The Ukrainian army has suffered heavy losses in equipment in the process of launching ** against Russian positions, the most striking of which is the massive destruction of high-end combat vehicles supplied by the West. The American M2 "Bradley" infantry fighting vehicle is the main target of the Russian army. Since the beginning of July, the Ukrainian army has sent the 47th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, the 33rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade and the 65th Separate Mechanized Infantry Brigade to try to break through the defenses of the Russian army in the Kuban region
Ukrainian army mortar **).
In order to reduce the losses of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, the Ukrainian army has come up with two new tactics, one is the "roulette tactic", which is to use newly recruited mobilized troops to attract Russian artillery and anti-tank fire, so that these infantry can withstand Russian artillery fire on the front line, and then use elite infantry combined detachments to seize key strongholds at night.
The other is the "small sortie tactic", that is, the "Bradley" infantry fighting vehicle is used to transport the infantry not far from the Russian position, so that the infantry can sneak along the edge of the fields and woods, approach the position of the Russian army, and engage in close combat with the Russian army, while the "Bradley" infantry fighting vehicle provides fire support in the rear to protect the infantry attack. However, these tactics seem very unrealistic in front of the "new mysterious killer" of the Russian army.
Russian army "Lancet" UAV)
Recently, the Russian army's drone units have shown their skills on the battlefields in Zaporozhye and Yuzhnodonetsk, they have used the "Lancet" cruise missile and the new FPV drone modified suicide cruise missile to carry out a brutal blow to the armored forces of the Ukrainian army, even if the Ukrainian army puts the "Bradley" infantry fighting vehicle in the rear position, it cannot escape the eyes of the Russian drone, they can easily fly past the attacking forces of the Ukrainian army, especially the infantry on the ground, and directly attack various combat vehicles in the rear of the Ukrainian army, The attacking forces of the Ukrainian army fell into the dilemma of being caught between the front and the rear. In the direction of Lobodine and Patkhart, in the decisive battle between the ground forces of the two armies in the last week, the "roulette tactics" of the Ukrainian army were beaten by the Russian army's drone units and were powerless, and the last more than 2,000 Ukrainian warriors on the front line were all annihilated after being surrounded, and the armored forces of the Ukrainian army suffered heavy losses.
Bradley, who was transported to the rear of the battle line, was damaged).
On July 23, the Russian side unveiled some new **, in which it can be seen that several completely destroyed "Bradley" infantry fighting vehicles are parked together, and there are also other types of armored combat vehicles lost by the Ukrainian army around. **The location of the shooting, about 2 kilometers east of the Dnieper River, is in a residential area called the Kuban (or Labutino), which is part of the Zaporozhye region.
The Ka-52 destroyed the Bradley vehicle instantly).
Some people once speculated that the Russian side would transport the captured American-made and German-made armored vehicles back to the rear for analysis and study. Why are these "Bradley" tanks still left so close to the front line, don't the Russian army want to take them back? If you look closely, you can see that the damage to these Bradley vehicles is severe. In one case, the turret fell off and the engine compartment cover was opened. In another car, the left side of the body was deformed, and the tracks were gone. The engine compartment cover can also be seen in the other car being opened.
It can be inferred that these "Bradley" tanks were either too badly damaged and had no research value, or they had problems with their engines and could not drive them back on their own. In the fighting that began in early June, Ukraine may have lost about 1 3 "Bradley" tanks, and the total is estimated to be about 30 based on the amount of American aid. The Russians may have already transported the Bradley tank, which was less damaged and in better condition, to the rear. And these models, which were completely destroyed, were thrown in a tank cemetery near the front line.
The number of M2 combat vehicles equipped by the Ukrainian army is not small)
The situation with these losses actually reflects the concerns of some knowledgeable people in the US Army since the 80s, that is, the "Bradley" tank is not protected enough. The vehicle was designed to carry American mechanized infantry and, together with the M1A1 Abrams main battle tank, during World War III, to withstand the Soviet Red Army in central Europe. Bradley was designed with more focus on mobility, requiring the ability to keep up with the speed of the main battle tank and having a good passing ability. Bradley was armed with two Tao anti-tank missiles, which could pose an effective threat to the main battle tanks of the Soviet army.
Its 25-mm cannon can effectively combat infantry and enemy lightly armored vehicles. As for the lack of protection of the "Bradley" tank, in such a large-scale war, it is not obvious. As long as you can resist the fragments of the shell** and dismount the infantry before approaching the enemy, the mission is completed. As for the enemy's direct-fire anti-tank fire, it was the Abrams tanks that fought it.
Bradley with reactive armor in Iraq).
But the situation in the war in Ukraine is completely different, the Ukrainian army does not have a numerical superiority and no experience in tactical coordination, and is not able to launch a large-scale mechanized attack. They could only charge the front line of the Russian army in small formations during the day, and were easily detected by the enemy. This gives the Russian army enough time to use anti-tank missiles and heavy artillery to eliminate these armored targets one by one. The most powerful of these is, of course, the Whirlwind anti-tank missile launched by the Ka-52. This missile was originally designed to deal with the M1A1 main battle tank, and it was used to attack Bradley, which was simply a knife to kill chickens.
U.S. Army Bradley Urban Survival Tool Kit R&D Formulation).
In the face of huge losses, the United States urgently provided Ukraine with Bradley's retrofit kits. This kit was actually used during the Iraq War, mainly to protect against roadside bombs and anti-tank rockets, and is called the "Bradley Urban Survival Kit". The main armament is **reactive armor that covers the front, sides and sides of the turret. Bradley equipped with reactive armor has already been seen in the Ukrainian army.
The M1A2 tank is also considered for reactive armor)
But now the question is how effective this set of reactive armor really is. Reactive armor is not a panacea, and it can only weaken, not completely eliminate, the armor-piercing ability of missiles. If the remaining jet capabilities do not penetrate the group armor, the role of reactive armor is achieved, however, the Whirlwind missile is equipped with a tandem warhead with an armor-piercing capacity of up to 1200 mm. This set of reactive armor designed by the United States for the Bradley fighting vehicle may not be able to stop the powerful jet of the whirlwind.
Therefore, if the Ukrainian army does not have effective air supremacy**, it cannot stop the flight of the Ka-52, even if it is to hang Bradley with reactive armor, it is in vain.