CHALLENGER 3: Why's The Army's MAIN BATTLE TANK Being Upgraded?

The Challenger 2 Battle Tank first entered service in 1998, but now upgrades have been confirmed to turn it into a Challenger 3. In total, 148 are being converted through the Army's Life Extension Programme.

But what changes will there be? We asked an expert prior to an announcement of a £800 million contract for the Challenger 3's development.

[george]

nice vid, thanks for the info about the new challenger 3 👍

[redjacc]

about 8 months ago we were told the british army was getting rid of its tanks

[tylergreen]

I’m hopefully going to be a tank crewman soon so it’s great to see all this!

[empire-classfirenationbatt]

The need to constantly update armour, as weapons around the world improve, is surely exhaustive. I wonder when it will come to an end (if ever)

[nosamsemaj]

Finally moving to smoothbore. This change means we can use better ammunition and ammunition is the most important feature in terms of lethality for any main battle tank.

[DH.]

It's not perfect but overall it is a good step forward. We're at that stage in the evolution of land warfare when we don't know what kind of influence the mobility and firepower of MBTs will have (if any) on the future battlefield so this will keep us going for another 15-20 years while everybody tries to figure out what that future will be.

[craigduncan]

These days I actually agree more or less with the MOD’s spending priorities but still think they should have more funding. We need more F-35, more navy ships, get building those new subs and I would lessen some of the older tech like heavy old tanks and focus on new tech and more of it. I wish we had a third carrier as well with catobar but I know that’s dream land but still- I’m pleased with the direction we are going and the spending increase. For years iv said cut foreign aid and increase funding for military as it trickles down throughout our whole British economy and secures us at home and abroad. Why should we fund India when they have a space program, nukes and spend more than us on military?

[lynnkramer]

Shooting down a drone ought to be as easy as going to a trap or skeet shoot for the tank crew. Smart shot will be added to modern tanks to track and kill reconnaissance drones from miles away and then change to a new undisclosed location.

[tristanemery]

Idk if anyone else noticed it, but that runway footage showed later generation sea harriers, which I thought we got rid of, so was that a subtle nod to development of new Harrier models, or was it just old footage / old airframes?

[tomsoki]

It needs an active kill defence system to be really top tier

[icantfinkofname]

Are we going to use the leopards gun or are we going to make our own smoothbore gun

[Justineexy]

why is Challenger 2 being upgraded?
Isn't it already obvious?!

Challenger 2
Outdated Gun. 30/100
Poor Firepower. 55/100
Very Good Armor. 75/100
Extremely Poor FCS. 40/100
Outdated Engine. 50/100
Total: 250/500

Challenger 3
Excellent Gun. 90/100
Excellent Firepower. 95/100
Very Good Armor. 75/100
Excellent FCS. 100/100
Excellent Engine. 95/100
Total: 455/500

See the difference?
Challenger 3 Is The Shark, Challenger 2 Is The Dog trying to swim in the water.

[YouTubestolemylife]

More Soldiers are needed in all career lines

[eddie]

I think we're in the battleship era of the 1930s regarding tanks; no one knows if tanks will be effective on the modern battlefield.

[whyandaccount]

Loading one piece ammunition will be a bit different to the current 3 (2 +1) piece round.

[justinboyan]

Because it needs to im not even going to watch it hopefully I've saved some people some time .👍

[minidingbat]

how can someone use so many words but say so little?

[TMT]

its obvious why the challenger 2 is getting upgraded, look at the rifled gun and how slow it is

[rat_king-]

She needs powerpack upgrades. + Why not a new tank considering the number of changes? and why challenger 3 not challenger 2 mk2, or similar designation.

[frankthompson]

It needs to be within the platform ready for action with modern technology.
The armour around the turret and chassis is nothing but the best.
Unfortunately modern technology has extra armour and modern technology put into the inner side of the tank.
The sensor's and gun barrel have to match modern technology and tanks