The M2 Bradley IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) and M3 Bradley CFV (Cavalry Fighting Vehicle) are American infantry fighting vehicles manufactured by BAE Systems Land and Armaments, (formerly United Defense, originally FMC).
As with other infantry fighting vehicles, the Bradley is designed to transport infantry offering at least some armored protection while providing fire cover to dismounted troops and suppressing enemy tanks and armored vehicles. The M2 holds a crew of three: a commander, a gunner and a driver; as well as six fully equipped soldiers. The M3 mainly conducts scout missions and carries two scouts in addition to the regular crew of three.
The Bradley IFV was designed largely in response to the Soviet BMP family of infantry fighting vehicles, and to serve as both an APC, and a tank-killer. One specific design requirement was that it should be as fast as the new M1 Abrams main battle tank so that they could maintain formations while moving, something which the older M113 Armored Personnel Carrier could not do, as it had been designed to complement the older M60 Patton.
The 25 mm cannon fires up to 200 rounds per minute and is accurate up to 2500 m depending on the ammunition used (HE or APDS-T). The twin TOW2B missiles are capable of destroying most hostile tanks at a maximum range of 3750 m. A large drawback of the TOW is that it can only be fired while the vehicle is stationary. The Bradley also carries an M240C coaxial 7.62 mm medium machine gun, located to the right of the 25 mm chain gun. It is highly capable in cross-country open terrain, in accordance with one of the main design objectives of keeping pace with the M1 Abrams main battle tank. Whereas the M113 would float without much preparation, the Bradley was initially designed to float by deploying a flotation curtain around the vehicle. This caused some drownings due to failures during its first trials. Armor upgrades negate this capability.
The vehicle hull is of aluminum construction, one of the points used by critics to deride the vehicle. Aluminum armor tends to vaporize in the face of HEAT warheads; this and the storage of large quantities of ammunition in the vehicle initially raised questions about its combat survivability. Spaced laminate belts and high hardness steel skirts have been added to later versions to improve armor protection, although this increases overall weight to 33 tons. Actual combat operations, however, have not shown the Bradley to be overtly deficient as losses have been few. In friendly fire incidents in Desert Storm, many crew members survived hits that resulted in total losses for lighter USMC LAV 25 vehicles.
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