The US aid package, announced by US President Joe Biden during his visit to Kyiv, will include $0.5 billion worth of weapons while the package itself has not yet been officially disclosed in detail.
Despite the fact that either the White House or the Pentagon did not publish the exact list, several sources immediately reported the same nomenclature of weapons and military equipment. In particular, the Bloomberg correspondent reported that the $460 million package consists of a significant portion of ammunition, Bradley IFVs, aerial surveillance radars and Javelin ATGMs.
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A much more accurate and complete list was published by a journalist of "Voice of America". There’s the specified number of certain types of weapons. In particular, additional four units of the Bradley Fire Support Team vehicles, four radars, 2,000 anti-tank missiles, as well as various 120-mm and 155-mm ammunition, as well as HIMARS missiles.
At the time of this article publication, official sources keep silent regarding the list of weapons, so it is possible that it might change.
The Bradley Fire Support Team Vehicle has a separate index M7 and the abbreviated name BFIST. And in fact, it is not an infantry fighting vehicle, but a high-precision weapon guidance and reconnaissance vehicle. Moreover, it is quite rare even for the US Army compared to all other versions of the Bradley. In particular, there is information that only 55 units have been produced overall.
The M7 Bradley BFIST was created in the 90s on the basis of the M2A2 Bradley ODS and has a number of features. In particular, no TOW anti-tank missile, but instead it has a laser rangefinder-illuminator and a target detection system that allows working at a distance of 20 km. Defense Express notes that this is an instrumental range, since direct visibility in the area is often less.
Also, the vehicle is equipped with a positioning system based on satellite navigation and an inertial system, and together with a laser rangefinder, it allows to determine the coordinates of the target as accurately as possible and transmit them for artillery attack. The M7 Bradley BFIST can also illuminate targets for strikes with laser-guided munitions.
That is, the main task of the vehicle is to direct artillery in battle formations, and not to transport soldiers and their fire support.
The capabilities inherent in the M7 Bradley BFIST, which were in service with the USAF since 2000, now embodied in a more modern version of the M3A3 Bradley, which has similar capabilities in a “basic trim”.
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