M242 (25 mm)

The 25 mm M242 on the M3 Bradley gun mantlet.

Description

The 25 mm M242 Bushmaster is a chain cannon used on the Bradley series.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• ADATS
• Desert Warrior
• M3 Bradley
• M3A3 Bradley

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.

Available ammunition

• Default: APDS · HEI-T*
• M792: HEI-T* · HEI-T* · HEI-T* · APDS
• M791: APDS · APDS · APDS · HEI-T*
• M919: APFSDS

Note: The M919 belt is only available to the M3A3 Bradley.

Comparison with analogues

• MK 30-2/ABM (30 mm): A 30 mm German autocannon with a similar rate of fire
• 2A42 (30 mm): A Russian autocannon with similar penetration and damage but a higher rate of fire than the M242
• 2A72 (30 mm): A Russian autocannon with similar penetration, damage and rate of fire
• Oerlikon KBA B02 (25 mm): A 25 mm autocannon of the same calibre with a higher rate of fire

Usage in battles

The M242 Bushmaster can handle and defeat most of the opponents that it faces within its BR, though certain MBTs and heavy tanks will be difficult to defeat as the autocannon does not have enough penetration to effectively kill these heavy tanks. Usually flanking manoeuvres are required as most MBTs at this tier lack in side armour, where the M242 can easily punch through the armour, though certain MBTs such as the Leopard 1 can be penetrated from the front. Be aware of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks as they have up to 80 mm of side armour, where the M242 cannot penetrate the side unless you have M919 APFSDS, which is only available on the M3A3 Bradley. The M242 can also defeat air targets as well, although due to the low fire rate of 200 RPM, defeating jets are going to be difficult from their high speed. The XM1069 does have a modified M242, where it can fire at 500 RPM and having a slightly easier time killing jets. Defeating helicopters are easier though as they aren't that fast, and easy to kill if they're going on the attack run in the battlefield.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Access to APFSDS (only for the M3A3)
• High rate of fire (XM1069 only)
• High ammunition count

Cons:

• Slow rate of fire
• Tends to overheat easily

History

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Media

Images

• 

  The M242 on the XM1069.

See also

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• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.