Ukraine will get American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles in the M2A2 ODS version, as we learned earlier. All the essential system components in this variant are potent and armor that can protect from a 30mm automatic gun.
Compared to the newer M2A3 Bradley, the M2A2 version has no CIV combined panoramic sight, lacks the updated fire control system identical to the one on the M1 Abrams tank, and of course, it comes without the automated C2 system. The latter, though, would be stripped off the vehicles anyway if the M2A3 went to Ukraine.
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The insides of Bradley look pragmatic which is no wonder since the vehicle was adopted in the 1980s. The modernizations that Bradley has seen were centered not around its "design features", so the difference in the interior is not as between the M2A2 and the M2A3 is not so remarkable.
The accommodation of soldiers inside the vehicle is as follows: up to 7 people in the landing squad compartment. Six of them sit along the sides of the vehicle, while the seventh is between the turret and the wall.
This last seventh spot is in practice almost never occupied and filled with additional ammunition for the gun. Also, we should note that even in the M2A2 version, there is that monitor in the landing squad compartment which provides the picture from the vehicle's imagers.
It is attached to a bracket which turns either way. This device is also used as a tactical tablet for the landing crew.
In fact, it's a doublet to the monitor located in the vehicle commander's compartment in the two-seat turret. The commander manages all the systems for controlling the vehicle, such as starting or stopping the engine, and the weapons controller. To manipulate the gun and rotate the turret, he has a special joystick.
The gun is usually covered by a casing, yet in practice, soldiers put it off to have access to the gun in case something happens. Overall there's hardly much space inside the turret.
The gunner is sitting to the commander's left, and between them, there is a panel that controls the main gun, including the selector for the type of ammunition and rate of fire.
The gunner uses the two-handle controller, familiar to Ukrainian users of Soviet equipment. At his disposal, there is not a display but a conventional sight that allows him to fire from the entire arsenal: the 25mm gun, the machine gun, and the TOW anti-tank missile launcher.
The driver is sitting at the front-left part of the vehicle, there is a passage between his place and the landing compartment which is also usually filled with ammunition instead.
Driving Bradley is done with pedals and a steering wheel. The gearbox is automatic and has a special position for when the vehicle is towed.
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