Key Points and Summary – The M2 Bradley grew out of a Cold War need to move infantry with tanks and kill enemy armor at range.
-Born from the MICV program and fielded in 1981, it paired a 25 mm Bushmaster with TOW missiles and enough protection for mechanized fights in Europe.
-It was blooded in Desert Storm, evolved into urban and COIN wars after 9/11, and—four decades on—still matters, now with A4 powertrain and Iron Fist active protection upgrades.
-Ukraine’s battlefield has showcased its strengths and limits against drones, mines, and artillery.
The Army’s XM30 program will replace it, but not before the Bradley writes a final, useful chapter.
The M2 Bradley: Why The Army Built It, How It Fought, And What Comes Next
By the late 1960s, U.S. mechanized infantry faced a brutal math problem. Soviet formations fielded the BMP-1, a fast, gun-armed troop carrier meant to keep infantry with tanks and kill American vehicles from standoff range. The U.S. M113 could haul troops, but not fight its way through a European battle at the speed and lethality the new doctrine demanded. The Army needed an infantry fighting vehicle that could ride with the Abrams, protect a squad, and overmatch Soviet IFVs—ideally with the reach to menace tanks, too. That requirement birthed the family of programs labeled MICV, and ultimately the vehicle we know as Bradley.
The Origin Story: From MICV To M2 Bradley
The first serious push, MICV-65, explored turning the M113 into a fighting carrier; it proved the concept but not the solution. A clean-sheet tracked prototype, XM723, followed—more protection, better mobility, firing ports, and a small cannon. As the Army formalized AirLand Battle, it merged infantry carrier and scout ideas onto one chassis, creating XM2 (infantry) and XM3 (cavalry). The turret grew to mount the 25 mm M242 Bushmaster and a twin-tube TOW launcher, giving the new vehicle the punch to kill BMPs and threaten tanks while carrying a (smaller) dismount team. Type-classification arrived at the dawn of the 1980s, and Bradley entered service in 1981.
Troopers with 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division firing the 25mm canon on a Bradley fighting vehicle in order to zero the vehicles weapons systems at a range in Poland. Ranges such as these familiarize troopers with the vehicles systems in order to ensure combat readiness.
That compromise—firepower and protection vs. troop capacity and weight—defined Bradley’s character. It would never carry a full nine-man rifle squad under armor; it would carry fewer troops, fight alongside the Abrams, and contribute meaningful anti-armor fires. In a doctrinal fight against a Soviet front, that trade made sense.
Early Service: A Mechanized Fighter, Not Just A Ride
On paper, Bradley was built for Central Europe. In practice, it spent the 1980s proving it could pace the tank, share the fight, and give commanders options. The family mattered: M2 brought a squad and a steady 25 mm gun; M3 tilted more toward sensors, radios, and anti-armor missiles for cavalry work. Crews learned to live with a fighting carrier’s realities—tight internal space, heat, noise, and the need to dismount fast—while discovering how much the thermal sight and TOW changed their options at night and across long fields of fire.
Combat History I: Desert Storm And Its Hard Lessons
Operation Desert Storm tested the design in open desert—and it performed. Bradley crews praised the vehicle’s lethality and mobility, and the Army’s early accounting showed most vehicle losses were to friendly fire, not enemy overmatch. That painful fact drove immediate improvements in identification and procedures. The larger lesson was that a well-trained Bradley crew could hit hard at standoff and keep up with tanks on a fast advance—exactly what mechanized commanders needed.
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 2nd Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Task Force Reaper, conduct movement procedures with M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles during the Jade Cobra VI exercise in the U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility, Feb. 19, 2025. Jade Cobra VI strengthens military-to-military partnerships, increases readiness, and facilitates security cooperation between the United States and Jordan. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Hector Tinoco)
Combat History II: Iraq, Afghanistan, And Urban War
Post-9/11 fights were not the Central Front. In Iraq’s cities and along IED-laced routes, Bradleys took RPG and mine hits that stressed floors, side armor, and optics. Units responded with armor kits, tactics that emphasized crew survival, and a heavy dose of maintenance. The vehicle’s thermal sights, stabilized gun, and TOW still mattered in urban fights and open-desert skirmishes; the cost was sustainment labor and a cat-and-mouse game with low-tech threats. The Army institutionalized lessons with survivability packages and training—evolution, not reinvention.
The Upgrade Path: Keeping A 1980s IFV Relevant In 2025
The Army has kept Bradley current by refreshing what matters: power, sensors, electronics, and protection.
M2A4 increases power generation and automotive performance, giving crews margin for modern electronics and armor kits.
3rd-Generation FLIR sharpens long-range detection and identification, improving the night fight and target discrimination.
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle cuts loose several rounds from the 25mm main gun on the orchard Combat Training Center Range.
Soldiers completed training this week of the Bradley Commanders Course with the 204th Regional Training Institute, (RTI), of the Idaho Army National Guard on Gowen Field. The course is designed to train active duty, reserve and national guard officers and non-commissioned officers in combat critical M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle Commander Skills. Field exercises were conducted on the newest Range 10, the Digital Air Ground Integrated Range (DAGIR), on the Orchard Combat Training Center grounds.
Iron Fist active protection on the M2A4E1 adds a hard-kill layer against incoming rockets and missiles—crucial on a battlefield crowded with top-attack threats and FPV drones.
These changes don’t turn Bradley into a new vehicle; they stretch a proven one into the drone-sensor-missile era with better “see first, shoot first, survive first” attributes.
