Bradley

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[Stuffy Outlaw]

You can make all the disparaging remarks you want but, after all the maintenance and other crap, it's one big, beautiful badass weapon.  My Bradleys were my favorite all time vehicles.

[Azurerepublic]

Don't know much about it really, I was always light Infantry.  I do not think I ever even rode in one.  I was shot at by some at NTC.  I agree they are very impressive and one mean machine.

You ever see HBO's movie the Pentagon Wars about the making of the Bradley?  If even half is true, very scary.  Still, little to do with today's Bradley. 

[DSEddie]

I loved the Bradley.  Go into the fight fresh supported by at least two 25 mm cannons, coax, and TOW missile launchers.  HOOAH!

[KogyBear]

The Bradley program was not very well managed program, and there was an awful lot of design creep during its developement.

But, even so, or maybe, in spite of that fact, the fine folks over at Food Machinery Corporation (FMC, now United Defense, part of British Aerospace), managed to make a good vehicle.

[Stuffy Outlaw]

Oh sure!  I remember the first FTX 3/41 Inf did at Ft hood.  We dropped transmissions left and right.  Turned out to be an MWO the manufacturer was responsible for.  But the unit had to request a team to come and fix them all.  What a goat screw.  But the vehicle was sound and is better now than ever.  (Wish I'd had laser range finders)

[steve3243]

They have got new reactive armour for them to which will make them even more effective .

[Stuffy Outlaw]

I put in a suggestion in the '80s to fix a problem.  The coax ready box had just barely enough room between  the top and the ceiling to load it.  It was damned near impossible to do correctly.  I suggested remounting the ready box with a hinge at the front and a latch at the rear.  The BC could unlatch it, swing it inward, load the box, swing it back and relatch it and then run the ammo through the feed chute to M240C.  It would take about a quarter of the time and effort.
Does anybody know if it was ever implemented?

[FirstStrike101]

I put in a suggestion in the '80s to fix a problem.  The coax ready box had just barely enough room between  the top and the ceiling to load it.  It was damned near impossible to do correctly.  I suggested remounting the ready box with a hinge at the front and a latch at the rear.  The BC could unlatch it, swing it inward, load the box, swing it back and relatch it and then run the ammo through the feed chute to M240C.  It would take about a quarter of the time and effort.
Does anybody know if it was ever implemented?

Nope same old ready boxes.

[Stuffy Outlaw]

Maybe I should resubmit the suggestion.

[DSEddie]

Maybe I should resubmit the suggestion.

  I doubt they'd listen.  We had M2A2 ODS Brad's at Stewart, and when we drew Brad's in Kuwait, they gave us the old A2's.  Tell me the logic in that!  The ODS's were made because of the changes requested after Operation Desert Storm, yet we fight in the same area with the same type of Bradley's 12 years later.

[Purplesuiter]

Can anyone explain why they haven't replaced the TOW-2 with Hellfires on the Bradley?

Having the Hellfire with laser tracking connected to the stablized gunners sight would allow the Bradley to fire the Hellfire while moving instead of making it a big fat juicy stationary target while it deployed and fired the TOW missile.