what is bro doing in the background at 10:40 ?

@_Matsimus_

Ай бұрын

😂😂😂 he must be a big fan of challenger 2 also 😅

@limescaleonetwo3131

Ай бұрын

That's the ceiling fan repair guy

@Kenneth_James

Ай бұрын

Naseem is stealing a ceiling fan from a Challenger. It's the future billion dollar ceiling fan system for dealing with the dust. Turns out the dust was just too much for it, but Naseem was able to cool off 3 people at once thereafter.🤦🏿🌪

@stargazer4683

Ай бұрын

Saved me 16 minutes

@kingsman3087

Ай бұрын

@@_Matsimus_ ..."it was destined for the cold war (getting hot).." is such a lazy excus

Having a tank is like carrying around a 60-ton composite armoured baby. Even if you do everything right it's still gonna take a shit on you. It will yell and make funny noises until you diagnose the issue and apply oil and/or a pair of tits.

@stupidburp

Ай бұрын

Mammary maintenance

Hi Mat, I spoke to the blokes that were posted in The Canal Zone, Jordon and Palestine in the fifties and besides the flies their problem was the fine dust which was ever present. We had the same problems in both of our postings in the sixties in the Persian Gulf, Muscat and Oman and the Trucial States and in Aden and Radfan. That fine sand got into all body parts and kit. We had to run our weapons dry of oil as that attracted any dust particles and turned them into emery paste. Every chance you had you strippedand cleaned. It certainly made your life hell and that and the flies and the shits made you dream of working in the Arctic again! Cheers mate Harera

@zachvalue

27 күн бұрын

Wow, what was it like meeting actual demons. Soldiers in Palestine, in the 50s, they would of played a apart in some horrifying war crimes.

So basically, 90% of the Challenger's issues are caused by dust. It really had some challenges

@davidty2006

Ай бұрын

Sounds like same old issues strike again.

@616CC

Ай бұрын

Like the Abrams had with dust before it’s filtration system was upgraded

@TheBooban

Ай бұрын

@@616CC Why didn't Challengers get the same upgrade? Rhetorical, I know the UK just isn't as good.

@EP-bb1rm

Ай бұрын

​@@TheBooban because it's a different vehicle...

@filipbitala2624

Ай бұрын

@@EP-bb1rmusing much of the same systems…

Hey Matt, a long time subscriber and former Queen's Royal Hussar here. You're right about the comms issue's and getting time to do the necessary maintenance, but i have to say we never had reliability issues as far as the engine goes in our troop/Sqn. When we were rolling we were the king of fhe road and the Iraqi bad guys feared us. Normally if there was a bad contact and we showed up they would run quick time. There was certainly no crew stress as we knew we were well protected, and the ctcs kept us nice and cool. Also myself and no one i know had any issues with the gun kit. In 03/04 i was a gunner, in 06/07 i was a loader, however we used the tanks less in 06/07. They were shelved half way through telic 3 in favour of heart's and minds and a less aggressive stance on the ground, and we only pulled them out if things went south. We re wrote the books (the qrh battle group that is) in urban tactics on telic 3, and they definitely needed support in tight urban environments. With a full TES kit they were 70 tons plus, somewhere around 72 to 75 ton, which is a load of weight, but the more you ran those engines and the harder you worked them, the better they were. Certain ground conditions could be a problem.

@dibdab699

20 күн бұрын

So esstentially none of what was talked about in the vid was an issue, certainly not occuring to more than the very small pool of people the author has spoken too.... Very interesting.

As a former abrams crewman, we were running on a turbine, but the two air filters required constant maitenance. I started as a loader, and t was in charge of the radios. Total PiTA so set up, with their encryption systems.

@jeffkardosjr.3825

26 күн бұрын

What kind of digital format were they using for the encryption?

Glad to see you posting Mat! It would be interesting to compare British and American solutions to the tanker problems they ran into in Iraq.

Matt sorry about the loss of your friend. RIP🙏.

Sup nerds. Last time I was this early the Berlin Wall was still up.

