"James Cartlidge, Minister of State for Defence Procurement, clarified in a parliamentary hearing on March 11, 2024, that the Challenger 3 will have the Caterpillar CV12-9A engine, which produces 1200hp. This means that even with the HAAIP program, the CV12-9A engine will remain at 1200hp, not 1500hp.
This was also confirmed by Baroness Annabel Goldie, the UK’s Secretary of State for Defense until 2023. In a UK parliamentary hearing on January 9, 2020, she explained that the purpose of the HAAIP program was not to increase engine horsepower. Instead, the goal was to standardize the engine across different vehicles, such as the Challenger 2, Challenger Armored Repair and Recovery Vehicle (CRARRV), and Trojan AEV, which previously used different engines (CV12-6A and CV12-8A).”
“The Heavy Armour Automotive Improvement Programme (HAAIP) will provide improvements for the heavy armour fleet including Challenger 2, Challenger Armoured Recovery Vehicle, Titan and Trojan. The HAAIP will deliver a common engine and suspension across all variants which will substantially enhance reliability. In addition, Warrior is being upgraded through the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme which will significantly enhance reliability.”
At the end of 2022, when this tweet was made, there was just the TD, carried forward from LEP. The first actual CR3 prototype was revealed in January of this year at IAV.
I mean Parliament, especially under Sunak, outputted so much dross that it was barely worth acknowledging. I mean right before election they went “hey look! we promise we’re taking defence seriously! we’re gonna build some boats! new ones!”
To which pretty much everyone who cared to notice pointed out that they were doing the bare minimum, i.e. replacing our current ones
