A Ukrainian M2A2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) gunner successfully engaged and shot down a Russian First-Person View (FPV) drone using the vehicle’s 25mm Bushmaster chain gun.
The M2A2 Bradley is an armoured combat vehicle used by various military forces.
In American service it is equipped with a 25mm Bushmaster chain gun, TOW missile launcher, and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, designed to provide both anti-armour and anti-personnel capabilities.
Donetsk Oblast, a Ukrainian M2A2 Bradley gunner was able to successfully engage and shoot down a Russian FPV drone with the IFV’s 25mm Bushmaster chaingun. pic.twitter.com/xv8YAQ0pzA
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) June 26, 2024
Known for its versatility, the Bradley serves both as a transport for infantry troops and as a support vehicle in combat situations.
On a recent visit to Kyiv, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reassured Ukraine of continued American support in their ongoing war with Russia.
The latest aid package, approved by Congress three weeks ago, includes over 100 M2 Bradley IFVs and 100 M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), along with munitions and other equipment necessary for defence and potential counter-offensives.
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This is what needs to be in every fighting vehicle, a 20-30 mm firing station with AA capability but including vertically and with a capable fire control with visual automatic tracking.
Alex, tell that to the MoD guys who are procuring Boxer!
Every vehicle is over kill. SPAAG is definitely needed at the unit or sub unit level though if EW doesn’t catch up with drones.
*edit* also 20mm+ might be over kill. Anti drone dismount teams carry shotguns, so some thing inbthe 10-20mm range with buckshot might be a better balance.
Every vehicle is not overkill, the enemy will have more drones than you will have troops not even talking about vehicles.
SPAAG are only for high value targets , there are no resources to have hundreds of SPAAG.
“There are not enough reasources for hundreds of SPAAGs (which are typically armed with something in the 30mm range) but there are reasources to *checks notes* equip EVERY vehicle with a 30mm and the fire control to shoot down drones… turning every vehicle into a SPAAG.
Thanks for letting me add SPAAG to the list of things AlexS is on Mt Dunning Kruger about…
A SPAAG have radar, and have a specific one use only. It is a huge investment – not only buying but logistics and transport and can’t be in all places.
Having every combat vehicle with a 20-30mm is what every Nato country have had in their IFVs, autotracking is nothing hyper expensive when your phone is much more complex.
There is a cheaper option. Which a large portion of vehicles are now getting or already have. Which is a machine gun (7.62mm or 50 Cal) mounted on a remote weapon sight (RWS). The RWS does come with its own digital sighting optics. If the RWS operator detects or is directed to the drone threat. There is a good chance the RWS MG can shoot the drone down.
Yes the 20/30mm would be in a RWS, i am not talking about a full turret. I am not sure 12.7 cuts it to protect troops nearby.
Drones are lightly constructed whether they be small ‘hobby drones’ or large types. Surely a 12.7mm would ‘ruin its day’?
Range is the issue.
The Russian Lancet and FPV drones are either too quick or too fleeting a target for a human operator to engage. Reports of them being shot down in this way are worth reporting because they are uncommon.
Ships have CIWS for this reason. The chance of every vehicle having something akin is remote indeed.
The issue with using a shotgun, which is commendable is that if the drone was conducting a recce, the operator might have spotted you, before the drone was shot down. Then given your coordinates to an artillery system. To hit a drone by using a shotgun, the drone will have to be within 100yds of you. At least with the forthcoming Sharpshooter SMASH optics. It would allow an infantryman to engage it further away. Though there still needs to a light and portable bit of kit that allows an infantryman to detect the drone at least 500m away.
Does a shotgun have enough range to take out a drone? safely for the firer.
I believe Ajax will have a better capability, as the 40mm CTAS HE rounds can be time to go off next to the drone. So hopefully less rounds are needed to take out the drone.
Someone needs to do some Operational Analysis. It might be that a 7.62 or 12.7mm MG firing hundred of (low cost) rounds per minute may be better than 20/25/30/40mm cannon fire against a small, lightly constructed drone.
I hereby confidently predict that the age of the drone is over and the tank has made it obsolete!
Using the same logic that “the tank is dead” types use.
Tank is dead because has only direct fire while being very expensive. So unless it starts to get NLOS weapons that increase its usefulness you can prepare its funeral.
Battleships were not dead because they were being sunk, but because an aircraft carrier could hit battleships 300km and battleships could not make anything about it.
If tanks can be destroyed 15-50km distance from drones, missiles, guided artillery there are no trade off that justifies the significant investment.
In the past you could not hit anything with precision at dozen km’s. That changed.
I’m not even going to bother to read that. Alex, we’ve been through this, you don’t know what your talking about, and you’re full of sh*t. Bore off.
“At the end of January 2024 a Russian company from 33rd Motor Rifle Regiment 1 set off to attack in the area of Novomikhailovka. The company comprised three T-72s leading one BMP-1 and seven MT-LBs…the sub-unit fanned out to attack from the line of march across open fields. The company was not stopped by mines or other engineering obstacles. Nor was it stopped by artillery or rocket fire. There were no anti-tank engagements and no Ukrainian tanks deployed to counter-attack. The company was stopped by $500 FPV drones loaded with explosive charges. All but one vehicle were damaged or destroyed and the survivors fled on foot.”
(Wavell Room, March 2024)
(Paraphrased from Wavell Room, March 2024)
“The Ukrainians use drones to attack (for preference) MBTs, SPGs, EW systems, AA systems and logistics stores; the Russians, attacks on Ukrainian trench lines and strongpoints, although this is also something the Ukrainians do. Overhead cover is insufficient, skilful pilots flying drones into trenches mean they must be L-shaped also.”
Seems everyone needs anti-drone capability of some sort.
I’m surprised the M2″A2″ is still knocking around, where they not all modified to M2A3s after Gulf War 1, apparently not :/