Once synonymous with wasteful government spending, America’s Bradley Fighting Vehicle has seen late-life success on the Ukrainian frontlines as it withstands Russian fire while delivering deadly blows.
Originally developed in the 1980s and plagued with delays and a swelling budget, the armored vehicle has become highly regarded in Ukraine, with Kyiv posting clips of Bradleys easily taking out Russian tanks when other weapons have had trouble.
Ukrainian Pvt. Viktor Khamets is among those who have hailed the US-made mobile weapon as a necessity to fight Russia, with the soldier tattooing its image onto his arm.
“It saved my life,” Khamets told the Wall Street Journal about how a Bradley protected him last year.
Khamets, a mechanic, said his unit was inside their Bradley when it was hit by a Russian drone and fired upon by a helicopter.
Despite the intense attack, the 40-year-old vehicle, nicknamed Mavka, shielded Khamets company, with other soldiers sharing similar stories about the Bradley’s ability to tank Russian munitions.
The vehicle became a favorite in the Ukraine after the US delivered more than 300 Bradleys following Russia’s invasion in early 2022.
Weighing nearly 28 tons, the Bradley, known as the “battle taxi,” is faster and maneuvers the battlefield better than most tanks on the Ukrainian frontlines while capable of carrying six soldiers.
The vehicle is also equipped with a 25-millimeter cannon capable of firing armor-piercing rounds and a guided missile launcher that can decimate Moscow’s armored fleet.
While the Bradley is typically meant to provide only support for larger, more powerful tanks, Ukraine’s shortage of military supplies led Kyiv to deploy Bradleys on the frontlines to surprising success.
The US-made vehicle made headlines earlier this year when footage went viral of Kyiv’s 47th Mechanized Brigade using a Bradley to take out a Russian T-90 armored tank at close range in the town of Stepove in Donetsk.
Despite its success on the frontlines, Ukraine’s fleet of Bradleys has been struggling to keep up as the war has raged on for more than two years with the battles only intensifying.
The Ukrainian government estimates that around 65% of its Bradleys have been taken out of operation as of May, according to the WSJ.
Additional Bradleys are expected to reach Ukraine after the US announced the approval of a $250 million military aid package for Ukraine earlier this month.
US manufacturers are currently working on a new generation of armored vehicles expected to overshadow the Bradley, whose own troubled development was the focus of the 1998 HBO comedy, “The Pentagon Wars,” starring Kelsey Grammer.
