Many thanks to Andaar for telling me about the company, Excalibur Army.
You really have to check out Excalibur Army's website here. They're doing interesting things with vehicle upgrades. The BMP-M2 upgraded vehicle is impressive alone, but barring that they offer a more modest upgrade package.
These guys bear watching!
You really have to check out Excalibur Army's website here. They're doing interesting things with vehicle upgrades. The BMP-M2 upgraded vehicle is impressive alone, but barring that they offer a more modest upgrade package.
These guys bear watching!
This post now has even more importance after seeing that Ukrainian bmp chap jump over that barricade.
ReplyDeleteToo bad this firm will not be able to present its wares to the Indian Army. Our Army's view is to completely replace the BMP's with a newly developed FICV or Future Infantry Combat Vehicle. We are doing limited mid life upgrades to the BMP though. I am absolutly dreaming of the the German Puma to get selected for the FICV.
ReplyDeleteNote----the low ground clearance as an absense of a V Shaped hull or those double V designs. This thing was designed more for following tanks across cross country than be an Urban Specialist.
ReplyDeleteI can see the Slovokians selling their own version of the BMP on the world market
ReplyDeleteOK, so lets look at the US then, instead of trying to purchase the German made Puma (IFV) which costs on that program are looking to be on par with the F-35 program in cost overrun and being SNAFU itself, why don't we modernize our M-113s and M2 Bradleys with better armor, installation of an Active Protection System such as Trophy, Iron Curtain, Quick Kill or Iron Fist, take out the benches with the Vietnam era materials and install new ergonomic seating will help prevent whiplash and other combat stresses from either a RPG blast or running over an IED and finally put in some God damn air conditioning. No one likes to wear those water cooled vests underneath their combat uniform and by having AC units, it prevents the on board computers from over heating. The average cost of a M2 Bradly is $3,166,000. That is at the new M6 Linebacker variant. Rather than designing a new vehicle from scratch, we can still have an Infantry Fighting Vehicle that is just as lethal and once manufacturing stateside can best produce a new armored vehicle, then we should jump on it.
ReplyDeletetotally viable option and one that has to be considered. if you factor in the budget crunch, the massive expense of the F-35 that everyone is paying for and then think about how to get the equipment to the soldiers in the quickest way possible, this might be the only way.
DeleteThe weakness of both being that they are made from aluminum. The Bradley is a flawed, compromised design and the recommendations by Congress to fix/improve the Bradley were never implemented by the Army. TOW missiles storage, fuel storage, etc are just begging for RPG hits. The height of it makes it a rolling barn.
DeleteJust do a search on "M2 Bradley melt" or "M2 Bradley destroyed".
Considering the budget is toast, the best they can hope for is some updates. It might be best to ditch the TOW reloads, add armor to side and bottom, then give it an Active Protection system.
but eventually, they need to be replaced. There is a reason only the US, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait operate the Bradley...nobody else wants it.
the Stryker DVH program is the starting point for doing a rebuild right. additionally BAE offered the USMC a massive upgrade of the AAV. it would give a v--hull, RWS 30mm cannon, extra armor, spall liner, blast seating, digital displays, increased boyuancy and water speed, blue force tracker and a bunch of other stuff i'm forgetting.
DeleteYou still forget the basic flaw....it carries only 6 men in the back. I think your servises want atleast 9 dismounts from the new vehicle.
DeleteOk, forget all that shit, because Excaliber Army has calendar girls
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy_xk7uRE0g