U.S. Army’s newest Bradley arrives with active protection

The U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division has started fielding the M2A4E1 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the first Bradley version fitted with an active protection system designed to destroy incoming anti-tank missiles, rockets and drones before they hit the vehicle.

The division said in a social media post that its 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, is receiving the new infantry fighting vehicles. The M2A4E1 carries Elbit Systems’ Iron Fist active protection system, along with more electrical power generation and an upgraded digital architecture. The division did not say how many vehicles the squadron is receiving or when fielding will be complete.

A second unit, the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, is fielding the M7A4E1 Bradley Fire Support Team Vehicle. That version carries the forward observers who find targets and call in artillery and air strikes. The division said the M7A4E1 brings improved mobility, power and digital systems to those teams. The post did not mention an active protection system on the M7A4E1.

The 1st Cavalry Division is based at Fort Hood, Texas, and is one of the U.S. Army’s main armored formations.

Iron Fist is a hard-kill system. Radar and infrared sensors mounted around the turret detect an incoming threat, and launchers fire an interceptor that detonates close to it, knocking it off course or destroying it before impact. Elbit says the system can counter anti-tank guided missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, loitering munitions and drones, and that its interceptor uses a combustible casing to reduce fragmentation risk to nearby infantry.

Drones and anti-tank missiles have destroyed large numbers of armored vehicles in Ukraine, including Bradleys supplied by the United States. The U.S. Army has looked at adding an active protection system to the Bradley for years and tested earlier Iron Fist configurations on the vehicle before settling on the current design.

The Army first showed the M2A4E1 publicly in April 2024 at a ceremony in Saco, Maine. At the time, the Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems said the Army had received funding to buy an M2A4E1 for every Bradley it had sent to Ukraine. Besides Iron Fist, that version includes an improved high-definition thermal gunner’s sight and a new environmental control unit for the crew and passengers.

Elbit has since received several contracts for Bradley protection systems. A $37 million order in 2024 was followed in January 2026 by a $228 million follow-on contract to supply Iron Fist systems for Bradley upgrades under a program led by General Dynamics, as the U.S. Army moved from testing and limited fielding toward wider use across its Bradley fleet.

The Bradley is built by BAE Systems and has been in U.S. Army service since the early 1980s. The M2A4E1 is the latest step in upgrades that have kept the vehicle in service while the Army develops its successor, the XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle.