Challenger 2

FV4034 Challenger 2
Specifications
Mass	62.5 tonnes
Length	8.3 m
Width	3.5 m (4.2with applique armour)
Height	3.04 m
Crew	4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)

The British FV4034 Challenger 2 is the main battle tank currently in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. The Challanger 2 as a main battle tank is alike to the United State's M1 Abrams, Russia's T-90, France's Leclerc, Germany's Leopard 2 and Israel's Merkava 4 .

Overview

The Challenger 2 is a main battle tank built by the British company Alvis Vickers (now part of BAE Systems Land Systems). Challenger 2 is the third vehicle to carry the title. The first was the A30 Challenger, a WW2 Cromwell tank mounting a 17 pdr gun. The second is the Gulf war era Challenger 1. This was the British army's MBT from the early 1980s to the mid 1990s. Although Challenger 2 was developed from Challenger 1 the new vehicle has been given a complete redesign as less than 5% of components are interchangeable. The Challenger 2 has now replaced the Challenger 1 in service with the British Army and is also used by the Royal Army of Oman.

The UK placed orders for 127 Challenger 2 tanks in 1991 and an additional 259 in 1994. Oman ordered 18 of the tanks in 1993 and a further 20 in November 1997. Challenger 2 entered service with the British Army in 1998, with the last delivered in 2002. It is expected to remain in service until 2035. Deliveries for Oman were completed in 2001.

Challenger 2 has seen operational service in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq (2003-present).

History

Vickers Defence Systems (later Alvis Vickers, now BAE Systems Land Systems) began to develop a successor to the Challenger 1 as a private venture in 1986. Following the issue of a staff requirement for a next-generation tank, Vickers formally submitted its plans for the Challenger 2 to the MOD. They were awarded a £90 million contract for a demonstrator vehicle in December 1988. In June 1991 - after competition from other tank manufacturers (the M1A2 Abrams, the Leopard II (Improved) and the Leclerc were amongst the options) - the MOD placed a £520 million order for 127 MBTs and 13 driver training vehicles. This was augmented in 1994 with an order for a further 259 tanks and 9 driver trainers (worth £800 million). Oman ordered 18 Challenger 2s in 1993 and a further 20 tanks November 1997.

Production began in 1993 at two primary sites - Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne and Barnbow, Leeds, although over 250 subcontractors were involved. The first tanks were delivered in July 1994.

The Challenger 2 successfully completed its Reliability Growth Trial in 1994; Three vehicles were tested for 285 simulated battlefield days. Each day is known to have consisted of:

• 27 km of On-road Travel
• 33 km of Off-road Travel
• 34 Main Armament Rounds fired
• 1,000 7.62 MG rounds fired
• 16 hrs Weapon System Operation
• 10 hrs Main Engine Idling
• 3.5 hrs Main Engine Running

An equally important milestone was the In-Service Reliability Demonstration (ISRD) in 1999. 12 fully crewed tanks were tested at the Bovington test tracks and at Lulworth Bindon ranges. The tank exceeded all staff requirements.

The tank went into service with the British Army in June 1998 with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards in Germany and the last vehicles were delivered in 2002. Oman received its last tanks in 2001. It is expected to remain in service until around 2035.

First Vehicles in Service Delivery of the first production vehicles to the Royal Engineers is scheduled for 2005. Quantities 33 TROJAN and 33 TITAN vehicles. Costs / Commercial Aspects £250M Demonstration and Manufacture contract awarded to Alvis Vickers Defence Ltd (then Vickers Defence Systems) on 9 March 2001 now BAe Systems by the MOD Defence Procurement Agency.

Design

Armament

Challenger 2 is equipped with an 120 mm L30A1 tank gun, the successor to the gun used on Chieftain and Challenger 1. The gun is made from high-strength electro-slag refining (ESR) steel with a chromium alloy lining and, like earlier British 120 mm guns, is insulated by a thermal sleeve. It is fitted with a muzzle reference system, fume extraction and is gyro-stabilised. Because the British Army continues to place a premium on the use of high-explosive squash head (HESH) rounds in addition to saboted rounds, the Challenger 2's cannon is rifled, making it unique among the NATO-allied army MBTs. HESH rounds continue to be used by the British for two reasons; they have longer range than saboted penetrator rounds and they are more effective against buildings and thin-skinned vehicles (of course, they are also cheaper than the CHARM 3).

