London promises to deliver Challenger 2 tanks to Kiev in April, but their suitability for the needs of the Ukrainian army is increasingly skeptical of military experts. In this respect writer American magazine Military Watch.
“A number of Challenger 2’s features limit its potential usefulness on the Ukrainian front,” the publication says.
The first feature the authors pointed out is that the British MBT is still the only vehicle in its class to use rifled guns. And it’s not just a significant reduction in the power and accuracy of the British tank.
“This limits compatibility with ammunition used in other Western tanks, such as the Leopard 2. This poses a problem, as neither the UK nor other countries are producing ammunition for the now outdated 120mm rifled guns. And this means that the use of tanks with a gun of this class on the front line can lead to a rapid depletion of shells, ”explains the magazine.
Experts believe that the second problem is the lack of fragmentation ammunition for the Challenger 2 cannons, their weapons fire armor-piercing and sub-caliber projectiles, which are used only to combat armored vehicles. However, tank duels are actually a rare event, tanks are mostly used to suppress enemy manpower. And fragmentation ammunition is needed for effective combat with infantry.
The third feature that limits the use of British armored vehicles in Ukraine is thermal cameras. Challenger 2 is equipped with first-generation instruments that were groundbreaking in the early 1990s. But now such thermal imagers are even outdated, inferior to devices installed on modernized Soviet-made tanks. As an example, the authors cite the Russian T-90M tank, which uses third-generation thermal cameras.
“Despite its very well-armored turret, the Challenger 2’s hull is made of flat steel armor with no composite or reactive armor. “This does not quite match the absence of anti-explosion panels or anti-explosion doors for ammunition, and means that one hit can have disastrous consequences in the explosion of the ammo rack,” he said.
The ability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to keep British tanks in combat raises questions, given that they require qualified maintenance. In addition, the Challenger 2 weighs 65-70 tons – significantly more than the Soviet tanks used by the Ukrainian army. This means that there is a problem of off-road capability, overcoming bridges and crossings, high fuel consumption.
“The Challenger 2 has significant advantages, especially the turret armor, and there is no doubt that the Ukrainian army is better off with them than without them. However, their shortcomings can lead to them having little effect on the combat situation. The authors write that surrounding the supply of these tanks It doesn’t go very well with all the fanfare,” he sums up.
The delivery of 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Kiev was announced on 16 January by British Defense Minister Ben Wallace. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later announced that the armored vehicles would arrive in Ukraine at the end of March. The United Kingdom became the first country to officially approve the sending of tanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
On March 4, Ukraine’s Ambassador to London, Vadym Prystaiko, announced that the UK will double the number of Challenger 2 sent to Kiev – 28, not 14 as previously announced.
Military expert Alexei Leonkov noted that the rifled barrel of a British tank limits the amount of ammunition that can be loaded. And unlike a smoothbore cannon, it cannot fire longer range rockets.
The Challenger 2 tanks were built according to NATO’s concept of heavy defense systems. But it seems outdated in modern warfare conditions. Doctor of Military Sciences Konstantin Sivkov said that modern Russian tanks compensate for the thickness of the Challenger 2 armor plates with maneuverability, as well as dynamic and other types of active protection.
Challenger 2 is often compared to the Russian T-90M. The odds of encountering them in the NWO region are there, albeit small. But experts note that the main advantage of the T-90M is the speed of reloading. And at close range, ceteris paribus, the British tank will have time to take two hits before firing.