Dragon 7331 1/72 Scale M2A2 Bradley (Operation Desert Storm)

Dragon 7331 1/72 Scale M2A2 Bradley (Operation Desert Storm)

The M2 / M3 Bradley is a modern American infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). The first prototypes of the vehicle were made in 1976, and serial production started in 1980 continues to this day. It is estimated that around 6,800 vehicles of this type had been built by the beginning of 2018. Bradley is powered by an engine Cummins VTA-903T or VTA-903 o 500 hp and 600 hp respectively. It is armed with a single 25mm M242 automatic cannon, 1 7.62mm M240 machine gun and 1 TOW dual-guided missile launcher.

The M2 / M3 Bradley was originally developed as a new infantry fighting vehicle for the US Army to replace the M113 vehicles. During its design, particular emphasis was placed on the possibility of cooperation on the battlefield with M1 Abrams tanks, better armament than in the M113, the greatest possible mobility and high reliability. Interestingly, the armor of the new IFV was not particularly important, which led to the fact that the first production batches had a large part of the hull made of aluminum. At the end of the 70s, still at the testing stage, the US Army command decided to use the M2 to develop the M3 combat vehicle, which is very difficult to distinguish from its "relative" externally. Several versions of the M2 cars were created in the course of serial production. The first major modernization turned out to be the M2A1 version, which had a two-tube TOW launcher (instead of a single one). Later, a version of the M2A2 was created, which had reinforced armor, with the possibility of using reactive armor, and a new 600hp engine. Finally, the last - at least for the moment - was the M2A3 version, which was even more armored and received much more modern electronics. M2 / M3 vehicles are equipped only in Saudi Arabia and the United States. They also took part in several conflicts, most notably in Operation Desert Storm from 1990-1991.