The FV4034 Challenger 2 is a British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defence Systems (now known as BAE Systems Land & Armaments)
Vickers Defence Systems began to develop a successor to Challenger 1 as a private venture in 1986. A £90 million deal for a demonstrator vehicle was finalised in January 1989. In June 1991, the Ministry of Defence placed a £520 million order for 140 vehicles, with a further 268 ordered in 1994. Production began in 1993 and the unit's tanks were delivered in July 1994, replacing the Challenger 1. The tank entered service with the British Army in 1998, with the last delivered in 2002. It is expected to remain in service until 2035. The Army of Oman ordered 18 Challenger 2s in 1993 and a further 20 tanks in November 1997.
The Challenger 2 is an extensive redesign of the Challenger 1. Although the hull and automotive components seem similar, they are of a newer design and build than those of the Challenger 1 and fewer than 5% of components are interchangeable.
The tank's drive system provides a 550 km range, with a maximum road speed of 59 km/h. It has a 4 man crew.
The Challenger 2 is equipped with a 120-millimetre (4.7 in) 55-calibre long L30A1 tank gun the successor to the L11 gun used on the Chieftain and Challenger 1. Uniquely among NATO main battle tank armament, the L30A1 is rifled, because the British Army continues to place a premium on the use of high explosive squash head (HESH) rounds in addition to armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot armour-piercing rounds.
The Challenger 2 is also armed with a L94A1 EX-34 7.62 mm chain gun and a 7.62 mm L37A2 (GPMG) machine gun. 58 main armament rounds and 4,200 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition are carried.
The Challenger 2 is considered to be one of the best protected tanks in the world. The turret and hull are protected with second generation Chobham armour (also known as Dorchester). However, on one occasion, in August 2006, during the post-invasion stage of the Iraq War 2003 an RPG-29 was fired at a Challenger 2 that was climbing over a ramp, the front underside hull armour of the tank which was not augmented with an ERA package was damaged, the tank subsequently returned to base under its own power and was quickly repaired and back on duty the following day. As a result, the ERA package was replaced with a Dorchester block and the steel underbelly lined with armour as part of the 'Streetfighter' upgrade as a direct response to this incident. To date, the only time the tank has ever been seriously damaged during operations, was by another Challenger 2 in a 'blue on blue' (friendly fire) incident.In service: 1998-present
Used by: British Army, Oman Army
Wars: Iraq War
Production history
Manufacturer Alvis plc, BAE Systems Land & Armaments
Unit cost: £4,217,000 per Tank
Produced: 1993-2002
Number built: 446
Specifications
Weight: 62.5 tonnes (61.5 long tons; 68.9 short tons)
Length: 8.3 m (27 ft 3 in), 13.50 m (44 ft 3 in) with gun forward
Width: 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in), 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) with appliqué armour
Height: 2.49 m (8 ft 2 in)
Crew: 4 (commander, gunner, loader/operator, driver)
Armour: Chobham / Dorchester Level 2 (classified)
Mainarmament: L30A1 120 mm rifled gun with 58 rounds
Secondary armament: Coaxial 7.62 mm L94A1 chain gun EX-34 (chain gun), 7.62 mm L37A2 Commander's cupola machine gun
Power Plant: Perkins CV-12 V12 diesel 26 litre 1,200 hp (890 kW)
Power/weight: 19.2 hp/t (14.3 kW/t)
Transmission: David Brown TN54 epicyclic transmission (6 fwd, 2 rev.)
Suspension: Hydropneumatic
Ground clearance: 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in)
Fuel capacity: 1,592 litres (350 imp gal; 421 US gal)
Operational range: 550 km (340 mi) on road,[3] 250 km (160 mi) off road on internal fuel
Speed: 59 km/h (37 mph) on road,[4] 40 km/h (25 mph) off road
All Film on this web site is © copyright protected by IDP-Film.
All music is copyright free from our extensive in house studios.
NO REPRODUCTION is allowed of any film we show on KZfaq or our main websites or any other Website Worldwide by either: electronic downloading or coping in any means what so ever mechanically or electronically, without written consent from IDP-Film.
No broadcast or public broadcast in any form of media: television, computer, large screen projectors or electronic screen devices is permitted without our written permission at IDP FILM.
This KZfaq web site is intended to show what type of work we can produce, under strict safety conditions and only if it is safe to do so.
IDP-Film covers all Cinema, Commercial and Aerial Filming in 5K /6K S-UHD film work.
© 2008 ( updated July 2016 )
.