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A Quiet Farewell For the M-2 Bradley
The Strategy Page ^ | 3/5/2012 | The Strategy Page

Posted on 03/06/2012 11:25:30 PM PST by U-238

One of the little-known casualties of the Iraq war was the American M-2 Bradley IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle). Five years ago the U.S. Army stopped using the M-2 in combat. By then it was clear that the enemy was intent on using mines and roadside bombs in a big way and the M-1 tank, Stryker, and MRAP vehicles were much better able to handle these blast weapons than the M-2. This was a hard decision to make because up until then it was believed that the M-2 could be made competitive with upgrades. For example, the BUSK (Bradley Urban Survival Kit) has been applied to about 600 M-2s. These improvements came in two batches. The first included a more powerful (at 3 million candlepower, four times brighter) spotlight. There was also a wire mesh protector to keep the optics from getting scratched and non-conductive rods that push away fallen electrical wires that often endanger crews. Later came a remote control (CLAW) 5.56mm machine-gun on the turret, additional armor underneath to provide protection from mines. There was also a bullet proof transparent shield for the commander for when his head and shoulders are out of the turret. Some non-urban warfare improvements were also made, including a series of sensors and a software package that more quickly detects when components are wearing out (so replacements could be ordered and installed) and simulation software so the gunner could train (with the fire control system, in effect turning into a realistic video game).

(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: armor; bradley; ifv; m2; militaryhardware; usarmy

1 posted on 03/06/2012 11:25:38 PM PST by U-238
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To: U-238

‘Sokay. They’ll probably be showing up at local ‘cop shops’ and Federal agencies across the country soon...to protect the dog shooters from those bitter clingers.


2 posted on 03/06/2012 11:29:36 PM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)
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To: Smokin' Joe

They would make a nice gift to Israel.


3 posted on 03/06/2012 11:38:22 PM PST by Dogbert41 ("...or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. " -Jesus)
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To: Dogbert41

Or South Korea.


4 posted on 03/06/2012 11:39:48 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet (You can't invade the US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.~Admiral Yamamoto)
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To: U-238

I remember my Engineering Design teacher used the Bradley as an example of what can happen when the design process gets out of control-Evidently the Bradley started out one way but when everyone got their hands into it it looked like something else. He also talked about a movie called Pentagon Wars about the design process.


5 posted on 03/07/2012 12:21:11 AM PST by chargers fan
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To: chargers fan
I have that movie..HBO..unfortunately..but funny as hell and sad too. Everyone should watch it. HBO didn`t do too bad. Photobucket
6 posted on 03/07/2012 12:31:26 AM PST by NCDave (AKA, "That idiot over there")
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To: chargers fan

The Pentagon Wars is a hoot! I don’t know how historically accurate the film is, but it is quite entertaining.

Here’s a good youtube about the tortured design process involving the Bradley from the movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rJOXXNCSI0


7 posted on 03/07/2012 12:35:54 AM PST by DemforBush (A Repo man is *always* intense!)
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To: U-238; martin_fierro
FMC and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle was in the news constantly in Silicon Valley in the late 70s and early 80s, first due to all the design and manufacturing fiascos, then later due to corruption. May it RIP.

Bradley Vehicle Parts Flawed, Suit Says


October 05, 1986
KNT News Service

SAN JOSE, CALIF. — The manufacturer of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle used substandard or rejected parts in its assembly and conspired with the government to get rid of pesky inspectors, a previously undisclosed lawsuit shows.

The suit, which was settled out of court in 1984, was filed by a former high-ranking quality control official at FMC Corp. in San Jose, who charged that he was fired because he refused to go along with ''manufacturing improprieties'' on the Bradley.

One deposition of a former government inspector taken in connection with the suit alleges that since the firing of the quality control officer, the government's inspection program at FMC had been ''gutted.''

The suit, settled after two weeks of jury trial, shows that an internal debate swirled around testing and quality control procedures at FMC's San Jose plant as early as 1981-82, when production began on the Bradley.