Tanks are like children: they can be fun to hang out with for a few hours, but I'd never want to own one, to have to deal with it every day no matter what.

heavier than a tiger 2 driving around on flowing sticky sandpaper, was my favourite description.

this is actually demonstrating why we need more tanks from a logistical pov. Why you can in theory accept we don't need cold war levels of armour to field - debatable of course - the need for replacements, spares, rotations etc is definitely high. When Chieftain does his videos I'm always amused by his 'go get another tank' line he trots out every now and again - not in the British Army you wont

@stevemcgowen

Ай бұрын

Why? NATO has air power, so would never again fight a prolonged WW2 style war.

@Klovaneer

29 күн бұрын

@@stevemcgowen meanwhile in Ukraine: literally trench warfare

Having served alongside Challenger 2s on NATOs eastern flank i confirm the comms issues. Whenever we were on exercise, with Challenger 2s added to us, we needed to shake hands on visual signals or communicate through a middle man in a Rover somewhere nearby. Extremely uncomfortable, decreases potential efficiency so much. The only signal that really worked was "red flag means enemy tank, hand indicates direction". After seeing that the Challengers worked magic, but that could have been much better if we had had direct comms.

@TheBooban

Ай бұрын

Oh, great how reassuring to NATO allies there. Look great on paper, but NATOs war readiness is just about as bad as the Russians when they invaded Ukraine. Only the Americans can fight.

@EP-bb1rm

26 күн бұрын

BOWMAN works across platforms. You just need a better comms plan...

@Contentrist

26 күн бұрын

@@EP-bb1rm If what you are saying is true, then the Brits didn't want to either give their frequencies away or lacked a Comms man to give those frequencies to us. Because we did have Comms dudes ready but all they could do was speak to the the Brits inside the Rovers. In this case there was either lazyness, bureaucracy or lack of technical knowledge at play, which is worse.

@EP-bb1rm

25 күн бұрын

@Contentrist it's not a freq issue, it's encryption. All British voice and data comms over bowman is encrypted. If you don't have the kit then you don't get the net. If a rebro unit in a wagon bridging everything manually is the best you're getting then that's a you problem, not a British problem.

@Contentrist

25 күн бұрын

@@EP-bb1rm Can you educate me, what is a rebro unit? And why can't "bowman" just switch to basic fixed frequencies? Our stuff was all encrypted too but with other units we could just temporarily switch to basic fixed frequencies afaik (increased comms discipline needed of course). Is stuff getting so advanced that basic options are forgotten, even for emergencies? Also we could get on comms even with the French. We could get on comms with every other nationality except the Brits. We should have ways to get on comms with any other NATO unit in case of emergencies. Sound like a very British problem. Edit: by "fixed frequencies" I technically meant "fixed unencrypted frequencies"

Dust in the intakes has been a serious problem for every tank ever deployed in the desert. From North Africa to Iraq. So why haven’t designers come up with a workable solution? For example; a fixed compressed air system to clean the filters occasionally while in use. Air filters are a primary weakness of every large engine, and you’d think the military would have solved it by now.

Really appreciate the honesty from your experiences, it brings the tank's vulnerabilities to light because everyone thinks they are invincible.

What a tough looking tank and thanks for sharing this Matsimus!

As usual, great content. Hope more discover your channel. Thanks for sharing!

Really insightful video Mat! Good watch! Still the best tank :P

Speaking of filters, Abrams crews in Ukraine don't seem to like the tanks filters very much. I think the biggest problems the challenger 2 and 3 have is that they aren't around in any big enough numbers.

@redemissarium

Ай бұрын

there is no such thing as challenger 3

@xmeda

Ай бұрын

And will never be, because brits cannot build them any more. All they do is that they refurbish the old junk from storage.

@dragoon1027

29 күн бұрын

You know the abrams is a dramatically better than the challenger 2 right?

@marlenehoy2487

29 күн бұрын

Care to expand on your statement? ​@@dragoon1027

@keithcrispin1368

21 күн бұрын

​@dragoon1027 you do know the Abrams is technically shit right

Glad to see you doing more about tanks again.

