US infantry fighting vehicles
US infantry fighting vehicles
On February 3, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) announced in an official statement that its armored forces had received eight M2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) from the US, as a part of the US military aid program to Lebanon. The LAF received the first patch of M2A2 Bradley IFVs, which also consisted of eight vehicles, on August 14, 2017.

The M2A2 Bradley IFV is armed with a 25 mm M242 Chain Gun, a 7.62 mm coaxial M240C machine gun and a dual TOW anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) launcher. All the weapons are controlled via a daynight computerized targeting system. The IFV is powered by a 600 horsepower (447 kW) engine.

The standard US Army version of the M2A2 Bradley IFV is protected by an improved passive armor with the ability to mount an explosive reactive armor (ERA) on it. However, the ERA boxes were removed from the IFVs that had been supplied to the LAF.

The US claims that its military aid for the LAF is aimed at securing Lebanon from terrorist threats in the region. However, many Lebanese experts believe that the US is trying to challenge the legitimacy of Hezbollah inside Lebanon with this move.


Comment: The US infantry fighting vehicles could be easily used against Hezbollah, and that's why Lebanon needs Hezbollah to resolve internal clashes as Israel's war threats escalate


These experts believe that this US policy failed as the LAF and Hezbollah are currently coordinating their anti-terrorism efforts. A clear example of this successful cooperation was the joint offensive against ISIS in the western Qalamun region launched on July 21, 2017.

Photos of the M2A2 Bradley IFVs delivery:

US infantry fighting vehicles
US infantry fighting vehicles
US infantry fighting vehicles
US infantry fighting vehicles
US infantry fighting vehicles