The US command showed the process of sending more than 60 Bradley fighting vehicles to Ukraine.
The shipment of the military equipment comes as part of a $2.85 billion U.S. military aid deal announced earlier this year.
The published video shows the loading of a batch of American infantry fighting vehicles onto a ship at the port of Charleston in North Carolina.
#ICYMI, U.S. Transportation Command is delivering more than 60 Bradleys to #Ukraine as part of the United States’ $2.85 billion military aid agreement announced earlier this year. #Watch @USArmy Soldiers and contractors load the @ARCships Integrity at the Port of Charleston, NC. pic.twitter.com/AwN9oeJexa
— USTRANSCOM (@US_TRANSCOM) February 6, 2023
Currently, several weeks of training are organized for the Ukrainian military to master these American BMPs in Germany. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are likely to receive a more advanced version of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle than expected. Ukraine will not receive the M2A2 ODS, as previously expected, but a more advanced and newer version of the BMP – the M2A2 ODS-SA.
The M2 Bradley is the main infantry fighting vehicle of the US Army. Produced since 1981 by divisions of the BAE Systems company. The Bradley is armed with a 25mm M242 Bushmaster automatic cannon. Equipped ammunition consists of 300 shells, portable – 600. In the arsenal of BMP – armor-piercing sub-caliber and high-explosive fragmentation ammunition. Bradley also has a TOW ATGM launcher. Additional armament is a M240C machine gun paired with a cannon.
BMP M2A2 ODS-SA, photo by BAE Systems
The weight of the BMP in the M2A2 ODS-SA version is 34,250 kg. The machine is driven by a 600-horsepower engine. It can develop a speed of up to 61 km/h. The BMP is able to pass trenches up to 2.5 m wide and overcome obstacles up to 0.9 m high.
We will remind, in general, Ukraine should receive 109 M2 Bradley BMPs. The deliveries were announced as part of two military aid packages in 2023.