Hey Mat, just wanted to say thank you for all of your work. I´m literally enjoying your vids for ages and watched almost all of them. Love the insights you give us on so many topics :) What you said about the tank crew communicating "oldschool" with the infantry men (handsigns, shouting and so on) is becoming a thing again, even in other branches. For example some countries train their naval forces again, how to navigate with a sextant and the stars. Since ECM-warfare is evolving, I think it´s super important to have a "manual" method of communicating and navigating on the battlefield to fall back on, if your systems get jammed. Super interesting stuff

@_Matsimus_

25 күн бұрын

I appreciate that so much!! Thank you!

Great video as always Mat!

Good to hear about the full range of considerations; both strengths and weaknesses. Operational issues are incredibly important for they impact how many of what type a unit can operate effectively. Cloying dust clogs (pun intended) the logistics people, forcing increased transportation and replacement of ruined power pack elements over other needs and considerations.

I enjoyed this video. I loved the personal touches and connection to the chally 2

@_Matsimus_

Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! 😊

Yes, first like!! Love to see you doing better than before, keep it up!!

@liddz434

Ай бұрын

lol, people still get excited about that?!🤨🤔🧐

From Rifled gun to smoothbore is in parallel with the switch from HESH/HEP to Sabot. Brits used to love shooting High Explosive Squash Head (Plastique in American lexicon).

@stupidburp

Ай бұрын

Challenger rifled guns also used sabot but at slightly lower maximum capability. They used a special type of sabot specifically for use with the rifling.

@SlavicCelery

29 күн бұрын

American here - we typically refer to it as HESH not Plastique. Plastique is used as a reference for a whole large number of plasticine explosives in general. C4 would be referred to as plastique as well.

There are so few, 213, if Europe heats up, it be a Bad situation.

@JesterEric

Ай бұрын

Might stop our politicians getting involved

I was working in the defence industry back then. BGTI was a new thermal imager and manufacturing couldn't keep up with the the fitting of the BOWMAN so there were huge delays in getting the Challenger back out to Iraq. I was away from home for at least a year trying to get BGTI on track. BOWMAN (Better Off With'a Map And Nokia) was not only useless from day one it voided all the warranties on vehicles such as the land rover due to its weight, along with it's racking, so Land Rover refused to support it. BOWMAN should have never been approved as Mil-Spec.As far as I know the BGTI was a success once the supply chain was improved. Great Video Mat, never heard the BGTI or BOWMAN spoke about as a major problem before, it's normally focused on dust and cooling issues which as you say, was an easy fix.

@EP-bb1rm

Ай бұрын

BOWMAN wasn't intended to be FOC in 2003, but it was rushed because there were concerns that Iraq had Russian tech for busting Clansman Radio.

I love Challenger tanks

@stupidburp

Ай бұрын

Challenger 1 is the most attractive tank IMHO

cheers matt. good vid.

@_Matsimus_

Ай бұрын

Thanks 👍

It's a pinnacle of engineering... Same as trains in London.... Oh crap "wrong kind of rain"... Who would ever expect that...

It would be great if you can make a video to state what makes a great leader in the armed forces. This might give us a better insight as to how the armed forces are like.

It’s amazing how little has changed. With exception to resolving the dust issue. Everything else you mentioned like fuel and communications are still a huge problem in the British military!

nice ep as usual

@gadgetfellow

29 күн бұрын

My dad was a RAF mechanic in ww2, he served in the north africa theatre and had to help with tank engine swopouts, for..... heat and dust issues.... history always repeats itself

@_Matsimus_

28 күн бұрын

Thanks again!

hey, I really enjoyed the vid

@_Matsimus_

Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed

Same happened to the Abraham’s battle tanks in gulf war 1 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️. Same with Warriors due to all the additional armoured on these vehicles. Heck the biggest issues was cooling the radios and IR sights same thing happened in Bosnia and BATUS in the height of summer. But at least the internal BV’s never failed us 🤣🤣 I think the first casualty in Gulf War 1 was a bake bean can explosion from a BV running dry… we had to replace all the track pads in Bosnia every month and replace the whole tracks every 2 months. REME guys were the backbone to how successful we were in Gornji Vakuf.

