What to know about Bradley and other combat vehicles bound for Ukraine - The Washington Post

The announcements signaled a caller willingness connected the portion of the United States and European allies to assistance Ukraine reclaim territory captured by Russia, which condemned the determination arsenic an escalatory step.

“Right present the warfare successful Ukraine is astatine a captious point,” President Biden said. “We person to bash everything we can.”

The armored combat vehicles volition assistance fulfill a long-standing Ukrainian request for much precocious weapons systems, experts say. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the assistance brought defence practice “to a caller level.”

Here’s what to cognize astir the combat vehicles headed to Ukraine.

The M2 Bradley is an American-made infantry warring conveyance — meaning it’s intended to determination and enactment ft soldiers. The archetypal mentation was introduced to the U.S. Army successful the 1980s.

Each conveyance is designed to transportation a three-person unit and six soldiers arsenic passengers, particularly crossed unfastened terrain. In summation to its main 25mm gun, it tin beryllium equipped with an antitank TOW (“tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided”) rocket launcher.

The United States volition supply 50 Bradleys, which person “mounted firepower” and “significant armor capability,” Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Laura Cooper told reporters connected Jan. 7.

Included successful the $3 cardinal assistance bundle the Pentagon unveiled past week are 500 TOW missiles and 250,000 rounds of 25mm ammunition to spell with the Bradley vehicles.

The announcement set disconnected a debate among subject analysts implicit whether the Bradley is simply a tank. Retired colonel Mark F. Cancian, a elder advisor with the Center for Strategic & International Studies’ International Security Program, argues that since the Bradley has airy armor, tracks (rather than wheels), a mean weapon and long-range capabilities, it’s fundamentally a “light tank.”

But galore subject experts say it does not conscionable the definition, partially due to the fact that its weapon is excessively tiny and the conveyance is not designed to prosecute different tanks. Ukraine has requested American M1 Abrams tanks — which are, astir definitely, tanks — but the United States has not agreed to nonstop them. There are “sustainment considerations with tanks,” Cooper said connected Friday. “Certainly we cognize that the Abrams tank, successful summation to being a state guzzler, is rather challenging to maintain.”

Still, the Bradleys volition people a measurement up for Ukraine, with much firepower than the armored vehicles the United States sent earlier.

Armored warring vehicles are typically faster and much agile than full-fledged tanks, and easier to substance and maintain. And the Bradleys person “superb” night-vision sensors that are “better than thing that the Ukrainians person oregon the Russians have,” Cancian said.

The Pentagon said the Bradleys would complement the vehicles Germany and France are providing.

German institution Rheinmetall said it could nonstop astir 100 Marders erstwhile they’re refurbished. The Marder, successful work since 1971, has a 20mm automatic cannon and tin beryllium equipped with a guided antitank rocket system. Six oregon 7 soldiers tin acceptable inside. The limb strategy has been used successful combat successful Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Called a “light tank” by French authorities, the French AMX-10RC was developed successful the aboriginal 1970s. Designed for carrying retired reconnaissance, it’s equipped with a 105mm cannon and runs connected six wheels, alternatively than tracks. French and Ukrainian officials are inactive successful talks astir however galore vehicles volition beryllium provided and when, according to the French defence ministry.

The warring vehicles could assistance Ukraine scout retired the positions of Russian troops, transport soldiers and occurrence connected Russian armored vehicles.

“While nary of these vehicles by themselves are going to find the people of the war, they volition — if they’re employed decently and good supported successful the tract — supply Ukrainians with a large tactical advantage, peculiarly if the Ukrainians look to motorboat an violative to recapture territory this year,” said Sonny Butterworth, an expert astatine Janes, the quality firm.

The French AMX-10s were designed during the Cold War for reconnaissance. The thought is the conveyance would occurrence its gun, forcing force troops to uncover their positions, and past the conveyance would “scoot off” since it lacked the extortion of conflict tanks, according to Butterworth.

The Bradleys and Marders besides connection much precocious reconnaissance abilities than the Soviet-designed BMP1 and BMP2 combat vehicles Ukraine has been using. The optics connected the Bradley tin find and location successful connected targets astatine a greater region and nether much hard climactic conditions, Butterworth said. They could assistance Ukrainian soldiers snipe, according to Cancian.

Critically, the Bradley and the Marder tin transport troops into conflict — and backmost them up with cannons.

The United States utilized Bradleys successful its wars successful Iraq successful 1991 and 2003. “The U.S. Army was capable to deploy armored divisions — which person tanks and Bradleys — and unleash these successful agelong maneuvers, getting down force forces, breaking done force forces,” Cancian said.

For months, Western countries held backmost from sending tanks and blase infantry warring vehicles, acrophobic astir provoking a much nonstop confrontation with Russia.

But arsenic the warfare raged, Kyiv retook much territory and Russia pummeled Ukraine’s captious infrastructure. Now, Western allies look little acrophobic with angering Russia and much determined to reply Ukraine’s impassioned calls for assistance to thrust retired Moscow’s forces.

They anticipation the latest weapons packages, including the warring vehicles, volition assistance Ukrainians stave disconnected imaginable Russian offensives successful the months to travel — and interruption done Russian defenses on the beforehand line, which stretches hundreds of miles crossed eastbound and confederate Ukraine. With tracks meant for operating successful unfastened terrain, the Bradley is peculiarly good suited for battles successful the farmland of eastbound Ukraine.

“It’s precise overmuch tied to the warfare that we’re seeing connected the crushed close present and what we expect we’ll spot passim the wintertime months,” Kirby said.

Operating the Bradleys — arsenic good arsenic the Marders and AMX-10s — requires training, truthful it’ll apt beryllium a fewer months earlier they amusement up connected the battlefield. The United States is offering a caller grooming programme that volition bid astir 500 Ukrainian troops astatine a clip and see guidance connected operating the Bradleys, Cooper, the defence official, said.

Ukrainian forces person already proved susceptible of handling different analyzable equipment, according to U.S. officials.

“This is the close clip for Ukraine to instrumentality vantage of its capabilities to alteration the dynamic connected the battlefield,” Cooper said.

It helps that the United States has a ample fig of Bradleys to spare, Cancian said — and that the Army is readying to signifier them retired successful a fewer years. France is besides successful the process of phasing retired AMX-10s.

Still, Ukraine hopes that the pledge to nonstop warring vehicles could mean allies are besides acceptable to nonstop tanks, specified arsenic the German-made Leopard 2. Poland said Wednesday it intends to transportation a institution of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Britain, meanwhile, is reportedly considering sending astir 10 Challenger 2 tanks.

Alex Horton, Karen DeYoung, Dan Lamothe and Loveday Morris contributed to this report.