The Bradley Urban Survivability Kit (BUSK) provides a combination of rapidly deployable solutions designed to enhance the protection, capabilities and functionality of Bradley Combat Systems in urban operations. Conceived by U.S. Army commanders in the field, BUSK addresses a number of Force Protection issues experienced by Bradley crews operating in complex and hostile urban environments.
The kits are easily installed on fielded vehicles with a minimum of modifications. Critical-need areas addressed by BUSK include:
- Battle Command Spotlight – This high-powered, hand-held directional spotlight provides 3 million candlepower (four to five times more light than Halogen equivalents), with 10 times the bulb life, using 24-volt vehicle power and an existing connector.
- Sight protection for the turret external optical components – These devices help maintain vehicle ballistic sight capability by protecting them from damage. The design incorporates a mesh encased in a steel frame which does not affect normal sighting functions.
- Power Line Protection ? A lightweight, non-conductive “dome tent” structure provides a solution to protect the turret and crew from low hanging electrical power lines at speeds up to 30 mph, with little impact on views from the CIV and IBAS.
Additional features now in development are the Commander's Light Automatic Weapon (CLAW) and mine/IED armor upgrades:
- CLAW – A light machine gun mounted on the CIV and integrated with the A3 Fire Control System to provide an immediate threat suppression capability for the Bradley Commander. CLAW mounts either the M-249 SAW or the M-231 ball-port 5.56mm machine gun which is fired under armor with existing fire control components.
- Mine/IED Armor – This enhanced package is designed to counter effects of Mine/IED explosions.
