M2/M3 Bradley. Infantry fighting vehicle/Cavalry fighting vehicle

The M2/M3 BRADLEY, which effectiveness as a true combat fighting vehicle cou ld only be tested in t he recent Culf war, was t he first vehicle actually designed to carry t roops to land f r om) the battlefield and allowing them to fight from inside t he protective hull , instead of having to dismount and fight a battle in the open and facing the atrocities of nuclear and bio logical warfare. The Vie t nam war clea rly demonstrated t he need for a MICFV (Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle) such as the Bradley which bene atted from early trials with the XM734 (an M113 with pistol po rts) and the M113 ACAV in t hat war. As is often the case, combat vehicles are developed in anticipation of enemy desig ns. With t he Soviet BMP infant ry fighting vehicle already in serv ice and the BTR·GO being developed, performance capabi lities had to match, or better still , outclass theirs, Next to that, the new design should be able to keep up in speed with its future "Brot her in Arms", t he M1 ABRAMS tank , one of t he crttenas where an updated version Of the M113 would fail. In it ial pla ns t o acquire a li censed -built German MARDER were dropped on t he basis of rather poor armor protection, inadequate fire power and high cost. After a lot of turmoil within the Defense Department on t his new MICV desig n, FMC corporation was awarded a development contract fo r eig ht init ial prototypes, which it delivered for testing in 1978. Named in horror of t he famous WWII ge nera l, omar N. BRADLEV, seve ra l hundred M2 (Infant ry) and M3 rcavatrvi MICV's were to be delivered to units both statestoe and overseas from 1982onwards.

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