The vast majority of the U.S. Army”s Bradley Fighting Vehicles cannot be fitted with a new Israeli-made active protection system for one simple reason—they cannot generate enough power to operate it. The Service is in the process of upgrading a number of Bradleys to a new configuration with an auxiliary power unit that will enable them to carry the Iron Fist Light system. At present, however, it expects to leave most of these armored vehicles in their existing form in favor of developing an all-new replacement design, a program that has recently hit major hurdles, leading to the cancellation of a planned competition.
The Pentagon”s Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, or DOT&E, revealed the power generation issues in its annual report on the progress of various high-profile U.S. military procurement programs during the 2019 Fiscal Year, which ended on September 30, 2019. The Army had first announced that it had picked Israeli defense contractor Elbit”s Iron Fist Light as its choice for a new active protection system for its Bradleys in December 2018.