European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 13, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Photo by Marcia Kay col. Richard Beale was assigned to put the Bradley through its paces in Europe. Blasting the Bradley cheap shots by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau one of the most persistent criticisms levelled at the Bradley fighting vehicle that the army rigged tests to make the Bradley look less vulnerable than it would be on the Battlefield was echoed in a general accounting office report released late last month. Army officials have repeatedly denied the tests were rigged. But according to the Gao report the conditions that the army established influenced the outcome of the tests in such a manner that the results indicated less vulnerability than should reasonably be expected in the Gao said certain shots which could have caused severe damage to the vehicle and Crew were avoided some of the most current threat stimulants were not used and the infantry version which is More susceptible to larger numbers of casualties was not a second round of tests has been ordered by defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. The Gao said those tests should be conducted in such a manner that they will give a better idea of How the Bradley will fare under realistic Battlefield conditions. In its report the Gao noted that the army disagreed with its comments about the fairness of the tests. Top service officials have repeatedly said they think the weapon is being unfairly criticized. Army officials say the Bradley does everything it was designed to do and that it was never meant to Stop anti tank rounds. They say the test data have been misinterpreted by people who Are not fully qualified to Analyse that data. Air Force col. James Burton a Bradley test Monitor for the Pentagon s joint live fire test program told Congress the army pinpointed the spots it wanted to hit in tests and used rail guided weapons. He said those tests were Fine As far As they went but that the army also should have fired at the Bradley under simulated combat conditions. Joe Burniece and Paul Hoven of the project on military procurement a non profit organization that has been critical of Pentagon procurement agreed with Burton. I d want to know How often the m-2 Bradley fighting vehicle will blow up when it s hit in combat Burniece said. We already know that if we fire at it randomly it will blow up said army spokesman it. Col. Craig Macnab. That does t Tell us Joseph Navarro director of testing and evaluation in the office of the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering defended the Way the army has conducted the tests. Navarro whose office oversees the live fire test program said the tests were designed to systematically explore the vehicle s vulnerable Points. With that information we can then take Steps to reduce its vulnerabilities he said. We re doing about As Good a Job As we know How. To make the Bradley As Invulnerable to enemy fire As however Navarro acknowledged that testing should have been done before the vehicle went into production. The army has fielded More than 2,000 Bradley. It plans to buy 6,882. Another subject of Contention is the Bradley s tactical role on the Battlefield. Concern about that role was expressed by Anthony Battista a member of the House armed services research and development subcommittee staff. He said the tests generated More questions than answers and that Congress should focus on the m-2 s tactical role during future hearings. Macnab said the confusion stems from the fact that the Bradley s tactical role can t be explained in 10 words or less. It d be Nice to be Able to say that it will ride 20 feet behind and 10 feet to the left of a tank but we can he said the relationship Between the Bradley and tanks will depend on the situation and the terrain. In some cases he said the Bradley May be the first vehicles to engage enemy tanks. Other times the Bradley will hide behind protective cover and use their 25mm cannons and Tow tube launched optically tracked wire guided missiles while tanks Man Euver. When the Bradley is on the Battlefield it la be exposed to shaped charge weapons he said. We could eliminate the tows and reduce the amount of ammo. But Don t you want As much firepower As possible Why Don t we just not Send it into combat at All i mean the Battlefield is a dangerous he said the Bradley is a solution to an equation seeking the maximum available level of each Factor size weight firepower Speed and so on in relation to the others. Burniece and Hoven said the army has never decided just what it wants from the Bradley. It has a Short Range element the troops. It has a medium Range element the 25mm Cannon. And it has the tows As a Long Range element Burniece said. It sounds Good but none of them can be used simultaneously Burniece said. If you want it for its medium and , then it s not an infantry vehicle is it the army crows about its Speed but to fire its tows it must go 2 Mph or less. The army has said that the m-2 would never be up in front of tanks on the Battlefield. But at a demonstration at fort Hood Texas m-2s were clearly ahead of the