IAV 2019: Rheinmetall unveils proposal for Challenger 2 LEP

[Zarvan]

At IAV 2019, Rheinmetall unveiled its proposal for the Challenger 2 LEP, which includes a new turret with day/night sights for the commander and gunner, and a new L55 120 mm smoothbore gun. Source: IHS Markit/Mark Cazalet

At the International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2019 conference held in London on 21–24 January, Rheinmetall unveiled details of its proposal for the Challenger 2 Life Extension Programme (LEP). The company’s solution has been to develop a completely new turret for the Challenger 2, which has a fully digital electronic architecture, new day and night sights for the commander and gunner, and a Rheinmetall L55 smoothbore 120 mm gun.

The L55 gun is capable of firing Rheinmetall’s 120 mm ammunition family, and the typical loadout would include the DM63 armour piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) for armoured targets, and a DM11 programmable high-explosive round with impact, delay, and air-burst settings. The commander is provided with a panoramic sight.

Although the Rheinmetall proposal does not feature an active protection system (APS), a company representative told Jane’s the new turret is capable of mounting such a system according to user requirements. He added that the turret also contains under-armour links, as well as having increased power and weight capacity, which would enable a customer to fit the vehicle with an electronic warfare system. It is likely that when mounted on the Challenger 2, such a system would be intended to disrupt the remote detonation signals of improvised explosive devices.

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https://www.janes.com/article/85918/iav-2019-rheinmetall-unveils-proposal-for-challenger-2-lep

 

[Dante80]

A British MBT without a rifled gun and HESH ammunition is almost unthinkable for any military buff.
A British MBT with a German turret (that is not war salvage) is even more ludicrous to ponder.

We really are living in modern times.

 

[Ali_Baba]

It is completely shameful for the British Army to have the Germans modify our tanks. This is completely unacceptable. We have skills to do it ourselves, and we should.

The Germans are even working on our assault rifles. WTF !!!!!!

These are shameful times...

What next, we buy French aircraft for our airforce?

 

[gangsta_rap]

so much for brexit hahaha