Challenger 2 TES

Challenger 2 TES

Challenger 2 (2F)

Black Night

Challenger 2 TES

Challenger 2 (2F)

Black Night

Britain

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
11.7	11.7	11.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:175 000

Purchase:950 000

Description

The Challenger 2 TES (2008) is a rank VII British medium tank with a battle rating of 11.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Winged Lions".

General info

Survivability and armour

ERA

Effective action against the cumulative ammunition

Composite armour

Balanced protection against all types of ammunition

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

ESS

Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull130 / 38 / 50

Turret270 / 80 / 58

Crew4 people

Visibility88 %

The Challenger 2 TES has the armour that would be expected of the name (TES - Theatre Entry Standard). The tank has been updated to meet the modern theatres of war, including streetfighting and more effective chemical munitions and kinetic weapons. The ERA on the sides displays this exact line of thought. The tank now boasts some of the most effective ERA in the game, beating the T-90A's frontal chemical protection by over 500 mm of effective thickness.

Equipped with the iconic jammer plate mounted to the roof, this tank will be easy to spot and identify, so one should take care to cover their weak points with extra care, as many will know where the weaknesses are, and feel pressured to shoot them due to the increased armour elsewhere. The tank retains the same weakspots; the gun mantlet, driver's port and the lower frontal plate, though it is less vulnerable to chemical munitions now. The gun breech will most likely block spalling from any penetrating round, allowing TES players to retreat and repair their breech, should they be far enough away from danger.

When opposing enemy tanks, commanders should attempt to angle their tank slightly, as the composite side screens can take most of the brunt of lower power kinetic rounds (M111, DM33) at an angle. Chemical rounds will also fail to penetrate when hitting any ERA on the side. Angling has the added bonus of making the driver's port less effective as a means of knocking out the tank's crew.

Armour type:

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	38-50 mm (56-83°) Upper Plate 70 mm (31-34°) Lower Glacis 60 mm (0-80°) Driver's Port	25 mm Top (70°) 25 mm Middle (0°) 38 mm Bottom (0°)	25 mm (32°)	10-20 mm
Turret	38 - 50 mm (56-82°) Turret Front 30 mm (3-82°) Gun Mantlet	20-25 mm (8-10°)	20 mm (18°)	10-38 mm
Cupola	8 mm (3-78°)	8 mm (9-60°)	8 mm (1-80°)	44-60 mm
Composite Armour	Front	Sides
Hull	Upper Kinetic: 420-700 mm Chemical: 800-1100 mm Lower Kinetic: 100-270 mm Chemical: 130-800 mm	Ext. Composite Screen with ERA: Kinetic: 88 mm Chemical: 1900 mm
Turret	Turret Cheeks Kinetic: 440-720 mm Chemical: 780-1000 mm	Internal Composite Kinetic: 190-740 mm Chemical: 300-1000 mm Ext. ERA: Kinetic: 30 mm Chemical: 222 mm

Notes:

• Upper Frontal Plate has additional 6.35 mm external structural steel plate.
• Lower Frontal Plate has additional composite with NERA elements, which is very effective against chemical munitions.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB66 / 42 km/h

RB and SB60 / 38 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

4 back

Weight74.8 t

Engine power

AB2 322 hp

RB and SB1 217 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB31.0 hp/t

RB and SB16.3 hp/t

Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	66	42	74.8	1886	2,322	25.21	31.04
Realistic	60	38		1076	1,217	14.39	16.27

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 343 → 6 857

RB4 245 → 6 702

SB5 369 → 8 477

Total cost of modifications279 500

461 000

Talisman cost3 000

Crew training270 000

Experts950 000

Aces2 200

Research Aces1 210 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

150 / 190 / 210 %

244 / 244 / 244 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 300 Suspension Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 330 Brake System Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 330 Filters Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 480 Transmission Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400 Engine Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400	Improved Parts Research: 3 600 Cost: 19 000 300 Improved FPE Research: 3 900 Cost: 20 000 330 Crew Replenishment Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 480 ESS Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400	Horizontal Drive Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 300 120mm_britain_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 300 120mm_britain_L26_APDSFS_ammo_pack Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 300 Adjustment of Fire Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 330 NVD Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 330 Elevation Mechanism Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 480 Smoke grenade Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 480 Laser rangefinder Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400 120mm_britain_L27_APDSFS_ammo_pack Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400 Artillery Support Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Night vision device

Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Thermal imager

Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

120 mm L30A1 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition49 rounds

First-order4 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

6.5 → 5.0 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 20°

120 mm L30A1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	50	-10°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	29.5	40.8	49.6	54.8	58.4	6.50	5.75	5.30	5.00
Realistic					18.4	21.7	26.4	29.1	31.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Shot L23A1	APFSDS	396	394	387	376	367	357
Shell L31A7	HESH	152	152	152	152	152	152
L26	APFSDS	493	491	487	481	474	468
L27A1	APFSDS	564	562	557	551	545	538

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Shot L23A1	APFSDS	1,535	3.89	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°
Shell L31A7	HESH	670	17.1	0.1	4	6,560	73°	77°	80°
L26	APFSDS	1,650	4.1	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°
L27A1	APFSDS	1,650	4.1	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
L34	670	17.1	20	5	25	50

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
50	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Machine guns

7.62 mm L37A2 machine gun

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition1 600 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate650 shots/min

7.62 mm L94A1 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition4 000 rounds

Belt capacity2 000 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate600 shots/min

7.62 mm L37A2
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	1,700 (100)	650	-10°/+50°	±180°

7.62 mm L94A1
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	2,300 (2,000)	600	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Impressive chemical protection on the front and sides.
• Maintains the kinetic protection from previous variants, with improvements in places.
• Very accurate L30A1 120 mm gun.
• Fast reload, down to 5.0 seconds with an aced crew.

Cons:

• No composite plates behind the ERA panels on the turret sides
• Heaviest MBT in the game with a very poor hp/ton ratio; very poor acceleration
• Same ammunition options as the previous Challenger 2s
• Maintains the same weakspots from previous variants.
• No CITV (Commander Independent Thermal Viewer).
• L27A1 has low penetration compared to other top rank NATO ammunition.
• The increase in armour only protects against chemical based shells and offers marginal protection to APFSDS shells

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

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• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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