The Challenger 3 most important battle tank presently beneath improvement to equip the British Army might undergo from obsolescence earlier than it even enters service, in keeping with a current evaluation revealed by former British Army officer and distinguished defence commentator Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Crawford. Though questions have been broadly raised relating to the sufficiency of the tank program, specifically its very small deliberate procurement numbers of 148 automobiles, Crawford’s evaluation highlighted critical deficiencies with the capabilities of the automobiles themselves. The Challenger 3 has been developed as an enhanced by-product of the Challenger 2 that entered service within the Nineties, and “might symbolize the ultimate iteration of a now out of date design philosophy,” Crawford famous, including that “present era of Western most important battle tanks, Leopard 2, M1A2 Abrams, and now CR3, are more and more seen as too giant, heavy, expensive, and weak to justify additional improvement alongside conventional strains.”
Threatening the survivability of the fleet, solely 60 energetic safety methods are being procured to be shared by the automobiles which Crawford famous seems to pose appreciable dangers when thought of the teachings realized from the Ukrainain theatre relating to the difficulties such automobiles face with survivability. Concerning mobility, Crawford noticed: “The tank additionally retains the 1,200 hp engine of its predecessor, Challenger 2, criticised by Ukrainian operators as underpowered for its weight. If CR3 [Challenger 3] approaches 80 tonnes in full fight configuration, questions stay over its mobility and whether or not British Army restoration and bridging belongings can deal with it.”
“The standard three-crew turret format is outdated when autoloaders and distant turrets are broadly obtainable,” Crawford added, noting that future tanks “are more likely to comply with Russia’s T-14 Armata mannequin, with crews enclosed in armoured capsules inside the hull. This method reduces the automobile’s profile and weight.” China’s new Sort 100 most important battle tank unveiled on September 3 was a notable instance of this, and was designed to prioritise crew safety, lightness and excessive mobility with a design broadly thought of to have responded to the prevailing developments seen within the Ukrainian theatre. The Sort 100’s instance, much more so than the T-14, is anticipated to be adopted by future tank designs.
Crawford’s evaluation highlighted the numerous benefits which Soviet, Ukrainain and Russian tanks have had over their Western counterparts, observing: “There’s a robust case for a shift in direction of smaller, lighter, and cheaper tanks within the 45–50 tonne vary. Such automobiles might characteristic distant turrets, crews in protected hull compartments, balanced armour protection, and intensive use of APS and counter-drone defences.” This weight vary encompasses all presently service Soviet and Russian tanks, the place Western tanks usually weigh between 70-80 tons. Crawford’s arguments relating to the vulnerability of Western tank designs has been strongly supported by observations of the performances of the American M1A1 Abrams and German Leopard 2 within the Ukrainian theatre. Each varieties started to take heavy losses virtually as quickly as they started to see fight, and by early June 2025 the Ukrainian Army wasassessed to have misplaced 87 p.c of the American sourced tanks with 27 of the 31 automobiles destroyed or captured, whereas a lot of the Leopard 2 fleet had been taken out as early as December 2023.
After summarising this system’s shortcomings, Crawford concludes: “That raises a strategic query: the place does Britain go after Challenger 3? Some argue that with such restricted numbers, the UK is likely to be higher leaving the tank enterprise altogether. Others contend {that a} smaller, extra inexpensive design might restore credible mass. NATO allies face related dilemmas as they plan successors to Leopard 2, Abrams, and Leclerc.” He argues that becoming a member of the joint pan-European MARTE tank program mightpresent the perfect means ahead, as “British companies might contribute to safety methods, optics, powertrains, and suspension, doubtlessly securing each industrial participation and home manufacturing.” To make this argument, he reiterates that “Challenger 3 might function a succesful stopgap, however it embodies a design philosophy already nearing obsolescence.”
Past Europe attainable alternate options not famous by Crawford might embody becoming a member of the South Korean K3 program, because the K2 it’s being developed to succeed is presently thought of probably the most succesful NATO-compatible most important battle tank on the earth setting a robust precedent for fulfillment. Japan and the US, that are different main potential companions, should not recognized to have taken related steps in direction of growing new generations of most important battle tanks.
