The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense announced that the “UK’s most lethal tank” has rolled off the production line. The same statement would claim that British Army soldiers are “one step closer to getting their hands on one of Europe’s most lethal tanks – the Challenger 3.”

However, with few exceptions, the details of the Challenger 3 main battle tank produced under a nearly $990 million contract with Rheinmetall BAE Systems provides only the latest example of Western military industrial production emphasizing profit over purpose and demonstrating that the British government and armed forces have failed to learn key lessons from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The Challenger 3 is not Really “New”

While the initial announcement and price tag suggests the Challenger 3 is a newly produced tank, it is, in fact, the refurbishment and modernization of existing Challenger 2 tanks.

The BBC, in an April 2024 article titled, “UK’s most lethal tank enters testing,” would claim the British army’s existing 221 Challenger 2 tanks will be “slimmed down” to 127 refurbished/modernized Challenger 3s. The Ministry of Defense’s statement claims up to 148 Challenger 3’s will be handed over in total.

Despite being refurbished and modernized from existing tanks, the $990 million program equates to about $6-8 million per tank, which is several times more expensive than refurbished/modernized Russian T-72B3, T-90M, or T-80BVM tanks, and almost as expensive as Russia’s newest tank, the T-14 Armata which is believed to cost between $5-9 million according to a recent Business Insider article.

Refurbished and modernized main battle tanks can still perform effectively on the battlefield. A tank’s most important characteristics are its firepower, protection and mobility, all of which are often upgraded during modernization programs.

Russia has proven refurbishment and modernization programs can field large quantities of effective armor on the battlefield, but the key to the success of such programs is that the process is done quickly and cheaply. Novaya........

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