BAE to renew legacy Bradley Fighting Vehicles with upgraded vetronics, power, and situational awareness

Questions and answers:

• What is the purpose of the $396.1 million order given to BAE Systems? To upgrade legacy M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles into modern M2A4 variants with enhanced vetronics, suspension, power systems, and combat capabilities.
• What key improvements are included in the M2A4 Bradley upgrade? Digital vetronics, improved suspension, new shock absorbers, smart power management, advanced fire-control systems, and support for active protection like the Iron Fist system.
• What role does the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle serve in the U.S. Army? It is an infantry fighting vehicle for reconnaissance and transporting infantry squads, while providing protection and firepower on the battlefield.

WARREN, Mich. – Armored combat vehicles designers at BAE Systems will upgrade legacy Army M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles into as-new M2A4 Bradleys under terms of a $396.1 million order announced on Thursday.

Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Mich., are asking the BAE Systems Platforms & Services segment in York, Pa., to upgrade old Bradleys with new vetronics, electrical systems, smart power management, heavyweight torsion bars, track upgrades, improved suspension, and new shock absorbers to create functionally new Bradley M2A4 combat vehicles.

The M2 Bradley is an infantry fighting vehicle for reconnaissance and for moving a squad of infantry. The armored vehicle protects warfighters inside from small arms fire, while its 25-millimeter chain gun provides firepower to counter many battlefield threats. The Bradley is maneuverable and fast enough to keep up with heavy armor like M1 Abrams main battle tanks during an advance.

The M2A4 Bradley Fighting Vehicle is a digital, full-tracked, medium armored vehicle that provides cross-country mobility, mounted firepower, communications, and protection to mechanized infantry. The armored combat vehicles have three seats for crew members and seven seats for squad members.

Integrated target locator

The M7A4 Bradley is an upgraded fire-support vehicle with integrated target location equipment to help direct artillery fire and airborne munitions. It has equipment for use by dismounted observers.

The first M2A4 Bradley Fighting Vehicles came off the manufacturing line in 2012 with heavyweight torsion bars and track upgrades, improved suspension, and new shock absorbers.

BAE Systems is rebuilding legacy Bradley vehicles with upgraded electrical systems and power train to accommodate today's high-power demands from a variety of systems upgrades such as networked vetronics, software-defined radios, air conditioning systems, and even mobile battery chargers.

The M2A4 Bradley electronics include state-of-the-art digital systems aimed at improving situational awareness, network connectivity, and communications.

Tell me more about active protection systems for armored combat vehicles ...

• An active protection system is a vehicle-mounted defensive suite that detects, tracks, classifies, and defeats incoming anti-tank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, and kinetic penetrators before they hit the vehicle. Some physically intercept, destroy, or deflect incoming munitions with explosive charges, fragmentation warheads, and counter-projectiles. Others jam, deceive, or blind incoming missile seekers with lasers, smoke, RF jammers, and multispectral obscurants. The system's sensor detects an inbound object; the tracker classifies it; counter-fire weapons engage the incoming munition; and the system reports engagement results to crew and vehicle networks.

The armored personnel carrier offers enhanced vetronics and electrical systems with upgraded power generation and smart power management for better electrical power distribution to support modern networked tactical radios and battle command systems.

It also has a new fire-control system that integrates laser target ranging, environmental sensors, and ammunition type inputs for first-round-hit targeting. The M2A4's improved situational awareness has a commander's tactical display for moving map and text communications, squad leader's display for navigation and imagery, and updated forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imaging systems.

The upgraded armored vehicle can accommodate advanced active protection such as the Iron Fist hard-kill system on the M2A4E1 variant, which uses AESA radars and infrared sensors for threat detection and countermeasures.

Upgraded vehicle power

A new auxiliary power unit (APU) supports energy-intensive electronic upgrades like active protection. Networked combat systems offer data sharing via the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) system.

On this order BAE Systems will do the work at locations to be determined with each order, and should be finished by January 2026. Last month's order will do the work in York, Pa., and should be finished by November 2027.

For more information contact BAE Systems Platforms & Services online at www.baesystems.com/en-us/product/bradley-fighting-vehicle, or the Army Contracting Command-Detroit Arsenal at https://acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-dta/.