present of the suitable ammunition.

Clearly, no longer no longer up to a couple frontline Russian objects own in options it precious to characteristic captured Bradleys, even in the occasion that they could also be very few in quantity, and not using a supporting logistics chain or ammunition stockpiles.

We would furthermore be having a leer at a test set up to peek whether or no longer it’s possible to re-arm the Bradley with a Russian essential gun.

It can even be intended for propaganda capabilities, with the Russian gun standing in for the Bushmaster so that the auto could furthermore be demonstrated in parades or in collections of captured Western tools.

Captured Bradleys (with normal guns) were displayed amongst battle booty in Russia sooner than, as you would also read about here. Contemplating the celebrated nature of practically all these exhibitions, this could per chance even be the possibly explanation.

There could be furthermore a precedent for changes being made to the authentic guns on captured armor, with one M1A1 Abrams essential combat tank being displayed in Russia with the broken barrel reinstalled upside-down.

As wisely as serving propaganda capabilities, captured Bradleys are furthermore providing Russia with a huge gamble to ranking a closer leer at Western armor. No longer too lengthy ago, Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Russia’s assert-paddle protection conglomerate Rostec, criticized assorted assorted Western armored autos former by Ukraine, including the Bradley, in an interview on the firm internet site.

Even supposing Chemezov furthermore highlights the Bradley’s just correct stage of crew protection and inner layout, he expresses doubts about its tactical effectiveness.

“Some experts, including ours, reward the Bradley. Individually, that’s unjustified enthusiasm. We checked out it from either aspect: yes, it has some positives in phrases of protection and troop compartment comfort. But that doesn’t cease our weapons from destroying the auto alongside side its crew and passengers,” he said.

Chemezov further criticizes the Bradley’s off-avenue mobility and absence of amphibious capability (something that will be a major allotment of the create ethos of Russian IFVs).

“The Bradley has a essential feeble assert: issues with mobility,” Chemezov continues. “It struggles off-avenue and will get stuck in shadowy soil, changing into an effortless target because of its gargantuan size. And what’s the utilize of greater protection if the ‘s the an identical? Nearly all Bradleys delivered to Ukraine were destroyed. Now we maintain got to be aware, an IFV is no longer a tank. It needs to be rapidly, cell, and succesful of crossing rivers unaided. Our IFVs can assemble that, the American ones can’t.”

Without a doubt, Chemezov’s comments are very closely coloured by the true fact that his job is to promote rival protection tools each and each to the Russian assert and to a diminishing dedication of international customers. There are, meanwhile, a lot of documented cases of Ukrainian Bradleys surviving a lot of affirm hits and withstanding the outcomes of drone strikes or mines. The fact that Russia is even in a put to clutch broken autos and ranking them working again is furthermore a testomony to their sturdiness.

On the opposite hand, Chemezov is magnificent to assert that Ukrainian Bradley losses were heavy. Per figures from Oryx, there could be documented evidence showing 177 Ukrainian Bradleys destroyed, broken after which abandoned, or captured. But as lengthy as workable Bradleys could furthermore be salvaged by Russia, they are at possibility of be set aside to make utilize of, even though simplest on an ad-hoc basis.

While it’s no longer going that Russia will be in a put to assemble a instant of Bradleys gargantuan sufficient to warrant a extra in depth program to rearm them with domestically produced guns, the look of no longer no longer up to regarded as one of many IFVs with a Russian-made 30mm cannon fitted is effortlessly a critical novelty.

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