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Key Points and Summary: The Challenger 3, Britain’s next-generation main battle tank, represents a major leap in armored warfare.

-Developed under a British-German joint venture, this tank features a cutting-edge 120mm L55A1 smoothbore gun with a 5,000-meter range—outperforming global competitors like the M1A2 Abrams and T-90M.

-Advanced modular armor, including Trophy active protection, enhances survivability, while upgrades in suspension, mobility, and electronic architecture make it a battlefield powerhouse.

-Entering service in 2025, the Challenger 3 integrates seamlessly with Britain’s Future Soldier concept, supported by Ajax and Boxer vehicles. Designed for lethality and resilience, the Challenger 3 is poised to dominate armored combat for decades.

The Challenger 3, The Most Lethal Tank

The Challenger 3, Britain’s fourth-generation main battle tank, has taken the existing Challenger 2 tanks and improved them in a joint venture by British/German Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land.  

The British recognized flaws in the existing Challenger 2 main battle tanks and committed to improving them as early as 2005. The “Challenger 2 Life Extension Programme” (LEP) was intended to keep the Challenger relevant into the 2030s. 

BAE submitted a design in 2018, and Rheinmetall followed suit in 2019. The projects merged under a joint venture to build an entirely new design: the Challenger 3, a new superior tank instead of an updated Challenger 2.

The Challenger 3 will incorporate a brand-new turret design, an improved hull, more advanced armor, and a new main gun: the 120 mm L55A1 smoothbore gun. This gun is an upgraded version of the L55 fitted to the Leopard 2A6/A7 family of main battle tanks.

Challenger 3 Image Credit: BAE Systems.

The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has ordered 148 tanks, the first of which will become part of the British armored forces in 2025. In 2024, eight tanks were submitted to the British Army and were undergoing tests in Germany. 

The British Army now has Challenger 3 MBTs, Ajax fighting vehicles, and Boxer infantry vehicles, which form the backbone of its Future Soldier concept and will carry the Army well beyond the next decade. And give the British tankers the most lethal tank ever.

Challenger 3 Design Specs

The Challenger 3 MBT sprang from the British MoD “Challenger 2 Life Extension Programme” (LEP). The MoD specifically targeted four areas for improvement. 

Surveillance and target acquisition: Upgrades to the commander’s primary sight and gunner’s primary sight, replacing the thermal observation and gunnery sights with third-generation thermal imaging.

Weapon control system: Upgrades to the fire control computer, fire control panel, and gun processing unit.

Mobility: Upgrades including third-generation hydro gas suspension, improved air filtration, CV-12 common rail fuel injection, transmission, and cooling.

Electronic architecture: Upgrades to the gunner’s control handles, video distribution architecture, generic vehicle architecture compliant interfaces, increased on-board processing, and improved human-machine interface.

Challenger 3

Challenger 3 Tank.

The L55A1 Main Gun

Improvements on the Challenger 3 begin with the cutting-edge Rheinmetall 120mm L55A1 high-pressure gun, paired with the latest 120mm DM73 ammunition. The combination of the gun and ammunition gives the Challenger 3 an effective range of 5,000 meters.  

This gives British tankers a 1,000-meter effective range advantage over all current tanks worldwide, including the United States M1A2 Abrams, the Leopard 2A7 tanks of Germany, the French Leclerc, and most importantly, the T-90M tanks of Russia. 

The Leopard tanks, which carry the standard L55 120mm, can also easily be upgraded. The Challenger 3’s 120mm gun can fire a wide range of advanced ammunition types, including the latest armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds, high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds, and programmable airburst munitions.

Currently, however, it can’t fire the depleted uranium rounds used in the Challenger 2, but Rheinmetall is already working on the design for one to use with the L55A1 main gun. 

Better Armor Protection

The Challenger 3 has a laser warning system, an active protection system with the Trophy active protection system from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and layered protection that allows it to identify and neutralize incoming threats.

The Challenger 3’s armor is modular, which makes it easier to upgrade and repair in a combat zone. The armor includes bolts across the turret, hull, and flanks. The tank is equipped with external “EPSOM” armor and internal “Farnham,” increasing the tank’s and crew’s survivability.

Challenger 3 tank

Pictured is the UK Main Battle Tank, Challenger 2 Theatre Entry Standard (CR2 TES) fitted with a Mobile Camouflage System (MCS). The tank is seen driving at high speed toward the camera.

Improved Engine and Suspension

The Challenger 3 has an upgraded and more powerful engine and an improved engine cooling system. Its third-generation hydro gas suspension system increases its firing accuracy while the tank is on the move. The Challenger 3 MBT can attain a maximum speed of 60km/h (37 mph).

The Challenger 3 looks to be the new King of the Battlefield with its increased lethality and survivability. 

About the Author: 

Steve Balestrieri is a 19FortyFive National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing for 1945, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in other military publications.