Not long ago, at the 2024 International Armored Vehicle Conference held in London, UK, the UK Defence Equipment Support Center and Rheinmetallic BAE Systems Land Group announced that the first prototype of the new generation main battle tank of the UK Army Challenger 3 has been officially launched, marking the final appearance of this new generation improved main battle tank. The upcoming mass production of the Challenger 3 main battle tank project can be traced back to the Challenger 2 main battle tank body extension project launched by the UK Ministry of Defense at the end of 2015. The UK Ministry of Defense initially hoped to upgrade the vehicle's performance and extend the service life of the Challenger 2 main battle tank through this project. Later, the British Army proposed a deep transformation of this type of tank to enhance its combat performance. In May 2021, the UK Ministry of Defense signed a contract with Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land Group for the Challenger 2 main battle tank improvement project, naming the upgraded Challenger 2 main battle tank Challenger 3. Its main improvements include two parts: extending the lifespan of the turret and improving the heavy armor of the vehicle body, with a total of 148 units improved. According to the current plan of the British Army, a total of 8 prototype Challenger 3 main battle tanks will be produced for various tests, and mass production will begin thereafter. Among them, 18 vehicles will be produced during the low-speed initial production stage, and the remaining 122 vehicles will be produced during the full speed production stage. All Challenger 3 main battle tanks will have initial combat capabilities around 2027. Multiple improvements have been made to the Challenger 3 main battle tank, with a total combat weight of 66 tons and a crew of 4. Among them, the driver is in the center of the front of the vehicle, the gunner and vehicle commander are located on the right side of the turret, and the loader is on the left side of the turret. A L55A1 120mm smoothbore gun and a 7.62mm parallel machine gun are installed on the turret of the vehicle. The L55A1 120mm smoothbore gun can fire 120mm tail fin stabilized armor piercing shells, programmable grenades, and the new generation of 120mm tail fin stabilized armor piercing shells under development. The vehicle can carry 31 multi type 120mm shells, of which 16 are stored in the turret aft compartment, and the remaining 15 are placed in the left front of the vehicle. The Challenger 3 main battle tank adopts the new generation digital fire control system from the UK, which has functions such as hunting and annihilation, automatic target recognition, and tracking. To enhance the tank's situational awareness capability, the Challenger 3 main battle tank is also equipped with a Pioneer multi-channel driving observation system. This system is mainly used by drivers, and the system's built-in camera is installed in the front and rear of the Challenger 3 main battle tank body, making it easy for drivers to understand the outside situation of the vehicle. In terms of protection, the Challenger 3 main battle tank uses a new generation of modular armor system, which mainly consists of two armor packages: "Farnum" and "Epsom". The former is the main armor of the Challenger 3 main battle tank, and the latter is used as an additional armor kit. At the same time, the tank can also be equipped with additional armor kits for the turret and body according to combat entry standards, further improving its level of protection. In this way, the combat weight of the vehicle will soar to 80 tons. In addition, the Challenger 3 main battle tank will be equipped with active protection systems and laser warning devices to achieve a higher level of protection
Edit：Luo yu Responsible editor：Wang er dong
Source：China national defense daily
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