The Challenger 2 is the British Army’s current Main Battle Tank (MBT).
It is, according to some, one of the most advanced tanks in the world, featuring a lethal blend of firepower, mobility, and survivability.
Challenger 2 Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Challenger 2 Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Vickers Defense Systems: The Challenger 2 was originally designed and first accepted into service in 1998.
The tank was developed as a successor to the often-overlooked Challenger 1 and made significant improvements to its armor and mobility.
It has since developed an excellent reputation in the British Army, with no tanks lost to enemy fire, at least until the war in Ukraine.
Today, let us take a more technical look at the Challenger 2 and determine its strengths and weaknesses.
Development History
Work on a new tank program began as early as the 1960s. At the time, the Chieftain was the UK’s primary MBT, and although it was heavily armed and armored, its mobility left a lot to be desired.
The Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment (MVEE) produced several experimental prototypes, one of which included newly developed Chobham Armor.
Originally, the UK intended to merge all these design concepts into one platform, under the MBT-80 program.
However, deliveries of MBT-80 were not expected until the 80s, which would leave the British Tank forces at a severe disadvantage against newer Soviet Tanks.
The program was canceled altogether because of its steep development costs.
The Islamic Revolution in Iran proved a blessing in disguise for the British Army. While the UK lost one of its largest customers, it gained a new tank: the Shir 2, promptly renamed the Challenger 1 (FV 4030 Challenger).
The Challenger 1 was a great tank and, in many respects, ahead of its time.
Challenger 3 Tank British Army Image.
Challenger 3 On the March. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Its turret and portions of its hull received new Chobham armor, which provided substantially more protection than rolled homogeneous armor, and it carried a 120 rifled gun, the same as the Chieftain.
While the Challenger 1 was good, it wasn’t good enough. The UK’s NATO contemporaries fielded more advanced tanks such as the Leopard 2, the Leclerc, and the M1 Abrams, while the Soviets continued to improve the T-72 and had just introduced the T-80.
Throughout the 80s and 90s, the UK developed an improved version of the Challenger, known as the Challenger 2.
Technical Characteristics
The Challenger 2 is a large, heavy MBT that was heavily influenced by its predecessor, the Challenger 1. It retains a similar overall layout as the Challenger 1, but with numerous improvements, particularly to its armor.
The driver remains seated front and center, while the six-wheel running gear remains largely unchanged.
The hull’s frontal glacis and turret facings are heavily sloped, which, combined with Chobham composites, provides excellent protection against chemical and kinetic rounds.
The tank is 8.2 meters long, 3.5 meters wide, and 2.49 meters in height.
The Challenger 2 retains Chobham armor in its turret and parts of the hull, but the turret has been redesigned to offer better protection.
The crew layout is also unchanged, with four crew members—a commander, driver, gunner, and loader—manning the large fighting vehicle.
The Challenger 2 carries an L30A1 120mm rifled gun.
Although it is the same caliber as the Challenger 1’s gun, the L30A1 offers better overall performance and can fire more modern ammunition.
What really sets the two tanks apart, however, is their fire-control systems (FCS).
The Challenger 2 has an advanced digital FCS developed by Computing Devices Co. (acquired by General Dynamics), allowing the tank to fire more accurately while moving.
The gunner’s sight is equipped with the Thermal Observation and Gunnery Sight II (TOGS II) from Thales, which can be displayed on both the gunner’s and the commander’s sights and monitors (as far as I am aware, the commander is not equipped with independent thermal sights).
The Perkins CV12-6A V12 diesel engine, which provides 1,200 horsepower, enabling the massive tank to reach 59 to 60 km/h (roughly 35 miles per hour).
Complementing the engine is the David Brown electric transmission system, allowing for six forward and two reverse gears.
Mobility is further aided by the tank’s hydropneumatic suspension, allowing the massive vehicle to traverse rough terrain while maintaining crew comfort.
The Challenger 2 has a total range of 250 km off-road on its internal fuel, although external fuel cans can be added to the back of the tank.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Challenger 2
The Challenger 2 weighs around 69 short tons, but with all add-on armor packages and active protection systems, its weight increases to 82.7 tons (exact numbers vary by source).
This is perhaps one of the tank’s biggest downsides, even though it’s otherwise an excellent platform.
In Ukraine, although the Challenger was praised for its accuracy and firepower, Ukrainian tank crews noted that its excessive weight often got it bogged down in the muddy Eastern European terrain, requiring other tanks or engineering vehicles to tow it out (this is not a problem unique to the Challenger 2, to be fair).
Additionally, its rifled barrel wears out after only 500 rounds, compared to the L44 smoothbore on Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams tanks, which wear out after 1,500 rounds.
Overall, the Challenger 2 is a decent platform, with excellent armor, firepower, and mobility.
However, the tank is weighed down by its excessive mass and comparatively shorter barrel longevity.
The Challenger 3 program is actively addressing many of these issues by replacing the rifled gun and aiming to reduce its weight by around 10 tons (depending on the source).
About the Author: Isaac Seitz
Isaac Seitz, a Defense Columnist, graduated from Patrick Henry College’s Strategic Intelligence and National Security program. He has also studied Russian at Middlebury Language Schools and has worked as an intelligence Analyst in the private sector.