tanks almost every time. Later this year the army will begin modifications including adding enhanced Protection for the electrical system. The army will also explore the possibility of adding reactive Armor plate that will disperse the Force of shaped charges and other Over match weapons Macnab said. The army also plans to add protective Kevlar lining in the troop compartment to reduce the Chance of Small aluminium Armor particles ricocheting and igniting stored ammunition if the vehicle is hit by a shaped charge. Fuel and ammo will also be stowed differently to Lessen damage from hits to the vehicle. Macnab said the modifications will Cost Between $65,000 and $75,000 per vehicle. The tests prove that the Bradley is pretty damned Good As it is he said. The modifications we Are planning Are marginal improvements and Are not necessary to make an unsatisfactory Bradley fit to perform its i i hit every target maxed the courses a photo by Tony Nauroth Bradley toe the line during a Winter exercise at the Grafe Wohr training Center. Page 14 the stars and stripes by Don Tate staff writer s the Bradley fighting vehicle a lethal fighting machine or an Over rated under protected $.1.5 million Lemon easily Squash Able on the modern Battlefield the question was put to the men who use it who would have to win or die with it in combat. While the soldiers acknowledged that they had never been fired on while in a Bradley they agreed that if they were going to be fired on they would much rather be in a Bradley than an m-113. It. Col. Tony Marino called the Bradley the Best thing that s happened to the mechanized infantry since i be been a part of Marino commander of 1 st in 30th inf 3rd inf div in Schweinfurt Germany a battalion that would go to War in Bradley is a 19-year Soldier a Veteran of Vietnam and a former commander of a company of m-113 armoured personnel carriers. The Bradley is replacing the older generation m-113s throughout the army. There is no comparison Between the 113 and the Bradley Marino said. The Bradley is an incredible piece of equipment. If we went Back to the 113 it would be like going Back to the horse and buggy. On the Battlefield your attack is limited by the slowest piece of equipment in the attack. If your infantry is stuck Back in 113s, dragging along 15 Miles behind the tanks your attack is going to bog Down. Then your tanks Are taking a big risk. Your infantry is taking a big some congressional critics have called the aluminium sided Bradley a thin skinned easy to sgt. James Webb a Bradley commander took Strong exception to these descriptions. Some of those congressmen should come out Here and take a closer look he said. Webb pointed to outer Armor composed of aluminium Alloy and steel including one Sheet of Quarter Inch spaced laminate steel covering much of the Hull and rear of the Bradley. Under that is another one eighth of steel and under that is an Inch and a half of aluminium Webb said. On the m-113 i be been on five of them there s no Armor like that. It s just aluminium easy to the m-113 is infinitely More dangerous to be in said col. Richard beat commander of the 3rd brigade 3rd inf div. I saw them in Vietnam shot up like Swiss cheese. In my View the Bradley protects the infantryman better than he s Ever been protected before. But some critics Don t seem to understand that there is no perfect impervious machine around Beal said. There has t been a vehicle invented that can Roll out there straight into the enemy s weapon systems and survive. It just does t work that while agreeing that the Bradley might be made safer in certain respects the soldiers stressed that travelling around on a Battlefield in any vehicle loaded with ammunition is risky business. Inside the Bradley Are heat sensors and one of the finest fire suppression systems in the world said staff sgt. Kyle Egan master gunner for the division s 1st brigade. Inside the 113 Are a couple of fire is the Bradley one of those weapons that defeats itself by being too sophisticated not according to pfc. Brent Todd a Bradley gunner. You be got three to 12-Power magnification on your sights Todd said. The sights Are stabilized. Lay the Cross hairs on the target squeeze and the round is there. You Don t feel the recoil. You just keep firing. A computer keeps the gun locked on target even when you re tearing across country. The first time i went out and fired the 25 Cannoni hit every target maxed the there s no real comparison with the 113 in Speed or anything else said Driver pfc. Ken Jackson. You go up Hills in a 113, and it just sort of bogs out on you. Go up in a Bradley it kicks in its own gears and it s gone. The 113 clans along like a Dinosaur easy to hit. It belongs Back with the dinosaurs. The Bradley is a mover and a dodger much harder to hit. You Don t just go out and sit on hilltops and wait to get fired at. Any armoured vehicle in the world will get pierced that s8.s photo by Tony Nauroth pfc. Kenneth Harris 498th Maint in 2nd army div fwd f at a Bradley maintenance course. Is photo by Tony Nauroth sunday april 13,1986 German infantrymen scramble through the rear Hatch during a recent partnership exercise. The stars and stripes Page 15
