Full operating capability is scheduled for 2030, he said.įourteen British main battle tanks for Ukraine by themselves may not change the battlefield balance much, but they send a political signal to allies prevaricating over doing something similar. The most visible modification on the Challenger 3 will be the introduction of a 120-millimeter smoothbore gun replacing the Challenger 2′s unique, rifled weapon.ĭefense procurement chief Alex Chalk told lawmakers last week that the first 18 Challenger 3s would be handed over by the Rheinmetall/BAE joint venture in 2027. The Challenger 3 upgrade will breath new life into a vehicle that has been neglected by the British in terms of upgrades since it entered service in the late 1990s. The decision sparked controversy with analysts and lawmakers who argued that that such a small number of vehicles meant Britain was effectively giving up on having a viable main battle tank force. The integrated review of 2021, though, downgraded the importance of the main battle tank in modern warfare, mandating that the British Challenger 2 fleet would be cut to just 148 vehicles from the present level of 227 – minus the 14 tanks now destined for Ukraine. The British are currently in the early stages of substantially upgrading their Challenger 2 fleet to the Challenger 3 standard via a 2021 deal with Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land. MoD officials told the Defence Committee last week they were “uncomfortable” with some capability gaps and were looking at what they could do to accelerate several programs.Ĭapability gaps in areas like ground-based air defense, weapon stockpiles, drones, deep fires and logistics were mentioned by the officials. “Even as we gift Challenger 2 tanks, I shall, at the same time, be reviewing the number of Challenger 3 conversions to consider whether the lessons of Ukraine suggest that we need a larger tank fleet,” Wallace said. The defense secretary also revealed that ministry officials are rethinking whether planned tank force cuts announced in 2021 were still credible.
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