WARREN, Mich. — c
Officials of the Army Contracting Command in Warren, Mich., announced a $348 million contract to the BAE Systems Platforms & Services segment in York, Pa., to build as many as 164 Bradley M2A4 and M7A4 vehicles.
The latest versions of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle have the electro-optical Improved Bradley Acquisition Subsystem (IBAS) to help keep the vehicle’s 25-millimeter chain gun on target.
The M2 Bradley is an infantry fighting vehicle for reconnaissance and to transport a squad of infantry. The armored vehicle protects warfighters inside from small arms fire, while its 25-millimeter chain gun provides firepower to many battlefield threats. The Bradley is maneuverable and fast enough to keep up with heavy armor during an advance.
The M7A4 Bradley, meanwhile, us an upgraded fire-support vehicle with integrated target location equipment to help direct artillery fire and airborne munitions. It has equipment for use by dismounted observers.
Among the electro-optical systems on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle is the Improved Bradley Acquisition Subsystem (IBAS) from Leonardo DRS Electro-Optical Infrared Systems in Melbourne, Fla. IBAS helps Bradley crews identify and fire on targets from long distances to help keep warfighters out of danger.
IBAS helps Bradley gunners to recognize, detect and identify targets with day and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensors in all types of weather and battlefield conditions.
The IBAS is equipped with either a HD day color camera or monochrome, FLIR sensor, laser range finder and a built-in TOW missile tracker. A dual axis stabilized head mirror handles line-of-sight stabilization to enable Bradley gunners to track targets while on the move.
The first M2A4 Bradley Fighting Vehicles came off the manufacturing line in 2012 with heavyweight torsion bars and track upgrades, improved suspension, and new shock absorbers.
Now BAE Systems is rebuilding legacy Bradley vehicles with upgraded electrical systems and power train to accommodate today’s high-power demands from a variety of systems upgrades such as networked vetronics, software-defined radios, air conditioning systems, and even mobile battery chargers.
On this contract BAE Systems will do the work in York, Pa., and should be finished by June 2019.
For more information contact BAE Systems Platforms & Services online at www.baesystems.com, or the Army Contracting Command-Warren at http://acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-wrn.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
