UK agrees parallel development and production process for British Army Challenger 3
RBSL Challenger 3 undertakes first crewed firing trials at a UK range. (Photo: Rheinmetall)
In a bid to accelerate delivery of the British Army’s Challenger 3 main battle tank, which has just carried out its first crewed firings with the latest Rheinmetall 120mm L55A1 smoothbore gun, the UK has opted for an unconventional approach.
The UK government has given the green light for production of the British Army’s Challenger 3 main battle tank (MBT) to run concurrently with the ongoing development of the platform, a strategy out of the ordinary in an effort to meet an Initial Operating Capability (IOC) of 2027. Details of the plan were disclosed to Shephard at this week’s Defence IQ International Armoured Vehicles conference.
While the go-ahead for production would not normally be given until all of the development work had been completed, the decision to overlap is being seen as a calculated risk as Challenger 3 has a very tight
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