Exclusive footage shows the inside of a British Army Challenger 2 tank as it fires its main gun.
The FV4034 Challenger 2 is a British main battle tank in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defence Systems (now known as BAE Systems Land & Armaments).
The Challenger 2 is considered to be one of the best protected tanks in the world.
The turret and hull are protected with second generation Chobham armour (also known as Dorchester). However, on one occasion, in August 2006, during the post-invasion stage of the Iraq War 2003 an RPG-29 was fired at a Challenger 2 that was climbing over a ramp, the front underside hull armour of the tank which was not augmented with an explosive reactive armour package was damaged, the tank subsequently returned to base under its own power and was quickly repaired and back on duty the following day.
As a result, the explosive reactive armour package was replaced with a Dorchester block and the steel underbelly lined with armour as part of the ‘Streetfighter’ upgrade as a direct response to this incident. To date, the only time the tank has ever been seriously damaged during operations, was by another Challenger 2 in a ‘blue on blue’ (friendly fire) incident.
It has seen operational service in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.
I remember that view, albeit from a Chieftain rather than a Challenger
Bloody good tank. Keep it in service. Replace it in about 5-10 years time with a new challenger 3.