While I’m a big fan of the current Leopard and Abrams, that Chally 3 looks mean. I wonder how much that massive turret weighs; I’d guess more than a Sherman tank.
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Yes, the German Rheinmetall L55A1 smoothbore firing what is now Nato standard ammunition. Had to be done as only the UK and Oman used the same ammunition.
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Sadly lack of ammo suppliers doomed the rifled gun. Bad news is all the explosive stuff is now stored above the turret ring, and no more HESH. The upside is Chally’s hull protection etc are second to none! Think of this as Leopard’s much more muscular brother…
Oh, and another bad note - the UK can’t afford enough of them to make a difference…
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If one was a conspiracy theorist (and I shouldn’t be) one could almost see this as akin to the TSR-2 project, sabotaged from within(!)
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You do have to wonder if the money spent upgrading 200+ CR2s into only 150 CR3s would have been better spent building a factory for the two-part ammo needed to keep the whole CR2 fleet relevant?
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This is a personal opinion but backed up by 28yrs service in the RAC covering MBT, Recce and Guided Weapons but I would say no. The wagon is over 30 years old with only minor upgrades to it, although the ammunition has been significantly improved. Advances in weapons tech, fire control, armour, automotive and just about any other metric you can think of is streets ahead of where Challenger 2 is currently at. The hulls will all be zeroed whilst the turrets are new build and protection will increase, which has always been the top consideration of the armoured triad in British doctrine.One other thing to think of is that to get faster rounds you have to go longer barrel and smoothbore eventually.
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120mm Rheinmetall L55 gun can fire 3 types of ammo. HEAT, APFSDS and HE.
Das Panzerdetail - Munition der 120 mm Kanone von Rheinmetall
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This downsizing of tank fleets via upgrades seems to be a common trend in NATO countries outside of the US. Upgrade capabilties but shrink existing tank fleets
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Rhienmettal L.55 120mm
Dummnick strikes again. 
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Oh wow! I was actually just thinking about when a Challenger 3 kit would come out! I figured it’d be a while, since it’s not really in service yet, or even finished development yet?
I was going to have the Challenger 2 TES on my “British” shelf as the “Latest and Bestest” representative, but maybe I should go for this instead…?
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Why not build all the RFM Challengers, have the entire stable
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On preorder now at JADLAM £54 with November delivery
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You answered yourself.
Wouldn’t it be better to wait for the version actually fielded?
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This is the version that will enter service,doing trails at the moment and the turret gearbox needs upgrading but this is the one
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I kind of don’t have room for the entire slew of Challangers haha, and my collection is kind of “Just tanks I like and/or are interested in” and the Chally 1 unfortunately is not in that list
And well, then I guess I will indeed wait and see what the actual final Challenger 3 is when it’s officially in service, in case this version will become hilariously outdated
I waited for a reasonable T28, I can wait for a definitive Challenger 3
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yeah i saw this in an email from them the other day.
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With the exception of Poland with thier massive MBT purchases 100+ M1A1 FEP, 250 M1A2 SEP V.3 800+ K2 Black Panthers and thats on top of the 105 Leopard 2A5 and 128 Leopard 2PL they already have, thats more than Bririan,France and Germany combined
After the US that makes Poland the second largest tank operaror in NATO
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Go Poland!
Ken
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The RFM Challenger 3 is in stock.
At Hobby Easy HK
I pre-ordered it a while back.’lt should be here in a week or so 
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