Challenger 2 FV4034 MBT main battle tank data pictures video

: 28 July 2021

Version française

Challenger 2 FV4034 main battle tank

Description

Technical Data

Specifications

Details view

Pictures - Video

Challenger 2 MBT Main Battle Tank British Army United Kingom 925 001

Description

The FV4034 Challenger 2 is the main battle tank currently in service with the armies of the United Kingdom. Built by the British company Vickers Defence System now part of BAE Systems Land and Armaments. Challenger 2 is an extensive redesign from Challenger 1, the MBT from which it was developed. It uses the basic hull and automotive parts of its predecessor but all else is new. Fewer than 5% of components are interchangeable. Vickers Defence Systems (later Alvis Vickers, now BAE Systems Land Systems) began to develop a successor to 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 Challenger 2 to the British Ministry of Defense.

Variants

- Challenger 2 with add-on armour
- Challenger 2E: for export version

Technical Data

Armament

The main armament of the Challenger 2 MBT consists of a BAE Systems, RO Defence 120 mm rifled tank gun designated the L30A, fitted with a thermal sleeve, fume extractor and muzzle reference system. Mounted coaxially, to the left of the main armament, is the ATK Gun Systems Company 7.62 mm Chain Gun which is already in service with the British Army and installed in the now Alvis Vickers Warrior mechanized combat vehicle. Mounted either side of the turret front is a bank of five 66 mm Thales AFV Systems electrically operated smoke grenade dischargers that cover the forward arc of the vehicle. One more 7.62 mm machine gun is mounted on the loader hatch.

Design and protection

The design of Challenger 2 has given emphasis to crew safety and tank survivability. The turret is protected with second generation Chobham armor which provides increased resistance to penetration by anti-tank weapons. The tank is protected against nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare by an NBC protection system (with full overpressure filtered air) located in the turret bustle.

Propulsion

The Challenger 2 has a 12-cylinder, 1,200hp Perkins Caterpillar CV12 diesel engine and a David Brown TN54 gearbox, with six forward and two reverse gears. Second-generation Hydrogas suspension and hydraulic track tensioner are fitted. Challenger 2 has six aluminum road wheels with the drive sprocket at the rear, idler at the front and two track-return rollers either side. The upper part of the track is covered by conventional aluminum skirts. The maximum speed by road is 59km/h and 40km/h cross country. The range is given as 450km by road and 250km cross country.

Accessories

NBC system is mounted in the turret bustle and fully meets all known threats. The crew environmental control system provides both heating and cooling for the crew compartment. This is the first time such a system has been installed in a British MBT. Challenger 2 can lay its own smoke screen by injecting diesel fuel into the exhaust outlets on either side of the hull top towards the rear. The Challenger 2 is also fitted with a dozer blade.

Specifications