Are Challengers and Leopards game-changers? Part 1.
There are only 32 of them so far.
Early morning two days ago, the British Ministry of Defence announced that Ukrainian crews had completed their training on Challenger 2 tanks in the UK. The German minister of defence, Boris Pistorius, had stated the same concerning Ukrainian soldiers training to operate Leopard 2s a few days earlier.
Fast forward only twenty four hours: Berlin has confirmed that 18 Leopard 2s have arrived in Ukraine, and Oleksii Reznikov, the Ukrainian defence minister, has thanked his British counterpart for some ‘fantastic tanks’, having enjoyed a ride in one of the 14 provided Challenger 2s.
An Overview of the Tanks
Both of these tanks are considered vastly capable, even despite not being the most modern versions.
The Challenger 2 has not seen any substantial modernisation programmes since its entering into service in 1998, and will be superseded in the British Army by a reduced number of Challenger 3s. These fourth-generation tanks will enter service in 2027.
Meanwhile, the Challenger 2 remains an extremely well-protected third-generation vehicle, with substantial abilities on the modern battlefield.
A point of contention is the rifled gun. The Challenger 2 is the only NATO tank not to utilise a smoothbore gun, and this is down to a difference in tank philosophy and, most importantly, in the type of ammunition used. The HESH (High Explosive Squash Head) round, held in high regard by and of great importance to the British military, cannot be effectively fired by smoothbore guns. In addition, the Challenger was generally designed with the primary purpose of supporting infantry, a task well suited for a rifled gun and its HESH ammunition. To gain this advantage, the tank sacrifices the superior anti-armour abilities of a smoothbore. Overall, there is no reason to claim that a smoothbore gun is universally better than a rifled gun – they simply are better equipped for different purposes.
The Leopard 2 has been one of the most successful modern tanks in terms of exports. Originating in West Germany, over three and a half thousand have been delivered since its inception into service in 1979.
In terms of capability, the 2A7 and 2A7+ are considered at the foremost of tank design and prowess.
The version delivered to Ukraine is the 2A6, the standard operated by the German Army and an extremely adept machine. It initially entered service in 2001, and the most major upgrade that it delivered was the addition of the Rheinmetall 120mm L55 gun.
Being so widely operated across the world, and with a constant source of orders providing revenue, the Leopard 2 also sees regular update programmes and so it’s variants frequently remain at the very forefront of technical and technological possibility.
However, despite the prophetic technology fielded by these pieces of equipment and their utter superiority to the majority of vehicles they will be facing, there are only 32 of them. What effect could they possible have on the violent and contested frontlines of Ukraine?
Thank you very much for reading. Part 2, analysing the possible effects of the tanks on Ukraine, has already been written and will be published tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed this introduction, and visit again shortly.
