Black Night

2023-08-24T11:28:07Z

U6672665: Changed smoke grenades from 4 salvos to 5 salvos

{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_challenger_2_bn
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} British medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Wind of Change"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}


'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (turret inner wall, hatches)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 38 mm (79-82°) ''Upper glacis - Top'' 50 mm (60°) ''Upper glacis - Bottom'' 70 mm (28°) ''Lower glacis'' 60 mm ''Driver hatch''|| 25+38 mm ''Top - Front'' 25+50 mm ''Top - Rear'' 38 mm (14°) + 4 mm ''Bottom'' || 50 mm (30°) || 38 mm (10°) ''Front glacis'' 20 mm ''Fighting compartment'' 25 mm (16-20°) ''Sides'' 10 mm ''Engine vents''
|-
| Turret || 50+50+38 mm (50°) 30 mm (0-52°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 10+38 mm (7°) ''Front'' 20+38 mm (7°) ''Rear'' || 20 mm (17°) + 38 mm (7°) || 38 mm (8-15°) ''Front '' 38+10 mm ''Centre'' 25 mm (7°) ''Rear''
|-
| Cupola || 60 mm || 60 mm || 60 mm || 44 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels, tracks, and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.
* Belly armour is 16 mm thick.
* A 5 mm internal plate separates the crew from the engine.
* Ammunition is surrounded by 5 mm casings
* A 25 mm plate separates the driver from the crew compartment.
* Additional composite armour is as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Composite armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides
|-
| Hull || '''Upper''' Kinetic: 420-1,000 mm Chemical: 700-950 mm '''Lower''' Kinetic: 100-400 mm Chemical: 350-570 mm
!
|-
| Turret || '''Cheeks''' Kinetic: 440-720 mm Chemical: 780-1,000 mm ||'''Internal Composite''' Kinetic: 190-740 mm Chemical: 300-1,000 mm
|-
|}

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,886|rbMinHp=1,076}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|L30A1 (120 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[L30A1 (120 mm)|120 mm L30A1]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 50 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 29.5 || 40.9 || 49.6 || 54.9 || 58.4 || rowspan="2" | 6.50 || rowspan="2" | 5.75 || rowspan="2" | 5.30 || rowspan="2" | 5.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 18.4 || 21.7 || 26.4 || 29.1 || 31.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:L30A1 (120 mm)/Ammunition|Shot L23A1, L34, Shell L31A7, L26, L27A1}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_Challenger_2.png|right|thumb|x350px|[[Ammo racks]] of the Challenger 2]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! Ammo part
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
|-
| '''50''' ||''Projectiles'' ''Propellants'' || 48 ''(+2)'' 45 ''(+5)'' || 45 ''(+5)'' 39 ''(+11)'' || 43 ''(+7)'' 31 ''(+19)'' || 41 ''(+9)'' 22 ''(+28)''
|-
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| 34 ''(+16)'' 14 ''(+36)'' || 29 ''(+21)'' 5 ''(+45)'' || 5 ''(+45)'' 1 ''(+49)'' || 4 ''(+46)'' N/A || 1 ''(+49)'' N/A || No
|-
|}
{{Clear}}

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|L37A2 (7.62 mm)|L94A1 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[L37A2 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L37A2]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 1,700 (100) || 650 || -10°/+25° || -90°/+50°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[L94A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm L94A1]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 4,000 (2,000) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

In summary, the Black Night plays in a similar way to the base Challenger 2. This is due to having the same armour configuration, without the option of add-on armour. Where the Black Night differs however is the active protection system. This APS will protect the vehicle well not only from ground launched missiles, but also from air launched missiles provided they are not above the systems maximum elevation.

The Black Night will perform best as a sniper or support tank. With the modern thermal systems and laser rangefinder, locating and ranging at long distance is precise. As with the other Challengers, playing hull down is ideal.

Where playing at range is not an option, such as urban maps, care should be taken to cover the hull as much as possible. Covering the hull can be achieved by using other vehicles or terrain. Where there is no cover available, the Black Night is best played slowly, taking time to ensure locations are clear before pushing into them.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Has a highly effective APS (Active Protection System) which can defend against ATGMs
* It has 20 smoke grenades with 5 salvos
* The Black Night has modern thermal systems equipped in the gunner view and commander view with a high resolution
* It comes equipped with a laser warning system which can give an idea of where an enemy might be attacking from

'''Cons:'''

* Only 2 x rifle-calibre machine guns
* The engine is rather weak leading to poor acceleration and mobility
* Large weak spots in armour and poor placement of ammo and charges in the tank limit the survivability

== History ==

The Black Night demonstrator was BAE System's bid for the Challenger 2 Life Extension Programme contract, prior to the forming of the Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) joint venture company in July 2019.

The Black Night was fully unveiled in October 2018 and showed a focus on improving the technology of the vehicle, with a Safran PASEO panoramic Commander Primary Sight, a generation 3 Leonardo thermal imaging system (still mounted in the housing above the main gun), a laser warning system, the Iron Fist Hardkill Active Protection System, regenerative braking in the turret ring, and a new fire control system. The armour and firepower were retained from the base Challenger 2, as was the powerpack.

Rheinmetall's proposal was revealed in January 2019, featuring the Rh 120 mm L/55 gun (L55A1 in British use) and a completely new turret. When RBSL was formed, an internal decision was made in favour of Rheinmetall's design, which was seen again at DSEI 2019, putting the Black Night proposal to rest. The MoD confirmed the signing of a £800M (~$1.1B at the time) contract with RBSL for Challenger 3 using Rheinmetall's design on 7th May 2021.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=uk_challenger_2_bn Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== See also ==


* [[Challenger 2 (Family)]]

== External links ==

''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Britain medium tanks}}
[[Category:Ground vehicles with active protection system]]

War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

Black Night