Britain's "Newest" Tank: Challenger 3, Failing to Learn Lessons from Ukraine

Source: The New Atlas  May 1, 2024

- The Challenger 3 has been unveiled as the UK’s newest and most “lethal” main battle tank (MBT);

- The Challenger 3 is produced by modernizing existing Challenger 2 MBTs with 127 planned for conversion from the UK’s existing 221 Challenger 2s;

- The refurbishment/modernization of 127 tanks will cost $990 million or approximately $7.8 million per tank, several times more than modernized Russian tanks, and even more expensive or as expensive as new Russian tanks;

- The Challenger 3 will weigh more than its predecessor, and both tanks are heavier than their Russian T-72B3, T-90M, T-80BVM, and even T-14 counterparts;

- 127 MBTs in total will mean that most likely fewer than 100 tanks will be operational at any given time making it impractical for the UK to project military power abroad in any significant manner;

- The Challenger 3 features a 120mm smoothbore gun that will use NATO standard tank rounds which is an improvement over the Challenger 2’s rifled gun which required unique ammunition incompatible with other NATO tanks;

- The Challenger 3 is another illustration of Western military industrial production, emphasizing expensive, complex weapons built in small numbers to maximize profits versus equally capable, but cheaper and more numerous Russian or Chinese weapons designed to maximize both battlefield and strategic effectiveness;

- While a Challenger 3 may or may not be capable one-on-one with a Russian MBT, the fact that Russia has many more tanks and is able to replace damaged or lost tanks faster than the Challenger 3 and other Western MBTs proves a disadvantage to the UK and the rest of NATO;

References:

UK Ministry of Defence - UK’s most lethal tank rolls off the production lines (April 18, 2024): https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk…

BBC – UK’s most lethal tank enters testing (April 2024): https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c25…

Business Insider – Russia’s new tank — its T-14 Armata — is probably too expensive to use in Ukraine, top weapons maker says (March 5, 2024): https://www.businessinsider.com/russi…

Novaya Gazeta – The barren barrels (November 2022): https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2022…

The Guardian – British Challenger 2 tank destroyed in combat for first time, Ukraine footage shows (September 2023): https://www.theguardian.com/world/202…

Forbes – Ukraine’s ‘Huge And Loud’ Challenger 2 Tanks Hide In Treelines, Lob Shells At Russian Fortifications Two Miles Away (February 2024): https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe…

Forbes – The British Challenger 2 Is The Wrong Tank For Ukraine (March 2024): https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe…

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