ISSUE 15
The vehicle we know today as the Challenger 2 was developed as the Chieftain MBT’s replacement, and it entered service over fifteen years after the Chieftain’s designed replacement date. The reasons for the Chieftain’s belated replacement included budget restrictions and the lack of a suitable replacement. British tank design philosophy included the use of a 120mm rifled gun and heavier armour than contemporary European tank designs. The Chieftain’s development had taken sixteen years from first specification to production, typical for the time, and it was designed with a service life of twenty years. Because its succession was not given the same priority, there was no smooth transition to a new Main Battle Tank to replace the Chieftain after 1985.
Part of the problem was that future British main battle tank design philosophy in the 1970s lacked focus. It was not for any lack of expertise; for the British had been the first NATO country to adopt a 120mm main armament and they led the world in armour development. British firms had also perfected advanced night vision equipment, and modern fire control systems. The British had every ingredient for world class battle tank design available from their domestic industries, but lacked firm directives on how best to combine these. One school of thought favoured the development of a completely new MBT design to replace the Chieftain. This encompassed two programmes; the Future Main Battle Tank (FMBT) and Main Battle Tank 80 (MBT80).