The British FV4030/4 Challenger 1 was the British Army’s Main Battle Tank (MBT) from 1983 until it was superseded by the Challenger 2 in the mid 1990s.
The development of the Challenger MBT was influenced by a number of factors. Firstly, the British Army’s Chieftain tank had already been in service for almost ten years and a replacement was already being looked at, to counter the threat of the new Soviet T-72 and T-80 tanks. Secondly, new advances in tank armour had been developed, particularly the invention of ‘Chobham’ armour by Dr Gilbert Harvey, which was made from ceramic and metal composites that gave tanks superior protection. Thirdly, the attempts by the British and German Governments to develop a single design, in an attempt to standardise tank design within NATO. Fourthly, another major order from the Imperial Iranian Army had been received for an improved version of the Chieftain tank, known as the Shir 2. However, after extensive development work, the contract was cancelled following the fall of the Shah of Iran in February 1979. The order was later taken up by the Royal Jordanian Army.
These factors all led to the British Army acquiring the Shir 2 as opposed to procurement of one of the other two contenders, the M.1 Abrams or the German Leopard 2. Such an order was both politically and economically attractive, and the Shir 2 shared a significant commonality with the earlier Chieftain.
Now named Challenger, production began at the Royal Ordnance Factory in Leeds and the first tank was completed and handed over to the British Army on 14th December 1982. The most revolutionary aspect of the Challenger design was its Chobham armour, which gave far better protection against both HEAT and Armour Piercing tank rounds than the previous material of Rolled Homogeneous Armour (RHA). This armour has been adopted by other manufacturers and is now also used on the American M.1 Abrams MBT. The Challenger 1 entered service with The Royal Hussars on 12th April 1983. In 1986, the Royal Ordnance Factory, Leeds, and the Challenger production line, was acquired by Vickers Defence Systems and production continued until 1990, with 420 tanks being produced.
In 1987 a requirement was issued for a new main battle tank for the British Army, and eventually the Vickers Defence Systems design, designated Challenger 2, was selected.
