King’s Royal Hussars with the Challenger 2
King’s Royal Hussars at the Land Combat Power Visit, Copehill Down (Crown Copyright, 2018)
Pictured is a Challenger 2 (CR2) taking part in a rehearsal for the Land Combat Power Visit (LCPV) at Copehill Down Village, Salisbury Plain. The Kings Royal Hussars (KRH) Battlegroup and the Royal Welsh demonstrated the combat power of their units.
The Challenger 2 is the British Army’s main battle tank. The Challenger 2 is based on the original Challenger 1 tank, which served with distinction on operations in the Gulf War and the Balkans. Only 5% of the Challenger 2 components are interchangeable with its predecessor, which has more than 150 major modifications including a completely new turret, L30 CHARM 120mm gun and second generation Chobham armour.
Military Units Featured
King’s Royal Hussars
The King’s Royal Hussars (KRH) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army and part of the Royal Armoured Corps. Based at Tidworth Camp, the regiment was formed in 1992 and serves as the armoured regiment of the 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Under Army 2020 Refine, it will exchange its Challenger 2 tanks for Ajax vehicles. The regiment is organised into a total of five squadrons, each of which retains the title of one of its antecedent regiments (where applicable):
- A Squadron (The Twentieth Hussar Squadron)
- B Squadron (The Fourteenth Hussar Squadron)
- C Squadron (The Eleventh Hussar Squadron)
- D Squadron (The Tenth Hussar Squadron)
- Support Squadron
Military Equipment Featured
Challenger 2
The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MOD designation “CR2”) is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the British Army. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defence Systems (now BAE Systems Land & Armaments). Protected by Chobham/Dorchester Level 2 (classified) armour, the Challenger 2 is equipped with a 120-millimetre (4.7 in) 55-calibre long L30A1 tank gun. The rifled barrel, unique among NATO main battle tanks, allows 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. The Perkins CV12-6A V12 diesel 26.1 litre 1,200 bhp (890 kW) engine delivers top speeds of 59 km/h (37 mph) on road and 40 km/h (25 mph) off road, with an operationl range of 550 km (340 mi) on road and 250 km (160 mi) off road on internal fuel. Around 446 were produced from 1993 to 2002, with 408 delivered to the British Army and another 38 to the Royal Army of Oman. Currently, the British Army has 227 in service, including 59 used for training or held in reserve.
Photographer
Sergeant Steve Blake, RLC. Crown Copyright, 2018.
Camera: Nikon D4.