Can The Military's Bradley Fighting Vehicle Destroy A Tank?

The M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, named after World War II General Omar Bradley, is an armored personnel carrier with a lot of victories to its credit that go far beyond its original design plans. It was originally built to transport and support troops on the ground as well as suppress enemy vehicles, including tanks. According to the Kyiv Post, a leaked report from Russia's Ministry of Defense admitted that the Bradley M2A2 variant they studied was far superior in several respects to their own vehicle, the BMP3.

It is an armored vehicle more than capable of taking on enemy main battle tanks, as it sports a TOW anti-tank missile launcher that holds two missiles with an additional seven stored inside the Bradley. The Bradley also has a 7.62mm M240 machine gun for smaller targets and a 25mm Bushmaster chain gun that can be used against other armored vehicles.

The Kyiv Post also noted that the Ukrainian military "have been mightily impressed by the Bradley's ability to withstand mine blasts and anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) attacks without crew losses." When first conceived after the Vietnam War, the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle has been a tank killer, as it destroyed more tanks and armored vehicles than the M1 Abrams — arguably one of the best tanks ever made – during the Gulf War.

The Bradley worked well in Iraq as a tank killer by reportedly destroying more Soviet-made armored vehicles in Iraq than any other platform, including the M1 Abrams main battle tank (MBT). Using the TOW missiles, U.S. Army's Bradleys successfully took on MBTs such as the T-72 in the Battle of 73 Easting. The 25mm chain gun proved itself to be lethal against tanks as well.

In Operation Desert Storm, tungsten core 30mm shells were able to knock out older tanks such as the T-55. Even against some of the most modern MBTs produced these days, the chain gun can be very effective. Video has emerged (via Task & Purpose on YouTube) of a Ukrainian Bradley assisting in destroying a Russian T-90.

From close quarters, the Bradley's chain gun damaged the Russian tank's turret, giving a drone the opening to deliver the coupe d' grace. The tank's destruction is all the more remarkable as the T-90 is the latest, most modern Soviet tank currently in service. 

While a replacement is still on the drawing board, the Bradley is being updated to the M2A4 version for fighting in the mid-21st century. The infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) was last updated in 2002, and the current upgrades have been 10 years in the making. The M2A4 variant is a set of upgrades to existing vehicles' drivetrain and suspension to be able to carry more armor and weapons. The first M2A4 Bradley IFVs were delivered to the Third Infantry Division in 2022.

Further modernizations are on the way, though not to the Bradley itself. In April 2025, RTX (formerly Raytheon) tested a new TOW-launcher fired system called the Coyote LE SR. This missile-shaped device unfolds into a drone in flight and can be configured for a variety of roles. According to the War Zone, RTX said, "The Coyote LE SR supports a variety of missions that include: reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition; electronic warfare, precision strike, [and] communications."