Direct proof of use
The M242 Bushmaster appears in the 1990 Gulf War through U.S. Army Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Northrop Grumman identifies the M242 as primary armament on U.S. Army and allied Bradley Fighting Vehicles and lists Desert Storm among the operations for the combat-proven system.
The clearest conflict-use source is GAO's January 1992 early performance assessment of Bradley and Abrams vehicles in the Persian Gulf War. GAO reported that Bradley crews used the 25 mm automatic gun primarily for clearing bunkers and firing on lightly armored vehicles, and that commanders, crews, the Center for Army Lessons Learned, and the Army Infantry Center described the gun as versatile.
Sources: Northrop Grumman M242 Datasheet, GAO Bradley and Abrams Assessment
Timeline
The dated public record starts with the coalition ground offensive on February 24, 1991. The U.S. Army Center of Military History describes U.S. armored and mechanized formations, including Bradley-equipped units, entering the 100-hour ground war after the air campaign.
On February 24, the 1st Infantry Division's breach of Iraqi defensive lines was covered by fire from Bradley crews. On February 27, the Center of Military History describes Bradley gunners from the 24th Infantry Division firing at vehicles moving along Highway 8 southwest of Al Basrah.
Sources: U.S. Army War in the Persian Gulf, GAO Bradley and Abrams Assessment
Operational role
In this conflict, the M242 was not a separately transferred weapon; it was the installed 25 mm gun on Bradley-family vehicles operated by U.S. Army formations. GAO's background section describes the M2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle and M3 Cavalry Fighting Vehicle as Bradley variants and states that both carried a 25 mm automatic gun, TOW launcher, and coaxial machine gun.
The supported role was mechanized direct fire during the ground campaign. GAO reported that Bradley crews used the 25 mm gun for bunker clearing and against lightly armored vehicles, with isolated reports of tank kills at close range or vulnerable aspects. The same report noted that the Bradley's 25 mm gun and TOW out-ranged the sights' ability to identify targets, a limitation tied to target identification and fratricide concerns rather than to absence of battlefield use.
Army campaign history places Bradley crew fire inside the February 24-27 ground offensive: covering trench-line breaches, fighting in VII Corps armored engagements, and firing during the 24th Infantry Division's Highway 8 attacks. These sources support U.S. use in Operation Desert Storm, while leaving individual M242 round counts and gun-specific battle-damage attribution mostly at assessment level rather than incident-by-incident detail.
Sources: GAO Bradley and Abrams Assessment, U.S. Army War in the Persian Gulf, Northrop Grumman M242 Datasheet
