“Strange goods” on the M2 Bradley that Russia captured

The US M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle used by Ukraine was captured by Russia, and this vehicle was equipped with a 30mm cannon made in Russia.

Recently, an interesting photo suddenly appeared online, depicting an M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle (made in the US) operated by the Ukrainian military. Photo: @simpatico771.

The M2 Bradley in the photo captured by Russia is almost intact, captured from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Photo: @simpatico771.

The location and date of the photo, as well as the source of this photo, are unknown, but looking at the photo as a whole, it can be seen that this Bradley is in a warehouse with other Western-supplied armored vehicles that were captured by the Russians from the Ukrainian Forces. Photo: @simpatico771.

It is worth mentioning that this M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle is equipped with a 30mm 2A72 cannon made in Russia, replacing the Bushmaster M242 25mm automatic cannon originally on this vehicle. Photo: @simpatico771.

The 2A72 30mm gun is best known as the main gun of the BTR-82 wheeled armored personnel carrier. The 2A72 is also a lightweight version of the 2A42, which is widely used on the BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle, BMD-2 and BMD-3 amphibious combat vehicles, BTR-90 armored personnel carrier, as well as the Russian Ka-52 Hokum and Mi-28 Havoc attack helicopters. Photo: @ M&A 3D TLAČ.

The 2A72 has a rate of fire of 330 rounds per minute, firing shells to an effective range of nearly 1.6 km against armored vehicles. This is a significantly faster rate of fire than the 200 rounds per minute achieved by the Bushmaster gun. Photo: @ Wikimedia Commons.

The Bushmaster, on the other hand, can fire two different types of ammunition, which are fed from a box through a hopper into an autoloader. The gunner to the commander’s left can flip a switch to select between high-explosive rounds for engaging lightly armored vehicles, or armor-piercing rounds for engaging heavily armored vehicles, even tanks. The gunner can also choose between single-shot or multiple-shot modes. Photo: @ Department of Defense.

As of now, it is unclear whether this replacement installation is intended for actual combat use, testing, or other purposes. Photo: @simpatico771.

It is known that more than 300 Bradley M2A2 ODS have been provided by the US to Ukraine from April 2023 onwards. Photo: @Zona Militar.

According to the Oryx Open Source Monitoring Group, at least 12 Ukrainian Bradleys were captured by Russian forces, and many more were left behind after being damaged or completely destroyed. At least some of the abandoned but serviceable vehicles were recovered and repaired for further use by Russia. Photo: @ Army Recognition.

There is evidence that Russia has put a limited number of captured Bradleys back into combat service. At least one official video shows troops from Russia’s Central Army Regiment operating a previously captured Bradley. When it entered Russian service, the vehicle was fitted with a “cage”-style anti-drone protection around the top of the hull. Photo: @ChamelionRider.

In the same video, a Russian soldier explains that the Bradley tank is the most highly regarded because of its thick armor, large troop compartment, and sophisticated fire control system. Another soldier says that they prefer the Russian-made 2A72 30mm gun mounted on the BMP-2 over the Bushmaster, suggesting that the original American gun mounted on the vehicle has certain limitations in terms of rate of fire, as well as a limited supply of suitable ammunition. Photo: @ChamelionRider.

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/hang-la-tren-chiec-m2-bradley-ma-nga-thu-giu-duoc-post1551373.html