@DWillis7

Ай бұрын

Abrams*

@kingsman3087

Ай бұрын

..."it was meant for the cold war..." is such a lazy excuse

Thanks 😊

Concise and clear.

Nice work bud

@_Matsimus_

Ай бұрын

Thanks 👍

my guess would be,, battling in sand is what israelis have been at since 1948,, if anyone knows they do what kind of filter they engineer for the mekava one for air fuel and inside instrument protection,nowhere on google does it/they disclose how they deal with sand

@jaakkobergman4489

29 күн бұрын

i would use water as first stage filter...suck it through like from bong and after that air goes in "traditional" filter. of course water tank could need quite frequent cleaning, but it should be quite fast. drain muddy water out, and clean water in. something like that.

@Klovaneer

29 күн бұрын

@@jaakkobergman4489 It would take an absolutely unholy volume to satisfy a 1500hp engine air throughput, probably in a form of a trailer to be ditched before combat and everybody loves tank trailers.

2003 is extremely old news when Chally 2 got straight up recalled from Ukraine.

@brianmead7556

25 күн бұрын

So they pulled them all out when they started getting served the Z?

Do you think that maybe all these cancer cases have something to do with long duration exposure to DUAPFSDS rounds or DU armor packs?

@riccccccardo

26 күн бұрын

Depleted uranium for the folks that don’t know.

@qasimmir7117

19 күн бұрын

Could be anything. Could be particulates from diesel exhaust.🤷🏻‍♂️ Tank crews don’t actually get to handle that many real APFSDS rounds in their careers if they don’t need to and even if they did, I don’t see why DU would actually be a danger. It’s not radioactive and it’s not chemically toxic unless it’s vaporised or atomised and inhaled or ingested.

Good video

@_Matsimus_

28 күн бұрын

Glad you enjoyed

Like anything in life, the real test is when thing go wrong, the sugar-hits-the fan and you have to improvise! Respect to the many service personnel. comment & like 👍

MBTs need to be hard charging forwards because they are so venerable no matter how good the armour, so they need support from troops in APCs and some sort of anti air to even survive, like an aircraft carrier that has anti sub destroyers, anti missile cruisers, 24/7 overhead radar coverage, submarines below and the supply ships to keep it going for 6 months. That is 1 aircraft carrier, 80 aircraft, 22 support ships and 2 subs?

He didnt lose his battle with cancer. He fought it to a draw. To all fighting with the big C.. Keep your spirit up! and Fight on! We believe in you!

Same mobility issues being seen in Ukraine on mud.

British forces: exist A-10: so anyway, I started blasting

You know, i still question what the hell britain was thinking when making the challenger 2, like why make it so slow and why still keep using a rifled gun in the 90s where everyone else has 1500+hp engines and smoothbore guns

@ostwelt

25 күн бұрын

It ws a short-term economic decision, in part for instance, aimply to rundown ColdWar stocks of 120mm rifled ammunition. The RAC to Army to MoD to HMG recommendation was Leo II not another homegrown tank. Politicians have different agendas.

@qasimmir7117

19 күн бұрын

Because it was built specifically for British Army doctrine. The gun was kept rifled for HESH. It was made a priority over HEAT and APFSFDS. It was the right decision since the explosive power of HESH was useful during its combat. Anti tank fire was never as much a concern since it was only ever going to shoot a handful of steel armour ex-Soviet tanks. The tank isn’t slow, just not as fast as your average Leopard 2. Still had good mobility with its hydro-pneumatic suspension. It was built for war, not a statistics contest.

