Challenger 3: 2,000 kilometres and more than 200 rounds fired in trials – a new, tougher phase from November

Britain’s new Challenger 3 main battle tank has covered 2,000 kilometres in its trials, has fired more than 200 rounds from its main gun and has used 100 smoke grenades. The figures were given by Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL), the Rheinmetall and BAE Systems joint venture that builds the tank, in a post on October 15.

“And this is only the beginning. From November, Challenger 3 moves to the next phase of its trials. We will push the vehicle and its new systems harder and faster,” the company says. “Every kilometre, every round, every test will build confidence, prove capability and deliver the British Army’s next-generation main battle tank,” it adds. RBSL does not clarify whether the 2,000 kilometres refer to one vehicle or to all the test vehicles, or where the trials took place. No official announcement from the British Ministry of Defence on the milestone has been published.

From the first crewed firings

In January, according to the Ministry of Defence’s procurement body DE&S, RBSL completed the first crewed live firings, the first firing of a new British main battle tank in more than 30 years. The Challenger 3 carries a 120 mm L55A1 smoothbore gun, made by Rheinmetall Waffe Munition, which fires armour-piercing kinetic energy rounds and programmable multi-purpose ammunition. DE&S said at the time that further crewed firings and reliability trials would follow during the year.

The tank will form the basis of the British Army’s heavy armour until at least 2040. RBSL has invested 40 million pounds in its facilities in Telford, where production takes place. According to a Ministry of Defence answer in Parliament in September, the Challenger 3 will be fitted with a hard-kill active protection system, while the programme is under review of its performance. The British Army is expected to receive 148 Challenger 3 in total. In early October a squadron of the King’s Royal Hussars visited the RBSL plant, where it saw the production line and a fully functional turret of the tank in vibration testing. A few days earlier, London announced that it has received 227 Ajax. On how tanks are used in the war in Ukraine today, see our analysis of Russian tanks.