Summary and Key Points: The British Army's future main battle tank, the Challenger 3, recently completed its first live-fire trials in Germany, testing the new Rheinmetall 120mm L55A1 smoothbore gun. Developed by Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL), the gun promises greater accuracy, higher pressure firing, and reduced barrel wear.

-The Challenger 3, an upgrade of the Challenger 2, is designed with advanced armor, increased firepower, and digital enhancements, making it one of the most lethal and survivable tanks in Europe.

-The Royal Armoured Corps will receive 140 units, with trials continuing through 2025 and service expected to start in 2027.

Challenger 3: The British Army's Next-Gen Tank Hits a Major Milestone

The British Army's future main battle tank, the Challenger 3, recently completed its first live-fire trials in Germany, testing the new Rheinmetall 120mm L55A1 smoothbore gun. Developed by Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL), the gun promises greater accuracy, higher pressure firing, and reduced barrel wear.

The Challenger 3, an upgrade of the Challenger 2, is designed with advanced armor, increased firepower, and digital enhancements, making it one of the most lethal and survivable tanks in Europe.

The Royal Armoured Corps will receive 140 units, with trials continuing through 2025 and service expected to start in 2027.

The future main battle tank (MBT) of the British Army, the Challenger 3, successfully completed its first live-fire trials of its new main gun at a testing facility in Germany months back. According to a release on LinkedIn from Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) – the maker of the newly-designed armament for the MBT – the tests involved firing rounds at targets over a range of distances, and "to ensure the accuracy of the main gun." 

RBSL further noted that the trials, which are being conducted at Rheinmetall ranges, will test the consistency with NATO Reference Standards. The Challenger 3 will be armed with a new Rheinmetall 120mm L55A1 high-pressure chrome-lined smoothbore gun. It will be fitted with a thermal sleeve, fume extractor, and muzzle reference system, Shephard Media reported, which also noted that the new main gun could enable the ordnance to be fired with a higher maximum pressure – and potentially with far greater accuracy and reduced barrel wear.

"As part of the British Army modernisation agenda, the vehicles that will be delivered in collaboration with Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) will have advanced armour, APS increased firepower and state-of-the-art technology, making it one of Europe's most lethal and survivable tanks," RBSL further noted of the Challenger 3.

According to the UK-based Forces.net, the first pre-production Challenger 3 rolled off the production line in Telford in January of this year, and began live-fire trails in April in northern Germany.

The Royal Armoured Corps, which was first formed in 1939 and remains the armored arm of the British Army, will reportedly receive 140 of the MBTs. It will serve as the "heart" of the Armoured Brigade Combat Teams, alongside the Ajax and Boxer armored fighting vehicles. The Challenger 3 was developed by RBSL, a joint venture of the UK-based BAE System and the German Rheinmetall – and it is an upgrade of the Challenger 2 MBT, which first entered service in 1998.

The Challenger 3 was developed to incorporate a number of digital enhancements. The new MBT further is part of the British Army's larger armor modernization effort, which in addition to its increased firepower, was designed to be one of the most "survivable tanks" in service today. Unlike Russian-designed tanks, which employ an autoloader that has proven to be a problem on the battlefield, the Challenger 3 will feature a crew of four including the commander, gunner, loader, and driver.

As previously reported, the Challenger 3 was officially unveiled at the Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2024 conference in London. A total of 18 months of trials, which will be split between sites in the UK and Germany, are currently planned before the systems qualifications review takes place in 2025. Eight prototypes are also expected to be developed and employed in the testing.

"The Challenger 3 program will deliver the best tank in NATO … and deliver a network enabled, digital main battle tank, providing the soldier with a step-changing capability, ensuring a 21st century deterrence through to the out of service date [slated for 2040]," Rory Breen, strategy and future business director at RBSL, told Breaking Defense in January.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].

Image Credit: Creative Commons.