Challenger 2, received by the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Britain, are not suitable for the realities of war, argues Forbes columnist David Ax.
The analyst emphasizes that the British army exclusively operates Challenger 2 tanks. It was successfully used during the Iraq War in 2003. However, the Challenger 2 was not suitable for Ukraine due to a number of factors.
In particular, the Challegner 2 are not mobile, they lack additional dynamic protection, they have a rifled gun that requires separate ammunition, as well as the number of tanks transferred – too little.
The British tank has a 1200 hp engine, which is not enough for a 71-ton vehicle. Therefore, they often get bogged down in the soft soils of Ukrainian soil. If the tank gets stuck right on the battlefield, it will be vulnerable, because it will be difficult to adjust the equipment for evacuation.
As for the armor, the dynamic protection of this tank is located only on the lower frontal part and on the sides of the hull. It is these places that are the most vulnerable on the battlefield.
At the same time, the 120-mm L30 rifled gun needs special ammunition, since other Western vehicles have a smoothbore gun. Thus, the Ukrainian army must have a separate logistics line for material and technical support.
In addition, this gun has a resource of approximately 500 rounds, which is three times less than that of the L44 gun installed on the Leopard 2. Previously Ukrainian Tanker tankers spoke about both the positive and negative aspects of the Challenger 2. They attributed good protection and a powerful gun to the positive, and complex repairs and rapid wear of spare parts to the negative.
Prepared by: Nina Petrovich