BAE Systems resumes production of M2 Bradley and М777

BAE Systems is resuming production of M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and М777 155mm howitzers.

Defense News reported on this.

Tom Arseneault, CEO of BAE Systems in the United States, stated this in an interview with Defense News.

Arsenault shared that the company is currently working on replacing combat vehicles and ammunition, which were transferred to Ukraine as military assistance.

For example, the United States Army increased orders for AMPV (Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle) armored personnel carriers, which are considered a replacement for М113.

It is also reported that BAE Systems is working to resume production of М777 155mm howitzers, the demand for which was cut after the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

“Now, given the elevated visibility of the importance of artillery in conflicts like this, it received some renewed interest. The Army is working with us to reconstitute that,” Arseneault said.

When asked about the review of the feasibility of producing some weapons, Arseneault replied that the company had received an order for about 100 new Bradley M2.

“And while we planned to wind down production of Bradley over the next few years, we have orders for hundreds of other, newer machines,” he noted.

Defense News reporters asked the BAE CEO about the combination of means of different technological levels in the Russian-Ukrainian war and their future. Arseneault replied that no one could have predicted this, and the company is ready for new challenges.

He compared FPV drones to the threat of improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan and Iraq, calling them “flying IEDs.”

“In the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there was the rise of the improvised explosive device. That sort of came out of nowhere and became a real problem. Well, now there are flying IEDs,” Arseneault replied.

Arseneault also complained about delays in the adoption of defense spending and the complications of the work of the military industry associated with this.

“Industry has gotten accustomed to this delay, and the DoD has as well in the way they time their spending. But especially when the demand is up, and they have these needs on multiple fronts, it’s a big problem. While it has not manifested itself yet, the longer this pushes out into 2024, it will borderline cripple a number of services in terms of their plans,” the CEO shared.

Militarnyi has repeatedly reported on expanding the production capacity of defense companies and increasing the rate of armament production.

However, at the same time, the mass rearmament of European countries causes queues and disruptions in the timing of arms supplies for both Ukraine and its allies.