A new powerpack and improved transmission gave it higher speed than the Centurion despite being heavier due to major upgrades to armour protection and the armament this allowed it to replace both the Conqueror and Centurion while performing their roles effectively. and German tanks.The FV4201 Chieftain was the main battle tank of the United Kingdom during the 1960s–1990s.Ī development of the Centurion, the Chieftain introduced the supine (reclining) driver position to British design allowing a heavily sloped hull with reduced height. The Challenger II needs new, uprated engines, new fire control systems, and a new 120-millimeter main gun to match the gun on U.S. The Challenger II, originally one of the best tanks in NATO, hasn’t received a steady stream of upgrades the way the American M1A2 Abrams has and is considered obsolete by today’s standards.

The proposal would see the British Army’s 227 Challenger II main battle tanks eliminated from its force structure. The move would follow in the footsteps of the Netherlands, a country that eliminated-and then quickly rebuilt-its tank force. Instead, the British Army would concentrate on space and cyber warfare, as well as contributing helicopters and airmobile troops to any NATO fighting force. The shocker would end more than 100 years of development and deployment by the very country that invented the tank. The British Army is quietly floating a proposal to send its main battle tank fleet to the scrapyard. Another NATO member, the Netherlands, scrapped its tank fleet in the early 2010s, but soon regretted it.The U.K.’s Challenger II tank is considered obsolete and expensive to upgrade.

The British Army is proposing eliminating its tank force to save money and concentrate on other capabilities.

Challenger 2 main battle tanks