Summary and 3 Points You Need to Know: The U.S. Army has contracted BAE Systems for over $440 million to produce 200 advanced M2A4EI Bradley Fighting Vehicles, following the deployment of Bradleys to Ukraine. Initially mocked for their bureaucratic origins, the Bradley has proven vital in conflicts such as Iraq and Ukraine, offering versatility, availability, and replaceability.

-Despite high losses, Ukraine has effectively used Bradleys as a primary combat platform. The U.S. Army now seeks to replenish its stocks amid growing global tensions, including potential conflicts in the Middle East and rising threats from China. BAE Systems will produce the Bradleys across multiple U.S. facilities, showcasing its robust industrial capacity.

-As the Army gears up for future conflicts, the production of these new Bradleys highlights the vehicle's enduring role in armored warfare and the need for a ready, well-equipped force.

U.S. Army Orders 200 Advanced Bradley Fighting Vehicles Amid Global Tensions

The U.S. Army has finalized a contract with BAE Systems for more than $440 million to produce and additional 200 Bradley Fighting Vehicles that are more modern than current units. The purchase happens after the U.S. sent a number of Bradleys to Ukraine. The new units include advanced M2A4EI variants of the Bradley.

BAE Systems should be proud of their product. 

When the Bradleys were first designed, they were butt of jokes in the Pentagon. They were even mocked in movies in the 1990s. Bradley Fighting Vehicles, at the time of their creation, embodied the kind of post-World War II bureaucratic glut and administrative waste that government watchdog groups from both sides of the political aisle have long decried. 

But then something happened. America found itself fighting wars in the Middle East, notably in the urban environments of Iraq, where the Bradley Fighting Vehicle became an essential platform for Coalition ground forces. From there, the Bradley got yet another lease on life in the muddy, blood-soaked killing fields of Ukraine.

The Importance of the Bradley

The Bradleys are one of the few Western systems that the Ukrainians have had luck deploying in combat. They are readily available, versatile, and replaceable, giving Ukraine a dynamic fighting vehicle. Losses are high, but they remain a primary combat platform for Ukraine, which uses them far more effectively than other heavily armored vehicles given to them by the West. 

America is running low of critical stocks, though. They need to replenish. BAE Systems and the Army think this will be an easy ask. To say the least, it’s a priority. The Bradley serves as a key component of the Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCTs). Right now, the Army is looking at its inventory, taking stock of the various rising threats arrayed against the country, and they’re realizing that they have used up essential systems quickly in Ukraine. 

Learning from BAE Systems’ Combat Mission Systems Division? 

With the situation in Ukraine deteriorating, the likelihood that the United States will be involved in some land war in the Middle East, and the growing threat of a Chinese assault on Taiwan or one of their other neighbors, the Army will need its force totally primed for conflict in the near-term. 

In terms of industrial capacity, according to Colton Jones of Defence Blog, “Production of the Bradley A4 takes place across multiple BAE Systems facilities, including locations in South Carolina, Alabama, Minnesota, California, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. This expansive industrial network enables the company to meet the Army’s demand for advanced, reliable combat vehicles.”

Well, thank goodness for that. 

If only America’s ailing shipyards would work as efficiently as BAE Systems’ Combat Mission Systems division. Maybe the rest of America’s defense industrial base should learn how to churn out systems the way that BAE does. Or maybe we’re about to find out that BAE cannot sustain the wartime demand of their systems any more than other defense firms can. 

Buckle up. It’s going to get very interesting. America needs its Bradley Fighting Vehicles. 

Author Experience and Expertise: Brandon J. Weichert

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is due October 22 from Encounter Books. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

All images are Creative Commons or Shutterstock. 

From the Vault

Russia Freaked Out: Why the U.S. Navy 'Unretired' the Iowa-Class Battleships

Battleship vs. Battlecruiser: Iowa-Class vs. Russia's Kirov-Class (Who Wins?)