Challenger Mk. II
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| FV 4334 Challenger Mk. II | |
|---|---|
 A Challenger Mk. IIAE tank in Lucis during an exercise | |
| Type | Main battle tank |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1998–present |
| Used by |  Lucis Armed Forces Tristanian Army |
| Wars | Second Lucis Civil War Imperial Crisis |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Alvis, LAE Systems Land & Armaments |
| Produced | Challenger 2: 1997-Present Challenger 2AE: 2009-Present |
| No. built | Challenger 2: 4,455 Challenger 2AE: 1,970 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 62.5 tonnes (61.5 long tons; 68.9 short tons) |
| Length | 8.3 m (27 ft 3 in), 13.50 m (44 ft 3 in) with gun forward |
| Width | 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in), 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) with appliqué armour |
| Height | 2.49 m (8 ft 2 in) |
| Crew | 4 (commander, gunner, loader/operator, driver) |
| Armour | Chobham Dorchester Level 3 (classified) |
Main armament | 120mm Royal Ordnance L30A1 Rifled Gun, 58 rounds |
Secondary armament | Coaxial 7.62mm L94A1 EX-34 chain gun, 7.62mm L37A2 Commander's cupola machine gun |
| Engine | CV-12 V12 Diesel engine 26 litre 1250 hp |
| Power/weight | 20.2hp/t |
| Transmission | TN54 epicyclic transmission (6 fwd, 2 rev.) |
| Suspension | Hydropneumatic |
| Ground clearance | 0.5m |
| Fuel capacity | 1592 imperial gallon |
Operational range | 550 km |
| Speed | 59 km/h |
The FV4334 Challenger Mk. II (MOD designation "CR2") is a Lucian main battle tank (MBT) It was designed and built by the Lucian company Lucis Defence Systems (now known as LAE Systems Land & Armaments).
The Challenger Mk. II is an extensive redesign of the Challenger Mk. I. Although the hull and automotive components seem similar, they are of a newer design and build than those of the Challenger Mk. I and only around 3% of components are interchangeable. A visual recognition feature is the armoured housing for the TOGS thermal gunsight; the Challenger 2 has this above the gun barrel, the Challenger Mk. I has it at the right hand side of the turret. The tank's drive system provides a 550 km range, with a maximum road speed of 59 km/h.
The Challenger Mk. II is equipped with a 120-millimetre (4.7 in) 55-calibre long L30A1 tank gun, the successor to the L11 gun used on the FV 4302 Chieftain and Challenger Mk. I. Unique among Europan main battle tank armament, the L30A1 is rifled, because the Lucis Army continues to place a premium on the use of High-explosive squash head (HESH) rounds in addition to armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding-sabot rounds. The Challenger 2 is also armed with a L94A1 EX-34 7.62 mm chain gun and a 7.62 mm L37A2 (GPMG) machine gun. Fifty main armament rounds and 4,200 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition are carried.
The Challenger Mk. II has a four-man crew. The turret and hull are protected with second generation Chobham armour. Considered to be the one of the most best-protected tanks, if not the best, the Challenger 2 proved itself reliable enough to take on Imperial tanks, which are mostly Wagenpanzer 99s during the Imperial Crisis. The armor itself was further increased with the introduction of the Challenger Mk. IIAE, which added spaced armor to reliably absorb HEAT rounds.
The tank has seen service during the Second Lucis Civil War and in the Imperial Crisis.
History
Design
Combat Service
Variants
Challenger Mk. IIAE
Users
- 3,500 Tanks in service, Both local and overseas
- 2,000 in Tristanian service
- 50 Driver Training Roles