Yeah, the sand in Mesopotamia is very fine and a pain in the a** for tank engines. A few years before operation "Iraqi Freedom" the british forces had an exercise in Oman where they have the same kind of sand. The tracks of the Challenger II swirled up the sand so it came into the turbines of the engine and broke it. So pinafores around the tracks were added to solve the problem.

7:14 this guy and the next were part of the crew that threw a track and survived multiple hits on their CR2, do you have a link to this source? I tried to find the documentary programe interviewing those guys but had no luck until now.

UK should preorder some next generation Abrams and participate in the M1E3 development process. They are the only country outside the USA that is authorized to acquire the identical models as the US Army with all the fancy protection because they were involved in the development of earlier versions of it. UK could even build them in the UK on their own production line.

Very interesting comments on the performance of the Challenger in hot and dusty places. These conditions are not a surprise, so why did the tank designers not design the tank to remove these problems? Also, how did Challenger do compared to other nations' tanks. Did they all suffer with tracks blowing off? Did they all suffer from the dust? If not, what were they doing/designing to mitigate these issues?

@qasimmir7117

19 күн бұрын

Yes, all NATO tanks tend to suffer these problems in desert environments since they were designed for war in Europe.

The engine was 26L roughly. That's 13L per revolution of air.n so at 2400 RPM I bet you could hear the sucking noise.

@Klovaneer

29 күн бұрын

_laughs in 38.8L V-84 that passed indian desert trials_

Heard the same issues with the abrams. Yes both protected its crews bottom line

Arte et marte From a retired 411 veh tech (vehicle technician ).

Radio wise it was Clansmen. iirc it was 06 07 on the new radio kit came in and changeovers started happening. Bowmen was the latest computer based system. personally I preferred clansmen. took skill to get it working right and you could ''bodge'' things up for it. Bowmen had set antenna and that was it. typed it in to the system and it did its own thing to get digital comms in. clansmen needed the operator to do more I thought. 11:10 Basra Palace. Id reccognise that bridge from HQ to cookhouse anywhere. Best army food Ive ever had was out there. Ice-cream and cheese cake every dinner

The tank was created for wide open field and forest battles. Sand was always a killer for it.

It was too hot to effectively utilize the vehicles main strength - the boiling vessel.

Maybe a constant high pressure air flow infront of the filters could’ve reduced the sand intake issues.

Ukraine's armored use can be called, 'Crouching Leopard hiding Challenger'!

Liked!

Great tank, just wish it was a bit faster

Your video is interesting ,i was a B Mech in Op Granby (i left in late 96 ),which was where Chally was ,what i don't understand is ,why did we still have the same issue with Chally2 in 2003 ??? I would have thought the fixes would have been carried over and improved for chally 2 ...The MOD never learn

Tanks are going to be like battleships. Drones kill them to easily.

@stupidburp

Ай бұрын

Thermal camouflage blankets, active protection systems, and electronic warfare equipment will probably quickly become the standard for new tanks. Together that will mitigate against most of the drone threats. Switching the top machine gun with a remotely operated minigun could also potentially provide a CIWS like defense using optical, infrared, and audio sensors to automatically track and slew to threats.

@jeffkardosjr.3825

26 күн бұрын

​@@stupidburpIt does seem like tank destroyers are making a comeback with the form of very tall spaced armour.

@qasimmir7117

19 күн бұрын

Try breaching a fortified line with drones and you will see why tanks are still tactically relevant. If there is any obsolescence, then it is the current generation that it lies with, not the tank as a weapon of war.

@kingrandal01

18 күн бұрын

@@qasimmir7117 tanks need infantry support buddy and fuel trucks. To bad but I know about this stuff. They would work in a fast moving front line but not in trench war and maybe not in fast moving. To easy to take out the vast amount of support.

Probably the main problems i am guessing. Too much weight and the engine unreliable.

12:14 that little box on wheels. What vehicle is that.

I worked for Perkins Engines :)

@andypocalypse

20 күн бұрын

In Stafford ;)

What is a "heavy doody IED"? An infantry excrement discharge?

