Serial production of Challenger 3 tanks starts in UK
The construction of domestic Challenger 3 tanks has begun at the RBSL armoured vehicle manufacturing facility in Telford, UK.
According to Censor.NET, this was announced by the country's Defence Minister Grant Shapps.
"Advanced upgrades are now underway at Telford to make this the most lethal tank in the history of the British Army, giving our soldiers the firepower they need to defend the country," Shapps wrote.
As he noted, this is the first all-British tank in 22 years.
The Challenger 3 is an upgraded version of the Challenger 2 tank.
It is noted that this event marked the completion of the construction of the last, eighth prototype of the Challenger 3 tank, which was the first to be produced at the RBSL plant in Teldford.
The first prototype is already demonstrating its capabilities in trials. All prototypes will be tested in operational conditions to confirm their performance and improve them as necessary. A total of 140 Challenger 3 tanks are planned to be built.
The new turrets for the Challenger 3 are being produced at Armstrong Works by welding rather than casting, as was the case with its predecessor, the Challenger 2. The new turret has some design changes: it has been lengthened in the aft part to allow for the removal of shells from the combat vehicle.
The Challenger 3 is reportedly armed with a 120mm L55A1 smoothbore cannon, which can fire most NATO rounds. The German gun installed in the Challenger 3 has a higher muzzle velocity and greater penetration than the Challenger 2.
The Challenger 3 has a speed of 60 km/h. It is equipped with a new composite armour package known as EPSON, as well as the Trophy active defence system, which can detect and neutralise attacks in seconds. In addition, it is possible to install additional Farnham mounted protection.
The delivery of the first tanks was planned for 2027, but due to the war in Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defence decided to accelerate the process and have the first tanks in 2025.
As a reminder, in May 2023, the UK confirmed that all the promised Challenger 2 tanks and spare parts had arrived in Ukraine.
In September 2023, the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed the destruction of a Challenger 2 tank in Ukraine.
