New Challenger 3 tank ‘within budget and ahead of schedule’

According to the Ministry of Defence, the Challenger 3 battle tank programme has achieved a noteworthy feat by being ahead of schedule and within budget.

The successful completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) stage by the Challenger 3 delivery teams, in collaboration with MOD’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) team, has been accomplished faster than anticipated.

This achievement signifies that the tank design has been approved and that Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL), the company awarded the £800m contract in 2021, can commence production of the Challenger 3 prototypes.

“Another significant milestone has been achieved by the Challenger 3 Delivery Team within budget and ahead of schedule – we are moving closer to delivering one of the most capable and lethal tanks in Europe.

Challenger 3 teams from DE&S’ Land Equipment Operating Centre and the British Army, together with our industry partners Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) have been working to progress the CR3 programme at pace, and we can now announce that we have approved the Critical Design Review (CDR) ahead of schedule. This follows the Initial Design Review (IDR) held in March 2022 and is the culmination of an enormous amount of collaborative work. This CDR means that the design for the tanks has been agreed and that RBSL can now start building the CR3 prototypes.

The work was carried out under an £800M contract which was awarded to RBSL in 2021 to deliver 148 upgraded, fully digitalised battle tanks to the British Army. Supply-chain sub-contracts have now been awarded to UK supply chain companies, contributing to the government’s levelling up agenda. Following two key design reviews, work to modernise and expand RBSL’s production facility in Telford – which will also manufacture Boxer vehicles – is now almost complete.”

In a news release, they add that the fully digitalised tanks will benefit from the following: