Russia's T-14 Armata new generation main battle tank has sent shivers down the spines of Britain's high military officials. The upshot is that the generals are now looking for solutions to upgrade the British BAE Systems Challenger 2 battle tank.
Their decision is apparently prompted by the T-14's abilities demonstrated in public in May 2015, experts surmise.
In his official speech at the latest London-based Defense Security and Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition, Chief of the General Staff of the British Army General Nicholas Carter announced that the UK Army is mulling the modernization of its current multi-role Challenger 2 MBT.
The BAE Systems Challenger 2 entered service in 1998 and has long been considered one of the best protected tanks in the world. Equipped with a L30A1 120 mm rifled tank gun and a 7.62 mm anti-aircraft machine gun, the four-man-crew tank can reach a speed of 36.7 mph.
However, it seems that the Challenger 2 has had its day and now needs upgrading or replacing. Reportedly, the development of a new main battle tank for the UK Army is still under discussion. Meanwhile, British military designers are planning to replace the tank's obsolete parts and ammunition.
Needless to say, the unveiling of the T-14 Armata has become a trigger point for reassessing the Challenger 2's capabilities.
Armata's armor and self-defense systems make the Russian tank invulnerable to the Challenger 2's attack, leaving British senior military officials in a panic.
For instance, experts admitted that the innovative Armata has outpaced Germany's Bundeswehr main battle tank: the German Leopard-2 tank's aging combat system is incapable of penetrating the armor of Russia's T-90 and T-14.
Interestingly enough, despite of its state-of-art design the T-14 is significantly cheaper than its counterparts, in particular, the US Abrams M1A2 SEP, while the Armata's technical parameters considerably exceed those of its American rival.
