An M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle advances during a live-fire exercise as part of DEFENDER-Europe 22 in Germany, May 24, 2022.

An M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle advances during a live-fire exercise as part of DEFENDER-Europe 22 in Germany, May 24, 2022. U.S. Army / Sgt. Caleb Minor

Russia-Ukraine War Has Influenced How BAE Systems Designed Army Bradley Replacement

The company is including optional armor and making it easy to add counter-drone technology.

Military tactics used in the Ukraine war—including the heavy use of kamikaze drones—are influencing the way BAE Systems is designing a new armored fighting vehicle for the Army.

The company, which is one of five competing to replace the four-decade-old Bradley Fighting Vehicle, shared details Wednesday about its proposal, which includes the option to add more armor to protect soldiers from attacks from above.

“For a long time, ... as we're trying to meet weight targets and great mobility for vehicles, we've taken the armor off the top of vehicles,” Jim Miller, vice president of business development at BAE Systems, said during a call with reporters.

Militaries around the world have scrapped heavy armor from the tops of armored vehicles, he said, “which has made those vehicles potentially at risk because of this new top attack thing we're seeing everywhere, and most recently in Ukraine.”

“We are looking at, and we're going to offer, the ability to do modular armor protection, so additional armor that would go on the top of the vehicle and allow for protection,” he said.

Anti-tank weapons like the American-made Javelin or the Ukrainian-made Stugna-P climb above the target and then drop down to strike from above where armor is the weakest. Russia says its Kornet anti-tank weapon has a similar capability.

BAE Systems has also designed its vehicle so that high-energy lasers and other types of counter-drone technology could be installed later if the Army wants it.

“What we're doing is making sure that the modular hooks are in place so that we can support that when it comes,” Miller said. 

Bids to build prototypes to replace the Bradley for what the Army calls the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, or OMFV, were due on Nov. 1. The Army is expected to choose three winners next year and then evaluate the prototypes before selecting a single winner in 2027.

BAE, which built the Bradley, is offering a newly designed vehicle. The company announced Wednesday that its teammates include Elbit Systems of America, Curtiss-Wright, and QinetiQ. The team said the vehicle is being designed so that the Army can easily install new weapons or technology as needed in the future.

“Given the Army's requirements for growth, and for the future, you just can't constrain it with an old design,” Miller said. 

Aside from having more technologically advanced weapons and sensors, all five bidders are proposing hybrid-electric vehicles, which will allow soldiers to drive or conduct reconnaissance using only batteries, making it more difficult for an enemy to spot since they will not be emitting heat or generating noise.

“We're offering mobility at the objective levels for this vehicle, and so beyond the base requirement,” Miller said. “We think [that] series hybrid electric drive gives you the drive, the mobility, the burst speed, the torque, to be able to operate anywhere that you choose to operate.”

The extra battery power will also allow the Army to install defensive lasers later.

“The onboard power that we have will be able to run lasers that are much bigger than the lasers we see being used for counter-UAS right now,” Miller said.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.