Key Points and Summary – The UK’s Challenger 2 tank has proven extremely successful in Ukraine, validating the continued importance of heavy armor on the modern battlefield. In response to these lessons, Britain is upgrading the platform to the more lethal Challenger 3, featuring a new NATO-standard 120mm smoothbore gun.
-Challenger 3 was designed to take on any land army on Earth; that’s its clear mission. But there is a clear problem that could stop that: numbers.
The Challenger 3 Main Battle tank. The latest edition to the Armoured family of the British Army. Displayed during PROJECT HERMOD 2. Image Credit: Britsh Army.
-Despite the tank’s proven value, the British Army only plans to procure a tiny fleet of 148 Challenger 3s.
-This small number is seen as potentially insufficient to provide a credible deterrent against a major land power like Russia.
The Challenger 3 Paradox
Britain’s Challenger 2 tank has proven extremely successful in Ukraine. Not only have Challenger 2s destroyed hundreds of Russian T-90 tanks, but the platform also was critical to the advances Ukraine made in its 2024 counteroffensive into Russia’s Kursk region.
The performance of the Challenger shows how two-sided the “lessons learned” about modern warfare can be. The successful use of drones, anti-armor weapons and asymmetrical capabilities has been complemented by effective use of traditional combined arms maneuver.
Heavy artillery and mechanized formations are essential to Russian and Ukrainian war efforts, and it quickly became clear that the arrival of armored vehicles such as Bradleys and tanks from the U.S. and allied countries enabled Ukrainian forces to take and hold new ground in a way that more defensively oriented dispersed, dismounted, ambush-style anti-armor warfare could not.
Enter the Challenger 3
There are lasting questions about the future combat value of tanks and heavy armor. The UK Ministry of Defense has decided to significantly upgrade its high-performing Challenger 2 main battle tank into a more-lethal Challenger 3 variant.
The Challenger 3 incorporates a substantial upgrade to the Rheinmetall 120-mm L55A1 high-pressure gun, a weapon the UK Royal Army has been testing in Germany.
Challenger 2 Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Challenger 3 is being built through a significant joint venture between two major defense companies, Rheinmetall and BAE Land Systems, and its main L55A1 120-mm smoothbore Rheinmetall main gun is the same type that currently arms the Leopard 2A6.
An essay for Army Technology describes the technological advances built into the Challenger 3 gun:
“The gun replaces the L30A1 120-mm main gun fitted to the Challenger 2, which is unique among Nato forces in that it has a rifled barrel, a technique that spins the shell to improve accuracy and range.”
Force Size of the New MBT
The original fleet of British Army Challenger 2 tanks reached as high as a reported 227 vehicles.
But in recent years, maintenance and sustainment challenges resulted in fewer operational tanks.
According to another report by Army Technology, the UK in 2024 had only 157 operational and ready Challenger 2 tanks.
This shortfall of operations-ready main battle tanks might explain why the British Army is only planning to upgrade 148 Challenger 2s into Challenger 3 variants.
With such a low number of tanks, the British Army could find itself lacking the kind of armored force needed to make an impact in the event of major power conflict, despite the combat promise of the modernized Challenger 3.
Tanks to Deter Russia
While a force of 148 Challenger 3 tanks would by no means be irrelevant, it seems insufficient to deter a potential Russian ground attack.
Although Russia has been quantifiably weakened by attritional war in Ukraine, the country is reported by Globalfirewpower.com as having, at one point, as many as 12,000 tanks.
That certainly does not mean that many tanks are available, and an Army intelligence report from last year found that Russia has lost roughly one-half of its active-duty tank force.
Challenger 3 Tank Image from British Army.
Thousands of Russian tanks have been destroyed in Ukraine, yet Russia has historically been known for its ability to mass land power.
It would make sense for the British MOD to make an effort to greatly enlarge its tank fleet to prepare for the widest possible range of contingencies.
The Future of Tanks
The Ukraine war has delivered some contradictory lessons about the nature of contemporary warfare. In one sense, the arrival of precision attack drones, improved Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, and next-generation shoulder-fired anti-armor weapons such as the Javelin has led to the decimation of tanks in modern war.
Many analysts raise the question of tanks ’ obsolescence more boldly, and the Marine Corps’ Force Design 2030 called for the removal of Abrams tanks from the Corps in favor of more drones, lightweight anti-armor weapons, and high-speed maneuverable attack vehicles.
However, tanks supported by sufficient ISR, drones, and long-range high-fidelity targeting sensors have proven extremely effective in Ukraine as well.
Challenger 3 Tank British Army Image.
If properly employed and sufficiently fortified by drones, weapons, and supportive technologies, tanks can deliver massive added value in war.
They may remain the best way to break through fortified defenses, challenge an enemy perimeter, and actually hold territory in war.
About the Author: Kris Osborn
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
More Military
Problem: U.S. Navy Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carriers Face 6 Year Long Refits
The Navy’s Ohio-Class SSGN Submarines Summed Up In 1 Sad Word
‘The Bow Was Ripped Off’: How a Russian Submarine Was Sunk By Its Own Faulty Torpedo
Forget the F-35, the Super Eurofighter Typhoon Is Coming
Forget the F-35: France’s F5 Super Dassault Rafale Fighter Is Coming