Great inside story. Many people think tank crews relax and rest once we stop but the reality is, we were the last men to leave the vehicle, typically many hours later due to extensive maintenance needed after each ‘mobilisation’ of any meaningful distance. 70% times the parts were short and we had to wait for the maintenance truck (basically a semi container with tones of parts) to come to our location. In the mean time, we are no more than a sitting duck. Another thing I honestly never got over was the comms. 3 diff comms, between vehicles, intercom and with outside infantry. None of which were great at any given day. Even the supposedly digital radio had so much noise, it was easier to hand signal. Another thing was the outside comm, it is not even wireless radio but the voice quality was beyond bad…. What worries me is not lack of armour, firepower, weight but the useless comms we give our lads. Russians are showing broadband jamming, disabling any attempt of comms at the front. As those jammers become smaller and cheaper, we will see more and more of them everywhere. Are we ready for broadband jamming at the frontline?

all nato tankies stuggled initially with the desert and they did learn lessons and I dont recall any real issues with fuel supplies and I was there but not a tankie, scots dragoons raved about its great accurate gun, good punch and long range and felt safe, none were lost to the enemy and talking about the tank being used in urban I never saw that happening, they were always parked up or out in the sand pit - not straying far from tarmac...

A smoothbore Challenger 3. Hmm. WHAT ABOUT THE SQUASH HEAD!!! (HESH does not officially endorse this message)

Feeding the Algorithm monster!

Be better if cyclone section was removable for washing out.

i think there is a big big mis-anticipation regarding the modern tank fundamental design that still relying on OLD WW1-2 informations. the believe that tanks are operating "blindly" in battlefield so head to head duel is the most occurrence between tanks. while in the modern day conflicts since now we all have digital technology and informations are being transmitted close to the speed of light between all components of the military, positioning of tanks becomes more tacticals. and in that configuration, head on fight is LESS LIKELY. what happen is, tanks will always be hit FROM THE SIDES. opponents will always know where your position is, and will always find a tactical angle to go at you. and this is where ALL of this modern tanks are weak at. because they are designed based on the OLD WW1-2 principles. the US think modern adversary will attack from the top using small ballistic anti tanks that do an arc flight and hit downwards. while in reality they all got hit from the sides. by typical TOW launchers and typical tank munitions alike. wrong funamental design. thats the problem. they forgot to anticipate modern day tactical behaviour. where everybody know where is everybody else at.

@bluntcabbage6042

29 күн бұрын

This is why Western tanks place massive emphasis on sensors and FCS before things like armor overhauls, typically. Can't scrap the front armor though - if you do, attacks suddenly _will_ start coming from head-on because now the front is extremely vulnerable. First shot probability is all the rage now and thankfully this has not been lost on Western designers since the Cold War began!

Rip Corporal Emery. 🙏

@_Matsimus_

Ай бұрын

Emery ❤❤

What do you mean "transitioned to the Canadian army"? How does that work?

cool

I can see in the not to distant future, supply lines being patrolled by squadrons of armed drones and escorted by the same, removing the need for so much manpower with automated supply vehicles doing the supply runs.

Imagine how different Iraq would have been with drones

@qasimmir7117

19 күн бұрын

Imagine how different Iraq would been if we just hadn’t bothered with it?

Does the Chally 3 address the drone threat, does it have APS? If it does not it will be vulnerable to mobility kills, especially to Arty. Ukraine has shown that.

The Challenger 2 has served it's purpose but in a war it wasn't really made for. It's a shame we're only getting 148 Challenger 3's meanwhile The Russians and Chinese can pump out tanks like no tomorrow. I have read the Challenger 3 is only an interim tank, so who knows what they have planned next, they could be working on the newest tank right now and we wouldn't even know.

So in fact the real challenger to the challenger tanks was the dust and sand

@alexnderrrthewoke4479

Ай бұрын

Don't forget russian kornets

@davidty2006

Ай бұрын

Dust and sand.. A issue as old as time.

@MrBounce66

Ай бұрын

@@alexnderrrthewoke4479 Couldn't have been that much a problem, as not a single Chally was lost to them.

