What Challenger 2 can and cannot do in Ukraine
62,5 tons of British steel
The Western view on the supply of military equipment to Ukraine is purely practical. From the modern to the front line goes either small arms weapon, or light anti-tank missiles. On the line of contact, obsolete weapons should die, for example, M113 or Bradley thirty years ago. This is a marketing ploy in front of the growing gun hunger around the world. Frightened by imaginary Russian aggression, countries are ready to spend billions on new Tanks, helicopters, airplanes and other equipment. An illustrative example is HIMARS installations that operate at distances that seriously complicate retaliatory suppression. Similarly, the German PzH 2000 and other "crabs" are fighting. NATO long-range systems, if they are destroyed, then all traces of this are carefully erased from the information space. As Abrams at one time became the hallmark of NATO aggression in Iraq, so HIMARS is now in the role of the leader of the resistance of Ukrainian nationalists. Artillery systems are actors in a large advertising campaign for gunsmiths in the United States and a number of NATO countries. Another thing is the main battle tanks. It so happened that even in 2023 tanks remained the symbols of the national military-industrial complex. The Germans have Leopard 2, the Americans have Abrams, and so on. The British have the Challenger 2. Only now, no one except the armed forces of the United Kingdom needed a very specific car. 38 cars for Oman do not count - a meager contract only confirms the rule.
Challenger 2. Source: vk.com
But Ukraine needs help. And best of all, NATO-style tanks, from which there is more resonance and enthusiasm. Challenger 2 is excellently prepared for this symbolic role. In the foreseeable future, there will be no buyers for the British tank, therefore, reputational damage is of no interest to anyone. The whole squadron, that is, 14 tanks, can die the death of the brave without the slightest damage to Great Britain. The first squadron will obviously be followed by the second, and the third, and the fourth. And it will not be a shame to show photos of the burned-out Challenger 2 - after all, the English school of tank building has long died. Another thing is the German "cats", which are still being sold and sold to frightened Europeans and sympathetic brethren. The Abrams is no longer in production and is unlikely to be, but it is important as a symbol of the invincibility of the American military. Enough of the M1A2S Abrams of the Saudi Arabian Army that were shot down by the Houthi Mestizos. There are suspicions that the US tank is not able to withstand the horrors of the Ukrainian front at all and will be turned off from the game before it starts. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl laments:
“The Abrams tank is very sophisticated equipment. It is expensive. It's hard to train on it. It has a gas turbine engine, I think, with a consumption of about three gallons of jet fuel per mile (more than 13 liters per 1,62 kilometers). It's not the easiest system to maintain."
The attitude towards the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as underdeveloped users should offend the military-political leadership of Ukraine. But he doesn't offend. Since the Americans are not ready to share their tanks with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Germany decided to take a timeout. Scholz refused this stories act alone. Naturally, the Poles cannot transfer the Leopard 2PL to Kyiv without German permission - these are the terms of the contract. However, Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki is a hero:
“We will either quickly get this consent from Germany, or we will do the right thing ourselves.”
In the meantime, the Polish leadership was enough to include in the package of deliveries the ancient S-60 anti-aircraft artillery systems and seventy thousand ammunition for them.
Strengths of the Challenger 2
No matter how commentators and experts despise the Challenger 2, it is still a heavily armored vehicle with a fairly powerful gun. Especially when fourteen tanks are supplemented by an unnamed number of FV432 Mk 3 Bulldog armored personnel carriers. The British seem to be hinting that they are preparing a made in UK shock fist, supplementing the arms deal with AS-155 self-propelled 90-mm howitzers.
The British will put Challenger 2 out of the so-called crisis package, which they have long wanted to get rid of. In 2019, it was decided to reduce the staff from 227 vehicles to 148. The remaining 79 tanks were assigned either for spare parts or for deep conservation for “every firefighter”. And so it happened, but not in the UK, but in Ukraine. The remaining Challenger 2s will be gradually upgraded to the level of Challenger 3. It is not known how many tanks the British managed to dismantle, but we will proceed from the most pessimistic scenario, according to which all 79 decommissioned and preparing to be decommissioned vehicles may end up in Ukraine. The logic will be something like the following - the first squadron will be tested in combat, the level of vehicle ownership by Ukrainian crews will be assessed, and if everything goes well, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be saturated with a few dozen more tanks.
