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Back in World War I, Vickers built the first tanks used in battle. Today, Vickers Defence Systems is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of land defence systems. Products include the CHALLENGER 2, the British Army's latest Main Battle Tank, associated variants and state-of-the-art training aids, an extensive range of mediumand light wheeled and tracked armoured fighting vehicles, the BR90 the world's most advanced military bridging system - and specialist engines for marine and military applications. The company's enhanced CHALLENGER 2E model is currently vying against German, French, American, Russian and Ukrainian competitors to win the contract for the Hellenic Army's MBT requirement.
Not just a hunter-killer, but a "killer-killer". That is how CHALLENGER 2E is rated by experts at the British Army's Armoured Trials and Development Unit.
CHALLENGER 2E is an enhanced version of the CHALLENGER 2 MBT, which was developed from CHALLENGER 1 and is in service with the British Army in Kosovo and elsewhere as well as operating in desert conditions with the Royal Army of Oman. The new tank has been optimised to represent the best balance of fightability, firepower and mobility for operational use in the harshest of climatic and terrain conditions.
Unique Fightability
Why the "killer-killer" label? One of the major advantages which CHALLENGER 2E offers is, it gives the gunner and commander the ability to conduct a full engagement, independently, from either crewstation. Both commander and gunner have fully stabilised, integrated day/night 2nd generation thermal imaging sighting systems, the commander's device being of the fully panoramic type. Both systems incorporate eye-safe laser rangefinders capable of localising targets out to 1 Okm, and both feature controls and displays which allow them to conduct full engagements "head-in-the-sight" for maximum speed and accuracy on the move.
When operating in hunter-killer mode, CHALLENGER 2E offers faster engagements because the commander can independently lase a target and have the ballistic solution ready in place before he hands over the target to the gunner. These features give the CHALLENGER 2E weapon system great operational flexibility and robustness.
As with the British Army version of CHALLENGER 2, fightability and ease of use has been accorded top priority for CHALLENGER 2E. Its sophisticated, yet simple to use weapon system...