Within just a few years of receiving their first M113 APCs, the US Army was already looking for a more capable replacement. It would be over a decade before they actually found a satisfactory design, but by 1977 they had decided that FMC’s XM732 was suitable as both a troop transport and a cavalry scout vehicle. The two versions were named the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle and M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle in 1981, with the first delivery to the army in 1982.
The M2 and M3 are virtually identical from the outside. Both have a chunky hull with the front sloping back both above and below the mid-line. The sides of the hull also slope inwards at the top and an angular turret sits slightly to the right half-way along the top deck. The engine is located at the front of the hull, also offset to the right. Each side has a section of spaced armor (GURPS High-Tech, p. 229) which overhangs the tracks. Tucked behind this (when not in use) is a fabric water barrier, which must be erected before amphibious operation (a lengthy task, taking two man-hours, which requires the crew to exit the vehicle). Propulsion in water is simply provided by the tracks.
The turret is identical in both the M2 and M3. The gunner sits on the left side and has an ‘Integrated Sight Unit’ which combines a thermal imaging system (gives Infravision) with a 12× variable telescopic sight (+3 Acc) in front of his hatch. A 5× auxiliary sight (+2 Acc) is provided as back-up. Two simple periscopes give some vision to the side. The main gun is a Hughes M242 Bushmaster (GURPS High-Tech, p. 136) in a fully stabilised mount (GURPS Basic Set, p. 467), which feeds from two ammunition hoppers (one holding 75 rounds, the other 225), with a coaxial M240 machine gun (GURPS High-Tech, pp. 134-135) which has up to 800 rounds in its ready box. An elevatable launcher on the left of the turret holds two Hughes BGM-71 TOW missiles (GURPS High-Tech, p. 151) which can be fired from the gunner’s station. Reloading these is usually done via the cargo hatch behind the turret. Two clusters of smoke dischargers (GURPS High-Tech, p. 229) are mounted on the turret front, along with a box of reloads for them. The commander sits on the right of the turret, and has all-round vision thanks to eight periscopes around his hatch. He can also view the gunner’s main or auxiliary sight and take control of the turret traverse and weapons. A medium and large radio (GURPS High-Tech, p. 38) are mounted in the rear of the turret. Safety systems prevent firing weapons at hazardous angles when the cargo or driver’s hatches are open, and automatically raise the gun to avoid colliding with open hatches (these can be disabled from the turret in case of malfunction). Turret rotation takes one Ready maneuver per facing.
The driver sits in the front left hull in a semi-recumbent seat. A large hatch hinges open at the back to give the driver both overhead protection and good visibility when open, and has four periscopes for use when closed (one facing front, one right, two left). The front of these can be replaced with an image intensifying night vision device (gives Colorblindness, Night Vision 7, No Depth Perception, Protected Vision, and Tunnel Vision).
Behind the driver is a short tunnel leading to the main troop compartment. In the M2 this tunnel holds two passenger seats, the front one facing towards the rear of the vehicle, the back one towards the front. Each of these seats has a firing port, for use with the M231 firing port weapon, with a periscope above it, which would connect to the weapon to extract fumes, and a brass catcher (GURPS High-Tech, p. 161) to prevent loose casings being scattered inside the vehicle. The troop compartment is roughly rectangular and has four seats. Two seats on the right side sit back-to-back with the front one facing forward and the back one facing rear. The right-side firing ports are positioned to be used from these. Next to the right side back seat is another rear-facing one at roughly the centre line of the vehicle. This seat has a firing port in the rear ramp and is directly beneath the rectangular cargo hatch. The last troop seat is located on the rear left of the compartment, facing the right side of the vehicle. It has a firing port in the small door set into the main ramp. Behind and to the left of this seat are stowage racks for five missiles, either TOWs for the turret launcher or McDonnell FGM-77A Dragons (GURPS High-Tech, p. 151) to be used by dismounted troops. The firing ports in the ramp and door lack dedicated periscopes, but three periscopes behind the cargo hatch give a broad field of view around the rear of the vehicle. 600 rounds for the autocannon and an additional 1,400 for the co-axial machine gun are stashed around the troop compartment, as are three HEC M72 LAWs (GURPS High-Tech, p. 149), and around one ton of equipment and supplies for the passengers.
Later, M136 rocket launchers (GURPS High-Tech, p. 149) would be carried instead of the M72s, and FGM-148A Javelins (GURPS High-Tech, p. 153) would replace the FGM-77A Dragons.
In the M3, the tunnel simply holds extra stowage. The troop compartment has two seats for observers, sat side-by-side under the cargo hatch, with the right one facing forward and the left one facing back. A small folding ‘jump seat’ is mounted in front of the back-facing seat, facing the left of the vehicle, but not usually used. No firing ports are provided, but the rear periscopes are the same as in the M2. A rack for ten missiles is on the right side of the compartment. 1,200 autocannon rounds, 3,600 for the machine gun, and 3 LAWs are usually carried in the troop compartment, along with around a ton of other equipment and supplies.
The 1987 A1 upgrades change the TOW launchers to those of the new TOW 2 (GURPS High-Tech, p. 151), which can also launch the old missiles. Bolt-on armor is installed on the front of the hull and turret. Storage boxes for grenades and mines are added outside the hull on either side of the main ramp, some ammunition is moved under the side armor, and the turret bustle was expanded to hold ammunition too. Other minor improvements include a spall blanket over the turret ammunition and stowage for two camouflage nets (GURPS High-Tech, p. 77). On the M2A1 an additional passenger seat is crammed in, facing forward behind the turret, although this is often removed to make space for more cargo. A section of the rear left hull is re-shaped to accommodate the missile racks better. A new air filtration system (gives Filter Lungs) provides the crew with air through masks connected to hoses, but the passengers are expected to rely on their own gas masks. The M3A1 has a similar air filtration system, which includes two masks for the troop compartment as well. The jump seat in the rear is removed and both observer seats face forward, while the rear hull periscopes are replaced by four in a redesigned cargo hatch.
By 1988 a further survivability package had been developed, adding a considerable mass of steel plate to the front, sides, and underside. This makes the vehicle quite top-heavy, which is especially problematic during amphibious operation (reduce Stability Rating by one in water). A more powerful engine partially compensates for the added mass. Vehicles with these upgrades were designated M2A2 and M3A2. Seating was rearranged once more. In early versions of the M2A2 the number of passengers is reduced to six, one facing back behind the driver, two facing inward on the left of the troop compartment, and three facing inwards opposite them on the right. Firing ports in the sides of the vehicle are eliminated, leaving just the two in the rear ramp. This was soon modified again to add an extra seat on the left, raising the number of passengers to seven once more. The M3A2 moves the observer seats to the left of the crew compartment, facing inwards. Either the M2A2 or M3A2 may be fitted with a further three tons of ceramic armor tiles, which add DR 150 (semi-ablative) to the hull sides and DR 260 (semi-ablative) to the hull front. The extra weight reduces Move to 2/16.
Following Operation Desert Storm (1991) the M2A2 and M3A2 had more instruments and electronic systems fitted. These included a thermal imager for the driver (gives Infravision), a 10,000 yard laser rangefinder (+3 Acc) for the gunner, a GPS receiver (GURPS High-Tech, p. 53), and navigation instruments (+2 Navigation). The upgraded vehicles are known as the M2A2ODS and M3A2ODS.
From 2001, the A3 package of upgrades included all those of the A2ODS version as well as replacing the gunner’s Integrated Sight Unit with the Improved Bradley Acquisition System which adds a computer sight (gives +1 Gunner and Enhanced Tracking 1) to the existing capabilities. The commander also gains the Commander’s Independent Viewer, a thermal imaging system (gives Infravision) which can rotate 360° and the roof of the turret and hull are reinforced with titanium plates.
The M2A4 was first fielded in 2022 and upgrades the engine, transmission, and electronics of the M2A3.
DRIVING/TL (TRACKED)
| TL | Vehicle | ST/HP | Hnd/SR | HT | Move | LWt. | Load | SM | Occ. | DR | Range | Cost | Locations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | M2 | 138 | −2/5 | 10 | 2/20 | 25 | 3.8 | +4 | 3+6 | 100/70 | 300 | $1.1M | 2CT | [1][2][3] |
| 8 | M3 | 138 | −2/5 | 10 | 2/20 | 25 | 3.8 | +4 | 3+2 | 100/70 | 300 | $1.1M | 2CT | [1][2][3] |
| 8 | M2A1 | 139 | −2/5 | 10 | 2/20 | 25.3 | 3.8 | +4 | 3+7 | 120/70 | 300 | $1.2M | 2CT | [1][2][3] |
| 8 | M3A1 | 139 | −2/5 | 10 | 2/20 | 25.3 | 3.8 | +4 | 3+2 | 120/70 | 300 | $1.2M | 2CT | [1][2][3] |
| 8 | M2A2 | 149 | −2/4 | 10 | 2/17 | 30.4 | 3.8 | +4 | 3+6 | 150/100 | 250 | $1.6M | 2CT | [1][2][4] |
| 8 | M3A2 | 149 | −2/4 | 10 | 2/17 | 30.4 | 3.8 | +4 | 3+2 | 150/100 | 250 | $1.6M | 2CT | [1][2][4] |
| 8 | M2A3 | 150 | −2/4 | 10 | 2/17 | 30.5 | 3.8 | +4 | 3+7 | 150/100 | 250 | $2.0M | 2CT | [1][2][5] |
| 8 | M3A3 | 150 | −2/4 | 10 | 2/17 | 30.5 | 3.8 | +4 | 3+2 | 150/100 | 250 | $2.0M | 2CT | [1][2][5] |
| 8 | M2A4 | 150 | −2/4 | 11 | 2/20 | 30.5 | 3.8 | +4 | 3+7 | 150/100 | 250 | $2.2M | 2CT | [1][2][5] |
[1] Amphibious: water move 1/2.
[2] Fire-Suppression System (GURPS High-Tech, p. 229).
[3] Higher DR is for hull and turret front. Lower DR is for hull and turret sides. Hull and turret rear have DR 35. Hull and turret top and hull underside have DR 20. Hull sides are spaced (GURPS High-Tech, p. 229).
[4] Higher DR is for hull and turret front. Lower DR is for hull sides and turret sides and rear. Hull rear has DR 35. Hull and turret top have DR 20. Hull underside has DR 60. Hull sides are spaced (GURPS High-Tech, p. 229).
[5] Higher DR is for hull and turret front. Lower DR is for hull sides and turret sides and rear. Hull rear has DR 35. Hull and turret top have DR 35. Hull underside has DR 60. Hull sides are spaced (GURPS High-Tech, p. 229).