Filed in 1983 by Robert Copeman, the suit claims that his firing in mid- 1982 was triggered by his ''refusal to assent to . . . certain improprieties which had occurred and were continuing to occur . . . relating to the inspection and use of mechanical parts on completed government Bradley Fighting Vehicles.''

Copeman, who was product assurance manager of FMC Corp's Ordnance Division Engineering section from March 1979 to July 1982, was responsible for control, assurance and maintenance of quality systems in the firm's engineering section. He was fired after a Defense Department audit team submitted a critical report on his department's performance.

Then in 1998:

Government contractor fraud verdict of $387 million

The government contractor who was hired to make Army tanks, called the Bradley Fighting Vehicle actually made and sold the government a substandard leaky death-trap not an amphibious war machine. So said, the findings in a fraud verdict of $387 million, Tuesday. So said, the findings in a fraud verdict of $387 million, Tuesday. The case name is U.S. ex rel. Henry Boisvert v. FMC Corp., 86-20613.

The San Jose, CA federal jury ruled that Chicago-based FMC Corp., '...made 13,000 false billing claims to the government over 10 years.' The False Claims case went to trial on Jan. 20th, after 12 years of delay.


8 posted on 03/07/2012 2:26:52 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: U-238

And of course, our next war will be in the urban environment. I hope the Bradleys are put in storage.


9 posted on 03/07/2012 3:25:36 AM PST by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink)
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To: R. Scott

And of course, our next war will be in the urban environment. I hope the Bradleys are put in storage.


Will they be able to move through the streets of DC ?


10 posted on 03/07/2012 3:49:37 AM PST by maine yankee (I got my Governor at 'Marden's')
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

South Korea have their own IFV-the K21.


11 posted on 03/07/2012 4:01:54 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
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To: DemforBush

That was so funny. I’ll have to get around to seeing it.


12 posted on 03/07/2012 4:04:27 AM PST by wally_bert (It's sheer elegance in its simplicity! - The Middleman)
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To: R. Scott
I hope the Bradleys are put in storage.

I think the article is misleading - the Brads aren't going away anytime soon, although excess/surplus are being made available to allies and a better vehicle for urban combat situations is being developed. From the article:

"Meanwhile, thousands of M-2s are still in service and would be sent into combat if it was believed roadside bombs were not going to be a major presence on the battlefield."
13 posted on 03/07/2012 4:10:31 AM PST by tanknetter
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To: tanknetter

It has always saddened me that a major factor in the design of our Army’s tactical vehicles consists of illiterate inbred religious savages and their third-party supplied explosives.

I say this as a former tanker (M48, M60).


14 posted on 03/07/2012 4:38:13 AM PST by elcid1970 ("Deport all Muslims. Nuke Mecca now. Death to Islam means freedom for all mankind.")
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

or South Sudan


15 posted on 03/07/2012 5:05:39 AM PST by bjorn14 (Woe to those who call good evil and evil good. Isaiah 5:20)
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To: U-238
The six Brits just KIA in 'Stan were in a Warrior. We and our Allies build what we think is a vehicle impervious to IEDs/mines etc. Our enemies merely implant larger IEDs. The IED used in 'Stan was said to be "massive." Preliminary reports of course.

Just don't know if we can build a vehicle that can survive such...

16 posted on 03/07/2012 5:15:46 AM PST by donozark (A soldier lives as long as he is remembered...)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

APCs, tanks, combat aircraft, artillery, warships and IFVs are like sex. There’s no such thing as too much.


17 posted on 03/07/2012 10:14:52 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet (You can't invade the US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.~Admiral Yamamoto)
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To: maine yankee

I don’t know, DC has some very well armed criminals.


18 posted on 03/07/2012 1:21:31 PM PST by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink)
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To: R. Scott

Or given to the Israelis


19 posted on 03/07/2012 2:35:15 PM PST by U-238
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To: chargers fan

Sounds like the old Sgt York vehicle and the M-9 engineer vehicle.


20 posted on 03/08/2012 11:47:35 PM PST by Little Pig (Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.)
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