5/9/24, 9:57 AM A Ukrainian M-2 Sneaked Up On A Russian Tank—And Hit From A Mile Away

FORBES BUSINESS AEROSPACE & DEFENSE

A Ukrainian M-
2 Fighting
Vehicle
Sneaked Up On
A Russian T-80
Tank at Night—
And Hit It With
A Missile From
A Mile Away
It was one of the farthest direct tank
kills of the war

David Axe Forbes Staff

I write about ships, planes, tanks, drones, missiles and Follow
satellites.

15 May 8, 2024, 05:19pm EDT

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5/9/24, 9:57 AM A Ukrainian M-2 Sneaked Up On A Russian Tank—And Hit From A Mile Away
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A U.S. Army M-2 fires a TOW missile. U.S. ARMY PHOTO

After months of delay imposed by Republican lawmakers,

the U.S. Congress finally passed $61 billion in new funding
for Ukraine’s war effort on April 23. Pres. Joe Biden signed
the bill the next day—and within hours, the Pentagon
announced a $1-billion aid package with critical munitions
and vehicles for Ukrainian forces.

It’s not for no reason that the package included an

unspecified number of M-2 Bradley infantry fighting
vehicles. The sole Ukrainian army unit that uses the M-2,
the 47th Mechanized Brigade, was fighting a desperate
defensive action against a much larger Russian force
attacking west of the ruins of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine.

Topped off with fresh ammunition and replacement M-2s,

the 47th Mechanized Brigade has blunted the Russian
offensive. One dramatic engagement, observed from
overhead by a Ukrainian drone, shows how.

On Wednesday night, an M-2 gunner spotted a Russian T-

80 tank a mile away across a field east of the village of
Novopokrovske. The M-2 crew fired a single TOW wire-
guided anti-tank missile, which punched through the 43-
ton, three-person tank. “Bradley—the tank destroyer,” the
Ukrainian defense ministry crowed.
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5/9/24, 9:57 AM A Ukrainian M-2 Sneaked Up On A Russian Tank—And Hit From A Mile Away

It was one of the longest-range direct tank kills of the

Russia-Ukraine war. But it probably came as no surprise to
boosters of the iconic Bradley, which has been the U.S.
Army’s main fighting vehicle since the 1980s. “The Brad ...
is not a tank, but it can be a tank killer,” explained Mark
Hertling, a retired U.S. Army general who commanded an
M-3, a scout version of the M-2, in Operation Desert Storm
in 1991.

The 33-ton, 10-person M-2 might be the best fighting

vehicle of Russia’s 27-month wider war on Ukraine.
Equipping three 30-vehicle battalions in the elite 47th
Mechanized Brigade, the M-2’s primary mission is to haul
infantry into battle and then join the fight itself, peppering
Russian troops and vehicles with accurate 25-millimeter
auto-cannon fire.

The M-2 weighs tens of tons less than a typical tank, mostly
because its armor is much thinner than a tank’s armor. In a
close fight with a Russian tank, an M-2 might not last long.
In a far fight, the M-2’s precision sights and TOW missiles
might give it an edge—especially at night, when the

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5/9/24, 9:57 AM A Ukrainian M-2 Sneaked Up On A Russian Tank—And Hit From A Mile Away

Bradley’s superior infrared optics help its crew see the tank
before the tank crew sees the Bradley.

The Pentagon expected the Ukrainian army might

appreciate the M-2’s tank-killing potential. “The Bradley
specifically has formidable anti-armor capabilities that will
work against, you know, every kind of armored capability
that Russia has fielded in Ukraine,” Laura Cooper, a deputy
assistant secretary of defense, told reporters last year,
shortly after the United States pledged the first batches of
M-2s to the Ukrainian war effort—around 200 in all.

Sure enough, between missions supporting the infantry, the

47th Mechanized Brigade deployed M-2s on tank-hunting
missions. In a single furious skirmish in southern Ukraine
last summer, one Bradley crew reportedly knocked out two
Russian T-72 tanks.

The 47th Mechanized Brigade has been in combat non-stop

for a year. It has taken a toll on the brigade’s M-2 battalions.
The analysts at the open-source intelligence collective Oryx
have tallied 37 destroyed Bradleys and dozens of damaged
ones. As it fought that Russian offensive west of Avdiivka
last month, the brigade was running out of M-2s.

That’s changing as fresh vehicles arrive. Expect to see more

M-2s in far fights with Russian tanks as the 47th
Mechanized Brigade works to stabilize the front line. “We
continue to work!” the brigade stated.
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1. U.S. Defense Department:

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3754238/biden-
administration-announces-significant-new-security-assistance-for-ukraine/;

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/05/08/a-ukrainian-m-2-fighting-vehicle-sneaked-up-on-a-russian-t-80-tank-at-night-and… 4/5
5/9/24, 9:57 AM A Ukrainian M-2 Sneaked Up On A Russian Tank—And Hit From A Mile Away
https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3261666/pentagon-
press-secretary-brigadier-general-pat-ryder-and-deputy-assistant-secre/
2. Ukrainian defense ministry:
https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1788199926519988717
3. Mark Hertling: https://twitter.com/MarkHertling/status/1610784022438846471
4. Oryx: https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-
documenting-ukrainian.html
5. 47th Mechanized Brigade: https://t.me/brygada47/704

David Axe Follow

I'm a journalist, author and filmmaker based in Columbia, South

Carolina.

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