In the face of mounting requests for heavy armor to support troops in Iraq,
the Army is expected momentarily to make a decision on whether to fund an upgrade
program for the Bradley armored infantry fighting vehicle.
Although the Army claims it has enough Bradleys in the inventory to meet current
needs, most have outdated technology and require upgrades, officials said. Lawmakers,
meanwhile, are pushing the Army to send more tanks and Bradleys to Iraq, to
help protect troops from roadside bombs and rocket attacks. Also complicating
the equation is the expectation that, as the Army reorganizes into smaller brigade-size
units, it will need more Bradleys to equip maneuver forces.
With the Army under enormous budgetary pressure to pay for rising personnel
costs and war-torn equipment repairs, officials are not sure there will be enough
to pay for Bradley upgrades. “We are struggling with that program,”
said a senior Army official who briefed an industry conference. He said the
service would need to start refurbishing 300-400 Bradleys every 12 months to
satisfy the chief of staff’s plan to field 43-48 “brigade combat
teams” in the coming years.
Part of the problem is rooted in a decision to scale back the Bradley “recapitalization”
program two years ago, when the Army cut the funding from 1,037 to 595 vehicles
for the 2004-2009 budget cycle. The 595 Bradleys are to be upgraded to the A3
configuration, which is the most advanced and features the latest digital technology.
According to the Army official, any future upgrades will not be to the A3 model,
given its $3.2 million price tag. However, the service has not yet set any specifications
for future upgrades. Options under consideration include an enhanced version
of the “Operation Desert Storm” Bradley—a less-sophisticated
variant of the A3. Factions within the Army are likely to disagree about what
improvements really are needed, but the expectation is that future Bradley upgrades
could include a mix of ODS versions and “ODS-plus,” equipped with
second-generation forward-looking infrared sensors.
If an upgrade program gets under way, the work could be split between the manufacturer
of the Bradley, United Defense LP, and the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama.