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G’day lads! I’m here to suggest a future Challenger 2 variant for the British tech tree, the Challenger 2 Streetfighter II!
Description:
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The Challenger 2 Streetfighter II represents a sophisticated evolution of the British Army’s Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank , specifically tailored for urban warfare. It boasts a variety of enhancements to increase its destructive power, including upgraded machine guns that offer superior fire support for infantry on foot. The biggest “attraction” of this upgrade would be the addition of Brimstone missiles, engineered to take down heavily fortified land vehicles from a considerable distance. The Streetfighter design also prioritizes situational awareness for crew members and infantry alike. This is facilitated by advanced communication systems that enable seamless interaction between those inside the tank and ground forces, as well as an array of cameras offering a comprehensive 360-degree external view. The objective of these modifications is to boost the tank’s destructive capacity, situational awareness, and collaboration between infantry and tank units. The Streetfighter II was put to the test not that long ago at Copehill Down Village on Salisbury Plain, the UK’s urban operations facility, where it underwent a series of trials in an urban combat scenario with various upgrades provided by industry collaborators. Initiated in 2018, the Streetfighter project continues to progress and refine its design based on the insights gained from these trials. It should be noted that it gets no upgrades for its armour and mobility, as its the same as the normal Challenger 2’s!
History:
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The Challenger 2 Streetfighter II is a unique prototype that represents a significant evolution in the British Army’s tank technology. The original Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank was developed between 1986 and 1991, and over 400 units were produced in total. However, as the design aged, there was a need for improvement and modernization.
The Streetfighter II project was launched in 2018 to address these needs. This project aimed to enhance the tank’s performance in urban combat scenarios, a capability gap identified between the British Army’s forces and adversaries. The Streetfighter II, therefore, features a range of upgrades to improve lethality, situational awareness, and infantry-tank cooperation.
One of the key upgrades is the addition of a Brimstone anti-tank guided missile system, designed to neutralize heavily armoured land platforms at long-range. The tank also features an enhanced camera suite, providing a 360-degree view of the area outside the tank. This greatly improves the ability of both mounted and dismounted personnel to understand their environment. It also can deploy its own ground based drone!
The vehicle was not long ago trialled at the UK’s urban operations facility at Copehill Down Village on Salisbury Plain. There, the Streetfighter was tested in an urban combat environment with a range of upgrades from industry partners. This trial built on the experience of the project that began in 2018.
The Streetfighter II project continues to evolve and improve based on these trials, demonstrating the British Army’s commitment to maintaining a cutting-edge tank fleet.
Armaments:
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120mm L30A1 cannon (can fire the same rounds the current Challenger 2’s can fire in the game!)
12.7mm Browning machine gun
7.62mm L94A1 coaxial chain gun
7.62mm L37A2 machine gun
and of course;
2 Brimstone AGMs (unknown if any are stored inside the tank)
Features 3 modes:
Mode 1: Semi-Active Laser (SAL) guidance, to engage static
targets with limited or no radar cross section (RCS)
Mode 2: Both SAL and Millimetric Wave radar guidance for fast
moving targets in cluttered environments
Mode 3: Fire-and-forget simultaneous target engagement
It can go as fast as Mach 1.8. While it is not known how much exact penetration it has, it does have tandem and was reported to be better than the AGM-65G, so calculating the size of the missile, it will be at least 800mm of penetration.
Mobility:
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As mentioned above in the description, the Streetfighter upgrade provides no additional improvements with armour, as well as mobility, as it uses the same Challenger 2 armour and engines! So it keeps the same Perkins CV12-6A V12 going 1200 HP, aswell as its David Brown TN54E automatic transmission giving it 59km/h max speed that the current Chally 2’s also have in game!
Electronics:
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The Street Fighter carries the IronVision platform, which was trialled first time in early December 2019 with the Street Fighter, it was one of the parts of the situational awareness upgrades
The IronVision system is a significant feature of the Challenger 2 Streetfighter II. Developed by Elbit Systems, IronVision is a situational awareness system that has been integrated into the tank to enhance its operational capabilities.
IronVision works by pulling together feeds from various cameras located outside the tank and converting them into a single picture. This allows the tank operator to see a different view of the outside of the vehicle simply by turning their head, rather than having to cycle through different camera feeds on a screen.
This system provides the tank operators with a 360° vision around the vehicle with zero latency. This greatly improves the survivability of the tank crew by enhancing their awareness of their surroundings.
Sources:
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https://www.army-technology.com/features/streetfighter-challenger-2/?cf-view
https://www.mbda-systems.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2018-BRIMSTONE-datasheet-2.pdf
https://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2022/11/brimstone-guided-missile/#Brimstone_2
Modernization of MBT Challenger 2 for urban conditions
IronVision trialled on Challenger 2 Streetfighter II | Jane's 360
Thanks a lot for reading! If you find more info about the Street Fighter II, feel free to put it in the replies!
