UK’s Challenger 3 Advances to Prototype Stage
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the Challenger 3 main battle tank program is set to advance to the prototype stage with its Critical Design Review completed ahead of schedule. DE&S’ Land Equipment Operating Centre, Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) and the British Army have been working toward the next phase of the Challenger 3’s development since March 2022, when the design passed its Initial Design Review.
The program is set to deliver the newly upgraded main battle tanks from 2027. The British Army announced that:
“The supply-chain sub-contracts have now been awarded to UK supply chain companies, contributing to the government’s levelling up agenda. Following two key design reviews, work to modernise and expand RBSL’s production facility in Telford – which will also manufacture Boxer vehicles – is now almost complete.”
Additionally, trails of the Challenger 3’s new armor, developed by DSTL and RBSL, have been conducted.
Challenger 3 represents a major upgrade of the British Army’s main battle tanks bringing an upgraded engine and new hydrogas suspension, improved fire-power and protection systems. A contract worth £800 million was awarded to RBSL to deliver 148 Challenger 3 tanks, this will extend the Challenger’s service life out to 2040. The overhaul includes a new 120mm smoothbore gun with a new suite of sights providing tank commanders with enhanced day and night targeting abilities and new modular armour, as well as a planned but not yet contracted active protection system.
The active protection system will be Trophy MV APS. DE&S state that this is currently “progressing through the Concept and Assessment phases”, with a successful demonstration of the system conducted in November 2022.
The UK is set to send 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine later this spring, along with a significant number of AS-90 self-propelled howitzers. The UK’s MoD is now expediting its efforts to select a replacement for the venerable AS-90s ahead of schedule as part of its Mobile Fires Platform (MFP) project. With Challenger 3 and MFP now likely to enter service in the early 2030s, alongside Boxer armored fighting vehicles the British Army is set to see a raft of significant capability improvements and upgrades.