Challenger 2

The Challenger 2 is a British main battle tank designed by Vickers Defence Systems between 1986 and 1993 and later built by Alvis and BAE Systems Land and Armaments, entering British Army service in 1998. It carries a four-person crew, is armed with the L30A1 120mm rifled gun, unusual among NATO tanks for using a rifled rather than smoothbore barrel, and is protected by second-generation Chobham composite armor known as Dorchester. Around 447 Challenger 2s were built, and the tank saw extensive combat during the 2003 Iraq War, including heavy use in the siege of Basra, where the first Challenger 2 lost in action was destroyed by friendly fire. The United Kingdom began supplying Challenger 2s to Ukraine in 2023, where the type has sustained combat losses during the Russo-Ukrainian War, and the British Army is now upgrading its fleet to the Challenger 3 standard.