Britain will adopt the more powerful Challenger 3 tank

By TOC

LONDON, (BM) – For the first time in a long time, the British decided to re-equip their tank fleet, adopting a conditionally “new” main battle tank based on the Challenger 2, learned BulgaroanMilitary.com.

The British have long been thinking about equipping the Armed Forces with more powerful tanks. At last, these plans have begun to be implemented: as it became known, the British military will receive almost 150 Challenger 3 tanks.

Britain announced the contract between Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land and the British Ministry of Defense to modernization 148 Challenger 2 main battle tanks to the Challenger 3 level on Friday, May 7. The cost of the agreement is £ 800 million. The program will begin in 2021; the tank should enter service in 2027. Its full combat readiness is scheduled for 2030.

In particular, the tank will receive new electronic stuffing, two thermal imaging sights, which own the commander and gunner. The British rifled 120mm L30 cannon will be replaced by the 120mm smoothbore L55A1 from the German company Rheinmetall. Other improvements include an upgraded engine and the ability to install an active protection complex. The mass of the combat vehicle will be 66 tons.

Now, in Europe, they are actively working on tank guns of increased power. Last year, the Germans showed the capabilities of a promising 130-mm tank gun mounted on the Challenger 2. And in 2019, it became known about the tests of a 140-mm gun mounted on the French Leclerc tank. As the French said then, the modernized combat vehicle fired more than 200 successful shots. According to the developers, the new weapon is “70 percent more effective” than the existing 120mm NATO tank guns.

The British Army will use the new guns on the promising new-generation Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) tank, which France and Germany are working on together. It expects to replace the Leclerc and Leopard 2 in the future.

The new tank will be a completely new machine, although the creators can use technical solutions previously tested on such machines as the Leopard as mentioned earlier 2. The new tank may see the world around the 2030s.

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