It has a maximum road speed of 56 km/h and a range of 250 km cross country and 450 km on the road. The Challenger 2 carries a crew of 4 and has a combat weight of 62.5 tonnes. It also has growth capacity for future enhancement such as a Battlefield Information Control System and navigation aids. The Challenger 2’s fire control system is the latest-generation digital computer from Computing Devices Company (CDC) of Canada and is an improved version of that installed in the US M1A1 Abrams tank. It also incorporates a McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems 7.62 mm chain gun, which is already in service in the British Army, being installed in the GKN Defence Warrior mechanised combat vehicle, and a 7.62 mm anti-aircraft machine gun. The main armament consists of a Royal Ordnance 120 mm rifled tank gun designated the 元0. Its NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical protection) system is capable of dealing with all known threats and, for the first time in any British tank, the crew compartment has both a heating and a cooling system. The Challenger 2 is the best protected tank in NATO (10) incorporating Chobham second-generation armour plating.

The turret of Challenger 2 is a totally new design.Īrmour is an uprated version of Challenger 1's Chobham armour. The hull and automotive parts of the Challenger 2 are based upon its predecessorĬhallenger 1, but Challenger 2 incorporates over 150 improvements aimed at increasing

The Challenger 2 is the first British Army tank since World War II to be designed, developed and produced exclusively by a single prime contractor, Vickers Defence Systems, with set reliability goals laid down in the fixed price contract.

Challenger 2 main battle tank