@alexnderrrthewoke4479

Ай бұрын

@MrBounce66 you mean 2 gone in ukraine? Oh i guess the western media did not report that huh? What a joke. Poor you.

Climate! Climate! Climate!

Well, the advent of Drone warfare might spell the end of these armored behemoths! Sad.

Legendary machine

comments added 🤘😸

"Its not all rainbows and sunshine". Its funny to hear a soldier use such a mild expression. I think many young people expect soldiers to be edgelords, egotists that present themselves as dark and terrible. I rather find that soldiers are like My Little Pony ponies, nice, caring, and full of rainbows and sunshine. If you're in a tough business, you need to balance it with positivity.

*Takes off sunglasses* Breathes deep *Pushes up second set of glasses I wear under my sunglasses* ACTUALLY the Challenger isn't that great. There I said it, come at me fallen British empire apologists.

Is this the reason the British refused to take part in the initial assault and requested a secondary role?

No use in hot dry conditions...no use in wet muddy conditions....yet to hear how it performs in ice and snow? Not up to much is it and makes you wonder why they bothered updating to Challenger 3. That said, there's little doubt it's to save money.

How are the new Challengers repairs and maintenances done: With English (British/UK) measurements; inches, imperial or metric? Turn a bolt / screw left or right to open? 3/4 INCH 1.1/8 INCH 28.57 MM Confusion of the highest order.

@paulhill1665

Ай бұрын

Standard mechanic training. Lefty loosely. Righty tightly, everything else falls into place. The UK is metric, but not sure about the challenger.

@joeds3775

24 күн бұрын

Metric all the way

The CR2 dust problem ultimately comes back to fundamental problem of British tank design that insufficient funding is available for extensive R&D to the point that design flaws are eliminated. All British tanks are designed to operate in deserts (not least as the M.E. is always identified as a prime export market viz the Shir-1/CR1). Ultimately this outcome is a disgrace in that it was long know of; be it from the desert trials in Oman or, because this was exactly the experience of CR1 in BAOR. CR1 didn't need to get to the Gulf for Granby for it already to be know there was a ignificant dust filtration problem. It only took a dry summer on Soltau during annual training for the REME to be changing out power packs as engines rebored themselves on the fine dust. In part this was due to the poor filtation system yet also, for a lack of relacement filter "biscuits" (becuase of Treasury penny-pinching). How CR1, derived from an Iranian design was so bad in these desert conditions, is probably just a reflection of the depths of British engineering in the 1970s viz Leyland et al. And a lack of extensive prototyping. So, for CR2 there was a dire pedigree. That the dust issue wasn't fixed between CR1 and 2 was another disgrace. Even though there was more prototyping this time than ever before (for a British tank) leading to an initial refusal to accept into service why this issue wasn't fundamentally fixed (or, at least known how to ameliorate before deployment is shocking). Most probably it was de to to a lack of space in the engine compartment for more filtration and/or an inability to re-design the powerpack whilst trying to keep costs down. The inability to design a pack/tank capable of desert operations has always been a disgrace because failure immobilises the vehicle, often for want of a supply of cheap replacement filters. An immobile tank is a sitting target; potentially with not only for an easy kill but the loss of a crew. It is a disgrace because if you can't get your armour on to the battlefield (pre-UA) then you have no all-arms and a much, much harder time conducting operations. It is a disgrace because you can't sell tanks to the M.E. if they don't work well there (hence no export sales of note). It is a disgrace because it was known about from CR1 to CR2. Ultimately, it is a small part of why the UK now has no domestic tank manufacturing capability and is finally getting a hybrid Leo II from Rheinmetall. The question there is will CR3 have this disgraceful problem too?

It's the colour, modern war is about greens not dessert 🎉

😎👍

Hopefully, the Minister of Defence heard the soldiers' concerns about how to appropriately address these issues with the newer Challenger 3.

Challenger Challenged?

Bradley’s have outperformed tanks in Ukraine…

All 150 of them. Sad

Too much Spice!