The British Army drew up and approved plans to upgrade its armored forces. Also, a project has been selected, according to which the existing main tanks of the Challenger 2 will be modernized. Reportedly, Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land will be engaged in updating the equipment, and the necessary work will be carried out in the second half of the decade.
Modernization issue
Production of the Challenger 2 MBT started in 1994 and continued until 2002. The tank was put into service in 1998. Almost immediately after that, the search for ways to modernize such equipment began, but until recently all these ideas did not receive development for one reason or another. First of all, they refused to modernize tanks due to lack of finance.
At the end of 2015, the UK Department of Defense launched the Challenger 2 Life Extension Project (LEP) program aimed at updating the existing tank fleet. Initially, it was planned to carry out a "small" modernization, affecting only instrumentation. The development of such a project was planned to be completed in 2019.
However, in 2019, the LEP program was restarted with new requirements. Now it was proposed to carry out a larger modernization, affecting weapons, power plant, turret and other structural elements. At the same time, the volumes and cost of modernization were revised. Now it was planned to reduce the number of reconstructed tanks while maintaining the cost of work at the same level.
In 2019, the German-British joint venture Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) proposed its Challenger 2 modernization project. In September of the same year, at one of the exhibitions, an experienced tank was shown, updated according to this project. Subsequently, the necessary tests were carried out in the conditions of the landfill, aimed at determining the real characteristics and comparison with a competing development.
Based on the results of all events, the RBSL project was recognized as the most successful and recommended for full-scale implementation. On May 7, 2021, the British Ministry of Defense announced the signing of a contract for the work. Some features of the planned program are reported. It is also indicated that the updated tanks will be named Challenger 3.
Plans for the future
In 1994-2002. the British army acquired 386 Challenger 2 line tanks and 22 training vehicles. By 2010, the number of vehicles in service decreased to 225 units. and remains at this level to this day. According to previous plans, such a fleet should have been preserved until 2035. Now they have been revised in connection with the launch of the Challenger 3 project.
In March 2021, a new defense and security review was published, which included a reduction in the tank fleet. 148 tanks will remain in service in the future and will undergo repair and modernization, which will allow them to continue service until the forties. The remaining 77 cars will be written off. A new contract between the Ministry of Defense and the RBSL consolidates this proposal and launches its implementation.
Major work on the Challenger 3 will take place at the RBSL plant in Telford. This project will provide 200 jobs, including 130 vacancies for engineers. Some units will be supplied by other enterprises, which will create 450 more jobs.
In the coming years, contractor companies will have to complete the development of the project and prepare the production line. The first modernized tanks are expected in 2027. The last of the 148 MBTs will return to the unit in 2030. The total cost of the work, according to the contract, will be £ 800 million (approx.5.4 million per tank).
The Ministry of Defense highly appreciates the prospects of the new project. The military expects the Challenger 3 to be the "world-class tank" and "deadliest" in NATO. In addition, it is assumed that new weapons and other systems will allow the British "Challenger-3" to surpass modern Russian MBT.
Update paths
The Challenger 3 project from RBLS provides for a deep modernization of the existing tank with the replacement of almost all major systems and assemblies. Due to this, it is planned to increase mobility, protection, firepower and other key indicators. In addition, the tank will be able to fully operate as part of modern command and control systems and exchange data.
The finished hull of the tank will receive new frontal armor of a modular design during modernization. Its composition and characteristics are not specified, but an increase in the level of protection is reported. To replace the old tower, a new dome with reinforced armor and the necessary volumes for the installation of new equipment was developed. In the future, the tank will receive an active protection complex; it will be selected and installed under a new contract.
Standard Perkins CV12-6A engine with 1200 hp. it is proposed to replace it with a new 1500 hp MTU engine. You will also need to replace the transmission. The existing hydropneumatic suspension will be upgraded. Such modifications will make it possible to compensate for the increase in combat weight from 64 to 66 tons and even increase mobility.
The new fighting compartment is equipped with a Rheinmetall Rh 120 L55A1 120mm smoothbore cannon with manual loading. The gun will be able to use the entire range of existing and prospective rounds for various purposes. In particular, the tank's ammunition will include a new high-explosive fragmentation projectile with a DM11 programmable fuse. Additional weapons will include a remotely controlled weapon station with a machine gun.
The RBSL project provides for a radical upgrade of the fire control system and other onboard equipment. The sights, computing facilities and other components of the fighting compartment were selected anew, without the use of standard Challenger 2 instruments. Due to this, it is planned to preserve the capabilities of the "hunter-killer" and at the same time improve the main characteristics. The OMS will be combined with modern communications that provide the exchange of data on the tactical situation.
Tank perspectives
The Challenger 2 LEP program has passed the first stage and is entering a new stage - after several years of active work and a restart with revised requirements. In the coming years, RBLS and related enterprises will have to carry out new activities and launch a serial modernization of equipment. In the absence of any problems, by 2030 the British army will completely renew its MBT fleet.
From a technical point of view, the Challenger 3 project from RBLS looks quite successful. The proposed solutions are really capable of improving the technical and combat characteristics of the existing tank. It also provides all the capabilities required of a modern MBT.
However, this growth is associated not only with the advantages of new equipment and weapons. It is also based on the objective limitations and shortcomings of the base tank. "Challenger-2" has never undergone major modernization, and its characteristics are still at the level of the late nineties. In particular, this fact led to the need to develop a completely new fighting compartment.
Due to a chronic lack of funding, the British army cannot afford the maintenance of a large tank fleet, and now there are only 225 MBTs in service. The modernization of all this equipment also turned out to be impossible, and about a third of the tanks will have to be written off due to the exhaustion of the resource and the lack of funds for restoration.
Thus, the program for the modernization of British tanks is entering a new stage and is gradually approaching the launch of production. At the same time, the results of such a program will be ambiguous: tanks will be obtained only by the end of the decade, and qualitative growth is partially offset by a reduction in quantity. The measures taken will make it possible to maintain the desired composition of tank forces until the early forties, and what will happen next is unknown. It is too early to draw up plans of this kind, and for now it is necessary to focus on the current project.
