These would add Chobham to the front turret and hull, use a new hydrogas suspension, and add a new night sight for the commander. Promised performance was so great that, even before any had been delivered, Iran ordered a second batch of tanks to be further upgraded as Shir 2. This led to a 1974 contract with Iran to produce the Shir 1, which mounted the CV12 engine and a "Super Horstmann" suspension with roughly double the travel, greatly increasing the tank's overall performance. Meanwhile, Chieftain was proving to be an export success, and Vickers had been asked to explore updated versions for several of its customers. The CV12 was ultimately selected as the AGT1500 was too tightly designed to the specific layout of the XM1, and its higher fuel use went against the desire for longer range than Chieftain. A much more powerful engine would be fitted, either the Honeywell AGT1500 turboshaft or Rolls-Royce CV12 Diesel, and the ride quality greatly improved through the use of a hydropneumatic suspension. Being armoured with Chobham would mean less steel would be needed, and aluminium could be used in the hull and other areas to save weight. In September 1978, it was announced that these concepts would be brought together in a new design, MBT-80. Some work on further development of the Chieftain had been ongoing since 1968 at the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment (MVEE), and several experimental vehicles produced, including one with the recently developed Chobham armour. In the mid-1970s the US began the XM1 project, and some consideration was made to using this design with the Chieftain's 120 mm Royal Ordnance L11 gun and possibly a new engine, but this concept was ultimately rejected. While Chieftain was heavily armed and armoured, its engine and suspension were considerably sub-par compared to its contemporaries, leading to poor cross-country performance and a lack of maneuverability. The Challenger 1 was the winner of a contest that had started with the MBT-80 project to address some of the shortcomings of the Chieftain. The second was the Persian Gulf War era Challenger 1, which was the British army's main battle tank (MBT) from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. The Challenger 2 is the third vehicle of this name, the first being the A30 Challenger, a World War II design using the Cromwell tank chassis with a 17-pounder gun. This has culminated in an upgraded design, known as Challenger 3, which is set to gradually replace Challenger 2 from 2027. Since the Challenger 2 entered service in 1998, various upgrades have sought to improve its protection, mobility and lethality. A number of British Challenger 2 tanks were delivered to Ukraine in 2023. Ĭhallenger 2 tanks were also ordered by Oman in the 1990s with delivery of 38 vehicles being completed in 2001. To date, two Challenger 2 tanks are confirmed to have been destroyed in operations the first was by accidental friendly fire from another Challenger 2 in Basra in 2003, and the second was during the Russo-Ukrainian War, where the tank was destroyed under Ukrainian control during the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive. The tank entered operational service with the British Army in 1998 and has since been used in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Iraq. In June 1991, the UK ordered 140 vehicles, followed by a further 268 in 1994 these were delivered between 19. The Challenger 2 eventually completely replaced the Challenger 1 in British service. Powered by a Perkins CV12-6A V12 diesel engine, the tank has a range of 550 kilometres (340 mi) and maximum road speed of 59 kilometres per hour (37 mph). The turret and hull are protected with second generation Chobham armour, also known as Dorchester. Fifty rounds of ammunition are carried for the main armament, alongside 4,200 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition for the tank's secondary weapons: a L94A1 EX-34 chain gun mounted coaxially, and a 元7A2 (GPMG) machine gun. The main armament is a 元0A1 120-millimetre (4.7 in) rifled tank gun, an improved derivative of the L11 gun used on the Chieftain and Challenger 1. Despite outward similarities to the Challenger 1, design and technological developments mean that only about 3% of components are interchangeable with the earlier vehicle. The Ministry of Defence ordered a prototype in December 1988. It was designed by Vickers Defence Systems (now BAE Systems Land & Armaments) as a private venture in 1986, and was an extensive redesign of the company's earlier Challenger 1 tank. The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MoD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom, Oman, and Ukraine.
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