NEWTOWN, Conn. - The center of gravity for the British Army's Challenger 2 main battle tank program continues to revolve around attempts to sustain the modernization and retrofit of existing vehicles.
On October 19, 2010, the U.K.'s Conservative-led coalition government unveiled its Strategic Defence and Security Review. Among its other cuts, the SDSR mandated reducing the British Army's active Challenger 2 main battle tank fleet by 40 percent.
The British Army's Royal Armoured Corps no longer has any deployed Challenger tanks. Furthermore, the RAC has had to cut funding for Challenger activity, including large scale exercise participation, Challenger upgrade efforts, and maintenance/logistics support.
In October 2012, the MoD launched a concept phase to determine the scope of a Challenger 2 Life Extension Program (LEP). The intent of the LEP is to upgrade the 227 remaining active Challenger 2 tanks by 2020, at a projected cost of GBP500 million ($802 million).
The primary focus of LEP is reportedly to deal with "obsolescence issues" concerning the Challenger 2's fire control system and electronic architecture, in order to keep the remaining active Challenger 2s in service through 2035.
Like the FV4034 Challenger 1 during Operation Desert Storm, the Challenger 2 earned an enviable combat record during Operation Telic. Indeed, the Forecast International Weapons Group regards the Challenger 2 as one of the best combat-proven main battle tanks available today, arguably second only to the M1A2 Abrams SEP and the Merkava Mk IV. With the desired retrofit of the NATO-standard 120mm Rh 120/55 smoothbore main armament, the Challenger 2 would fully be the equal of the M1A2 Abrams SEP by any measure.
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