File:Challenger_2_Main_Battle_Tank_patrolling_outside_Basra,_Iraq_MOD_45148325.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Challenger 2
Sign in to saveAlso known as FV4034, Challenger MBT 2, FV4034 Challenger 2
British main battle tank
Key facts
- Type
- Main battle tank
- Place of origin
- United Kingdom
- In service
- 1998–present
- Used by
- British Army Royal Army of Oman Ukrainian Ground Forces
- Wars
- UNMIBH Kosovo War Iraq War Russo-Ukrainian War
- Designer
- Vickers Defence Systems
- Designed
- 1986–1993
- Manufacturer
- Alvis plc Vickers plc BAE Systems Land & Armaments
- Unit cost
- £4,217,000 (FY 1999)
- Produced
- 1990 (prototypes) 1993–2002 (main production)
- Number span no built
- about 447
- Mass
- 64 t (63 long tons ; 71 short tons ), 75 t (74 long tons; 83 short tons) with combat armour modules
- Length
- 8.3 m (27 ft 3 in), 13.5 m (44 ft 3 in) 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)
- Main armament
- L30A1 120 mm rifled gun with 47 rounds
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- main battle tank
- Operator
- Ukrainian Ground Forces
- Country of origin
- United Kingdom
- Followed by
- Challenger 3
- Follows
- Challenger 1
- Material used
- Chobham armor
- Mass
- 62.5
- Manufacturer
- BAE Systems
- Image
- Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank patrolling outside Basra, Iraq MOD 45148325.jpg
- Height
- 2.49
- Width
- 3.5
- Length
- 8.3
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- Challenger 2 tanks
- service entry
- 1998-01-01
- total produced
- 447
- armament
- L94A1 chain gun
- ride height
- 500
- native label
- Challenger 2
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
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.
It was designed by Vickers Defence Systems (now Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL)) as a private venture in 1986, and was an extensive redesign of the company's earlier Challenger 1 tank. The Ministry of Defence ordered a prototype in December 1988. The Challenger 2 has four crew members consisting of a commander, gunner, loader, and driver. The main armament is a L30A1 120-millimetre (4.7 in) rifled tank gun, an improved derivative of the L11 gun used on the Chieftain and Challenger 1. 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 L37A2 (GPMG) machine gun. The turret and hull are protected with second generation Chobham armour, also known as Dorchester. 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).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Challenger 2” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.