As far back as 1967 the seed was sown for the development of a replacement for the M113. No longer was an Armoured Personnel Carrier sufficient with the arrival of the Russian BMP-1, an Infantry Fighting Vehicle should not only carry and protect troops, but should be able to engage hard and soft targets and keep pace with tank operations. Finally in 1980 the new IFV was named after the five-star General Omar Bradley and the first production models were delivered in May of the following year with sixty per month produced to replace the M113. Now I'm no expert or engineer, but a few fundamental issues that came to light with the M113 appear unchanged (and were addressed to a degree - think back to the rear mounted fuel cells on late M11 3s), namely internal fuel and ammunition storage. Also the use of aluminium armour hasn't proven the safest defence hence the continued upgrades in external add-on protection, the ultimate being the latest Bradley Urban Survivability Kits (BUSK) depicted by the kit. Also on-board the A3 version is the latest vision and sighting technology with improved safety seating and fire control safety systems. Bradley's M242 25mm 'Bushmaster' chain gun has a duel feed mechanism, ammo choice at the flick of a switch and a rate of two hundred rounds per minute in multiple shot mode means the M2A3 can, and has, successfully engaged enemy tanks.
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