Operational History And Deployments: The Long War Resume
Beyond Desert Storm and the post-9/11 campaigns, M2 Bradley has served wherever mechanized infantry mattered: deterring on NATO’s flank, rotating through Europe, and anchoring heavy brigade combat teams at home. Its two-crew-plus-dismount rhythm shapes how battalion and brigade commanders fight: Bradleys suppress and screen; squads dismount to clear, hold, and maneuver; TOWs keep enemy armor honest.
The Army’s production moves reflect a bridge strategy—keep modern A4s flowing while the replacement matures. Recapitalized hulls converted to A4 standard sustain brigade sets and readiness while new programs spin up.
Ukraine: A New Battlefield, Familiar Truths
Ukraine has given the M2 Bradley a brutal second life—and a very public one.
U.S.-donated M2A2 ODS-SA vehicles have been used to ambush Russian armor, absorb punishing artillery and drone attacks, and haul crews away from wrecks that a lesser vehicle would have turned into fatalities. The same videos that show losses also show crew survival and rapid recoveries—vital in a war of attrition.
Aerial drone image of Bradley Fighting Vehicle crews from the 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, conducting Table XII gunnery at Fort Stewart, Ga. December 7, 2016.
Aerial drone image of Bradley Fighting Vehicle crews from the 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, conducting Table XII gunnery at Fort Stewart, Ga. December 7, 2016.
Troopers with 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division firing the 25mm canon on a Bradley fighting vehicle in order to zero the vehicles weapons systems at a range in Poland. Ranges such as these familiarize troopers with the vehicles systems in order to ensure combat readiness.
The tactical picture is nuanced. Against mines, massed artillery, and top-attack drones, no IFV is invulnerable, and Bradleys have been knocked out and later repaired.
But Ukraine confirms the original logic: a vehicle that can see, stabilize, and shoot on the move, while protecting a small dismount team, is a force multiplier in combined-arms fights—especially when paired with active protection.
Is M2 Bradley “Obsolete”? The Honest Answer
“Obsolete” is sloppy. What’s true is that Bradley’s growth margin is finite. Weight gain over decades has squeezed under-armor volume; the layout makes adding still more protection and electronics a game of inches and amps; and a three-person crew plus a small dismount team reflects 1970s design choices, not 2030s concepts. Drones and top-attack munitions demand organic protection and power for sensors and effectors that the A4 can support—but only so far.
That’s why the Army’s XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle exists: to replace Bradley with an open-architecture, better-protected, more easily upgraded platform that can host current and future sensors, effectors, and autonomy. The program has moved through competitive design and into prototyping, with timelines that reflect the complexity and risk of building a true next-gen IFV.
The Pending Retirement: How A Fleet Actually Fades
The Army won’t park every Bradley on the same day. Expect a tiered sunset: A4s (and A4E1s) hold the line in priority brigades while XM30 prototypes shake out; earlier variants shift to training and second-line roles; recapitalized hulls keep readiness numbers honest. Meanwhile, depots keep turning old hulls into usable A4s because brigade combat teams need availability more than brochure promises. That’s the unglamorous reality of fleet management: you retire a system functionally, mission by mission, as the replacement arrives in enough numbers to carry the load.
What The Bradley Still Teaches
Three enduring lessons travel with Bradley into its final act:
Combined Arms Wins. M2 Bradley was never meant to be a solo tank. It’s a node—sensors, firepower, mobility—for squads and tanks to fight together. Ukraine has re-proved that rule in the drone age.
Sustainment Is Combat Power. Desert Storm and Iraq taught hard truths about ID, armor kits, and repair pipelines. Ukraine adds drone mitigation and battle-damage repair at scale. The winner is the force that fixes faster and learns quicker.
Upgrade Wisely, Replace Relentlessly. The A4 and Iron Fist buys are smart, targeted life-extenders. But the Army is right to move on. A future mechanized force needs more electrical power, better protection geometry, an open digital spine, and headroom for autonomy—attributes you design in, not bolt on.
The Bradleys’ Place In U.S. Army History
Few vehicles stay this relevant for this long. The M2 Bradley is a Cold War design that earned credibility in desert thunder runs, adapted to urban attrition, and now fights under drones and ubiquitous ISR. Its legacy isn’t perfection—it’s usefulness: a machine that let commanders put infantry where it mattered, protected them well enough to do the job, and brought enough teeth to change an enemy’s mind.
That’s why the right epitaph for M2 Bradley is not “obsolete,” but “mission accomplished—time for the next one.” The XM30 will inherit a tough standard: sprint with tanks, keep soldiers alive, and punch above its weight in a battlefield that is only getting faster and more lethal. The Bradley did that for forty years. That’s a legacy worth matching.
About the Author: Harry J. Kazianis
Harry J. Kazianis (@Grecianformula) is Editor-In-Chief and President of National Security Journal. He was the former Senior Director of National Security Affairs at the Center for the National Interest (CFTNI), a foreign policy think tank founded by Richard Nixon based in Washington, DC. Harry has over a decade of experience in think tanks and national security publishing. His ideas have been published in the NY Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and many other outlets worldwide. He has held positions at CSIS, the Heritage Foundation, the University of Nottingham, and several other institutions related to national security research and studies. He is the former Executive Editor of the National Interest and the Diplomat. He holds a Master’s degree focusing on international affairs from Harvard University.
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