Loading BC in Challenger 2. Source: telegram
The main argument of the Challenger 2 is its rifled 120 mm gun Gun 120 mm Tk L30 or L30A1. A rifled gun provides greater accuracy of battle in comparison with smooth-bore counterparts - an average of 5-7%. The specifics of the gun does not imply the use of HEAT ammunition - the Challenger 2 has sub-caliber shells against tanks. According to the manufacturers, British "crowbars" made of depleted uranium can hit up to 740 mm of homogeneous armor. This can be critical for frontal projections of all tanks of the T-72 series, but modern modifications of the T-80BVM and T-90M are quite reliably protected from English shells. However, it is only speculative to talk about dueling battles between Russian and British tanks. A little more than a dozen Challenger 2s will be thrown into almost a thousand-kilometer front. What is the probability of meeting with a Russian tank?
Challenger 2 in the British Army. Source: vk.com
The Challenger 2, as mentioned above, can be supplied with depleted uranium core projectiles - the L26A1 APFSDS product. It is unnecessary to explain what the consequences for Ukraine could be after intensive firing of such ammunition. To be fair, the tank's ammunition also contains more environmentally friendly anti-tank shells with tungsten-based alloy penetrators.
The back side of a homogeneous armor barrier after shelling with plastic explosives (HESH)
A distinctive feature of the ammunition load of the British tank is the armor-piercing high-explosive L31A7 HESH equipped with plastic explosives. There are not many users of such ammunition in the world - in addition to the British, HESH is found in the ammunition of the Indian Arjun, the Stryker M1128 "wheeled tank", the Chinese VT-4 and several more obsolete vehicles. Modern NATO tank smoothbore guns are deprived of ammunition with plastic explosives. The rifled barrel of the English cannon increases the effectiveness of HESH-type ammunition due to centrifugal force, which more effectively spreads the explosives on the armor. This is followed by an explosion - and fragments are formed on the back of the target, hitting the crew, ammunition and other components. Simple mechanics work well only on homogeneous armor - modern combined barriers, spaced armor and anti-fragmentation lining effectively dampen the compression wave. The L31A7 HESH has speed limits. The fact is that too high a speed of impact on the target will scatter the explosives of the projectile without detonation. Therefore, the initial velocity of the ammunition is limited to 670 m / s, which creates problems both with the firing range and with work on moving targets. The developers claim that plastic explosives should ensure the effective destruction of concrete shelters.
L30A1. Source: vk.com
For this reason, a tank in Ukraine will become a good sniper rifle - more accurate than Soviet-type tanks and similar in power. Moreover, the LMS allows the tank a lot - and this is another strong point of the representative of the English Lend-Lease. The Challenger 2 has a good gentleman's kit - Thales' Thermal Observation and Gunnery Sight II (TOGS-II) thermal imaging sight, the commander's SAGEM VS 580-10 gyro-stabilized panoramic sight, the NANOQUEST L30 and SFIM VS-580 sights, as well as the powerful "brains" of the FCS on two 32-bit processors. The thermal image is duplicated for the commander and gunner. At long distances in the Ukrainian steppes, the tank is quite capable of causing inconvenience. Especially at night. It is possible to hit an English tank at a distance of 3-4 km only with ATGMs - the forehead of the tower and the upper frontal part are strong and are not affected by all Russian ammunition. At shorter distances, the feathered sub-caliber "Lead-2" is effective. At the moment, it is not known exactly in what configuration London will send the tanks to Ukraine. There is a possibility that in a protected version of TES (Theatre Entry Standard) and equipped with a remote-controlled 7,62-mm machine gun on the roof of the tower. In this case, massive blocks of dynamic protection will be placed on the sides of the tank, significantly increasing the resistance against anti-tank grenades. However, even without such protection in Ukraine, there are enough craftsmen to handicraft tanks with Soviet-style dynamic protection.
