Challenger 2

   The Challenger 2 main battle tank was developed as a private venture to replace the previous Chieftain MBT in service with British Army. It is a further development of the Challenger 1 MBT. Currently Challenger 2 is in service with United Kingdom (386) and Oman (38).

   It is one of the most protected tanks in the world. The Challenger 2 features Chobham composite armor of the second generation. It's turret was also redesigned. Explosive reactive armor kits can be fitted if necessary. Vehicle also can be fitted with VIRSSS (Visual and Infra-Red Smoke Screening System).

   Vehicle is fitted with a new L30E4 120-mm rifled gun, capable of firing a wide variety of standard NATO munitions. This gun is loaded manually. Maximum aimed range is over 5 000 m, while effective range of fire with armor-piercing round is over 3 000 m.

   Secondary armament consists of two 7.62-mm machine guns. One of them is coaxially mounted with the main gun, while the other is placed on top of the roof.

   Challenger 2 is fitted with a new fire control system. Some of it's components are similar to the US M1A1 Abrams and French Leclerc MBTs. It's fire control system has a high hit probability against stationary and moving targets. This main battle tank has a battle management system similar to that, used on the M1A1 Abrams. Furthermore British tanks can interchange information with US tanks.

   Vehicle has a crew of four, including commander, gunned, loader and driver.

   The Challenger 2 is powered by a Perkins CV12 TCA diesel engine, similar to that on the Challenger 1. This engine develops 1 200 horsepower. Both challengers are famous for their mechanical reliability. Suspension has been improved, particularly a hydraulic track pretensioner was added. Despite an increase in weight the Challenger 2 has similar cross-country performance to the previous vehicle. Additional fuel tanks can be mounted at the rear of the hull for extended operational range. It can also be fitted with a dozer blade. It is worth mentioning that all Challenger 1 MBTs can be upgraded to the Challenger 2.

Variants

   Challenger 2E export variant with a number of improvements;

   CRARRV armored recovery vehicle;

   Trojan armored engineering vehicle;

   Titan bridgelayer;

   Driver training tank.

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