52 rounds can be carried from a selection of APFSDS, HESH (High Explosive Squash Head) or smoke. A depleted uranium (DU) APFSDS round known as CHARM 1 (CHallenger ARMament) was produced, this has been replaced with the improved CHARM 3 round. As with earlier versions of the 120 mm gun, the rounds are two part consisting of a separate charge and warhead. Contrary to much speculation, this does not reduce the rate of fire of the Challenger 2. In fact, a loader can often sustain a higher rate of fire than auto-loaders with single piece ammunition. Further, separate charge sticks reduce the likelihood of enemy fire igniting the ammunition.

The gun control is an all-electric control and stabilisation system. An L94A1 EX-34 7.62 mm chain gun is fitted to the left of the main gun. A 7.62 mm L37A2 machine gun for anti-air defence is mounted on the commander's cupola. 4,000 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition are carried.

The digital fire control computer from Computing Devices Company (now General Dynamics – Canada) contains two 32-bit processors with a MIL STD1553B databus and has capacity for additional systems, for example a Battlefield Information Control System.

The commander has a panoramic SAGEM VS 580-10 gyrostabilised sight with laser rangefinder Elevation range is +35° to - 35°. The commander's station is equipped with eight periscopes for 360° vision.

The Thermal Observation and Gunnery Sight II (TOGS II), from Thales, provides night vision. The thermal image is displayed on both the gunner's and commander's sights and monitors. The gunner has a stabilised Primary Sight using a laser rangefinder with a range of 200 m to 10 km.

The driver is equipped with Thales Optronics image-intensifying Passive Driving Periscope (PDP) for night driving.

The British Army maintained its requirement for a four-man crew (including a loader) after risk analysis of the incorporation of an automatic loader suggested that auto-loaders reduced battlefield survivability. Mechanical failure and the time required for repair are prime concerns. A Human loader is able to maintain a higher rate of fire than possible with current auto-loaders, and assists with maintenance of the vehicle.

Defence

The Challenger 2 is the most heavily armoured western made tank, the turret and hull are protected with second generation Chobham armour (also known as Dorchester) the details of which are still classified. Explosive Reactive Armour kits are also fitted as necessary. The nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection system is located in the turret bustle. On each side of the turret are five L8 smoke grenade dischargers. Challenger 2 can also create smoke by injecting diesel fuel into the exhaust manifolds. The Challenger 2E also has gauss coils fitted beneath its armour to protect against EMP blasts generated by a nuclear detonation.

Drive System

• Engine: Perkins CV12 diesel engine delivering 1,200 hp (895 kW).
• Gearbox: David Brown TN54 epicyclical transmission (6 fwd, 2 rev).
• Suspension: Second-generation Hydrogas.
• Track: William Cook Defence Hydraulically Adjustable double-pin.

Maximum speed 37 mph, 59 km/h (road) 25 mph, 40 km/h (cross country)

Range 280 miles, 450 km (road) 156 miles, 250 km (cross country).

Operational usage

Challenger 2 had already been used in peacekeeping missions and exercises before but its first combat use came in March 2003 during the invasion of Iraq. 7 Armoured Brigade, part of 1st Armoured Division, was in action with 120 Challenger 2s. The tanks saw extensive use during the siege of Basra, providing fire support to the British forces.

There was only one loss due to a blue-on-blue incident (friendly fire) in which one Challenger 2 mistakenly shot another, destroying the second tank and killing two crew members.

In one encounter a Challenger 2 took hits from multiple Rocket propelled grenades and one ATGW round and was under heavy fire for a few hours from small arms fire. The crew survived and the tank was subsequently recovered.

The tank's availability was excellent and the problems that were suffered during the large Saif Sareea II exercise of eighteen months earlier were solved by the issuing of Urgent Operational Requirements for equipment such as sand filters.