Additional booking under the TES program (Theatre Entry Standard)
Boiling vessel is a regular food heater of the British Challenger 2 tank. The only one of its kind in the world tank building
Among the undoubted advantages of the English tank are considerable internal dimensions and a high level of comfort. In particular, the engineers took care of the crew's hot meals and equipped the Boiling vessel tank - a large electrically heated kettle. Usually the loader is responsible for the kitchen on board the tank. The device allows you to simultaneously heat four cans from the standard ration of a British soldier from the 24-volt electrical network of the tank, as well as brew tea or coffee. Boiling vessel is also present in the Bulldog armored personnel carriers transferred to Ukraine. In general, a comfortable meal in British tanks is provided for the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Challenger 2 Weaknesses
The British tank turned out to be controversial. And all the negative sides will become critically important in Ukraine. Here, the Challenger 2 intends to fight not with partisans, who have nothing stronger than RPGs, but with the Russian army. The English tank will live until the first meeting with the Shturm-S self-propelled ATGM - its potential is more than enough for any Challenger 2 armored part.
First on the list of weaknesses is the 120mm gun. The weapon is accurate, as mentioned above, but outdated. No wonder the British army in the third generation of the Challenger intends to replace the rifled gun with the German smoothbore L55A1. The exotic Englishwoman has a separate-cartridge loading, which requires more training for the fourth crew member and reduces the final rate of fire. In addition, each projectile has its own powder charge. All ammunition for the rifled gun is unique, which will force fourteen tanks to organize a separate logistics line. Engineers have equipped the Challenger 2 cannon with an axial seal for the wedge of soft metal, which, as it wears out, can cause a breakthrough of powder gases that is fatal for the inhabitants of the tower. It is not always returned to its place after service. This happened on June 14, 2017 at the training ground - an explosion of a powder charge in the breech without an obturation ring killed two tankers and seriously injured two. The English trunk clearly requires careful attention.
Challenger 2. Source: telegram
One weakness of the Challenger 2 was already found by the Ukrainians themselves, who pointed out the vulnerable location of the combat kit in the turret shelf. Quadcopters with cumulative grenades from the Second World War may well put a British tank out of action. And quickly and with the most fatal consequences. Domestic tanks are deprived of this, however, in return, the turret crew is forced to literally sit on the ammunition load.
The Challenger 2 is NATO's heaviest tank. Depending on the modification, its weight varies from 62,5 tons to 75. There are a lot of problems with overloading. Firstly, not all bridges are able to withstand such a colossus. Secondly, the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have tank bridge-layers capable of "digesting" more than 60 tons. The recently delivered German Bibers are also not designed for such heavy loads. Together with the Challenger 2, we will have to send the Titan bridgelayer to Ukraine in order to provide at least some mobility in the offensive. Thirdly, it is very difficult to pull an English car out of a mud captivity. There is no such tow truck in Ukraine. We are waiting in the package of British deliveries of the CRARRV ARV with a maximum traction force of 98 tons? Too many retinues are demanded by the Englishman for his person.
Joystick gunner Challenger 2. Source: vk.com
British heavy tanks have always been clumsy and the Challenger 2 is no exception. In the SVO, armored vehicles value high throttle response and speed. Even in the lightest Challenger 2, the power-to-weight ratio does not exceed 18 hp. With. per ton, and if the tank is equipped with the whole complex of additional protection, the mobility will be equal to the German heavy tanks of the WWII era.
An interesting comparison of the dimensions of the Ukrainian 6TD-2 (T-84) and the British Perkins Engine Company CV12 (Challenger 1,2). Both engines are 1200 hp. With. Source: vk.com
If necessary, Challenger 2 can do this
By the way, about protection. Despite the formidable appearance, the tank has pain points. For example, the lower front plate, which in Iraq they managed to pierce with a grenade launcher. No wonder - the thickness is about 70 mm. Now the part has been covered with dynamic protection, but armor still does not pose any problem for modern tank shells. You just have to get in. If you believe the British advertising campaign, then in 2003 in Iraq, the Challenger 2 withstood hits from 17 anti-tank grenades and one missile from the Milan complex.
To all of the above, the inevitable difficulties with the maintenance of unique equipment should be added - there are practically no components and parts interchangeable with other NATO equipment in the tank. The Challenger 2 is obviously not sent to break through Russian defenses, but to repel attacks. The English tank has yet to adapt to the realities of the special operation, and it doesn’t have much chance of doing so.
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