The FV4034 Challenger 2 is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom, Oman, and Ukraine.
A Challenger 2 tank patrolling outside Basra, Iraq, during Operation Telic, 2003
A Challenger 2 Tank of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Squadron D) during live fire training exercises on Bergen-Hohne Training Area (Germany)
A Challenger 2 firing its main armament during an exercise. The shell is visible to the left of the smoke cloud.
Close-up of muzzle showing rifling
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension systems and lighter composite armour allowed for the design of a tank that had the firepower of a super-heavy tank, the armour protection of a heavy tank, and the mobility of a light tank, in a package with the weight of a medium tank. The first designated MBT was the British Chieftain tank, which during its development in the 1950s was re-designed as an MBT. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the MBT replaced almost all other types of tanks, leaving only some specialist roles to be filled by lighter designs or other types of armoured fighting vehicles.
German Army Leopard 2A5 main battle tanks in 1996
Early model Mark I tank at the Battle of Somme, 1916
Abandoned French Hotchkiss H-39 light cavalry tank, Battle of France, 1940
New Panther tanks being loaded for transport to the Eastern Front