According to the latest data, Great Britain has transferred 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine to protect it from Russian aggression.
According to Sky News, the Ukrainian Armed Forces deployed Challenger 2 tanks during an operation in the Kursk region.
The British Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the details to the publication. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also did not provide comments. However, the UK confirmed that Ukraine is free to use British weapons on Russian territory in accordance with government policy.
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ICTV Facts tells what is known about the Challenger 2 tank and its main characteristics.
What is known about the Challenger 2
FV4034 Challenger 2 is the main battle tank of the British Army. Vickers Defence Systems developed this armoured vehicle in the 1990s.
Since production began, about 450 units have been produced. The cost of one vehicle is 4.2 million pounds sterling (more than €4.9 million).
The Challenger 2 tank is in service with the United Kingdom and Oman. This vehicle has seen combat in Iran, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Challenger 2: Main Specifications
The tank is armed with a 120 mm rifled gun, cast from steel obtained by the electroslag alloy method, as well as a 7.62 mm chain gun.
The gun is stabilized in two planes, the aiming drives are fully electric. The HESH shell has a firing range of 8 km. The aiming-destruction cycle takes 8 sec.
Armament:
- Cannon ammunition – 52 shells.
- Sights – combined stabilized SAGEM with built-in Barr & Stroud Nd-YAG, TOGS-2 night thermal imaging, NANOQUEST L30 monoscopic telescopic, SFIM VS-580 periscopic stabilized panoramic.
- Machine guns – 1×7.62-mm L94A1, 1×7.62-mm L37A2.
A trained and qualified crew can engage up to seven targets in minute.
The 120mm cannon's ammunition includes armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot shells and fragmentation-free high-explosive shells, as well as smoke and training rounds.
The engine's power is 1.2 thousand horsepower. On the highway, it accelerates to 56 km/h, on rough terrain – 40 km/h. The weight of the Challenger 2 is 62-75 tons.
Armor type – projectile-proof combined Dorchester. The tank crew consists of four people.