Upgrades and variants

Challenger Lethality Improvement Programme

The Challenger Lethality Improvement Programme is a programme to upgrade the main gun of the Challenger from its current 120mm L30A1 rifled gun with the 120mm Rheinmetall L55 smoothbore gun currently used by the Leopard 2 A6. The use of a smoothbore allows the Challenger to use enhanced lethality rounds developed in Germany and the US. Also, the L55 is a longer gun, giving rounds increased muzzle velocity versus earlier smoothbore cannon. Other improvements have also been considered, including a regenerative NBC protection system.[1]

Challenger 2E

Challenger 2E is an export version of the tank. It has a new integrated weapon control and battlefield management system, which includes a gyrostabilised panoramic SAGEM MVS 580 day/thermal sight for the commander and SAGEM SAVAN 15 gyrostabilised day/thermal sight for the gunner, both with eyesafe laser rangefinder. This allows hunter/killer operations with a common engagement sequence. An optional servo-controlled overhead weapons platform can be slaved to the commander's sight to allow operation independent from the turret.

The power pack has been replaced with a new 1500 hp (1100 kW) EuroPowerPack with transversely mounted MTU MT 883 diesel engine coupled to Renk HSWL 295TM automatic transmission. The smaller but more powerful engine allows more space for fuel storage, increasing the vehicle’s range to 550 km.

The manufacturer announced in 2005 that development and export marketing of 2E would stop. This has been linked to the failure of the 2E to be selected for the Hellenic Army in 2002 (the Leopard II won the competition[2]).

CHARRV

The CHallenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle (CHARRV) is an armoured recovery vehicle based on the Challenger hull and designed to repair and recover damaged tanks on the battlefield. It has five seats but usually carries a crew of three soldiers from the Royal Electrical And Mechanical Engineers (REME), of the Vehicle Mechanic and Recovery Mechanic trades. There is room in the cabin for two further passengers (eg crew of the casualty vehicle) on a temporary basis.

The size and performance are similar to the Challenger tank, but instead of armament it is fitted with:

• A main winch with 52-tonne pull (can exert 100 tonnes using an included pulley and anchor point on the vehicle), plus a small pilot winch to aid in deploying the main cable.
• Atlas crane capable of lifting 6500 kg at a distance of 4.9 m (this is sufficient to lift a Challenger 2 power pack).
• Dozer blade to act as an earth anchor/stabiliser, or in obstacle clearance and fire position preparation.
• Large set of recovery and heavy repair tools including compressed air powered tools and arc-welding capability.

Titan

The Titan armoured bridge layer, is based on the Challenger 2 running gear and will replace the Chieftain Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge (ChAVLB). Titan is expected to come into service in 2006 with the Royal Engineers with 33 in service in the end.

Trojan

Trojan is a combat engineering vehicle, or CEV (also styled AVRE for Armoured Vehicle, Royal Engineers in British Army parlance), designed as a replacement for the Chieftain AVRE (ChAVRE). It uses the Challenger 2 chassis, and will carry an articulated excavator arm, a dozer blade, and attachment rails for fascines. Like Titan, 33 are intended to reach service.

Trivia

• The History Channel's show Heavy Metal documented the Challenger 2's ability to brew tea for the crew from inside the tank. The tank contains a boiler for water which can be used to produce hot beverages and heat 'boil-in-the-bag' meals contained in ration packs. (Every British tank since the Centurion has this ability to heat water.)
• On the British TV show Brainiac: Science Abuse a British Army Challenger 2 tank was commissioned to finish the job of opening a one-tonne steel bank safe, previous attempts at opening the safe included grinding, dropping from a high altitude, as well as the use of napalm. The tank first fired two APFSDS arrow rounds at the safe at a distance of 900 metres. The first missed, the second just scratching one side of the safe. The tank then fired two HESH rounds, both hit the safe. It was opened, but also torn apart. Following this, the prize money within the safe (£200) was destroyed, and was thus unrecoverable.
• Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson attempted to out-run and out-manoeuvre a Challenger 2 tank on the Army's battle training grounds with a Range Rover Sport. The outcome was a win for the tank after several minutes of Clarkson running away through woods and over hilly terrain. Although tanks cannot enter heavily wooded areas, the Challenger 2 used a smoke screen to force Clarkson to leave the safety of the forest. He later mocked the tank crew by circling around a large shrubbed area, but they caught up with him soon afterwards.

External links

• British army Challenger II webpage
• The ARMOR Site! page on Challenger 2
• Challenger 2 Photos and Walk Arounds on Prime Portal
• Army-Technology