- Yes
- No
Background
The Challenger 2E tank, a variant of the British Challenger 2, was developed in the mid-late 90s and early 2000s specifically for the export market, with significant enhancements aimed at appealing to international customers. This model focused on performance improvements around an enhanced fire control system and improved engine power (the 1500hp Euro Powerpack). The development of the Challenger 2E was part of the UK’s efforts to showcase its capabilities in producing state-of-the-art military equipment suitable for varied operational requirements.
The earliest versions of the Challenger 2E, during 1995-1996, were also known as the Desert Challenger. The Desert Challenger, so named due to the UKs efforts to market the vehicle towards the wealthy Gulf States, was a modified prototype of the Challenger 2 MBT, which, as already stated, features a 1,500hp MTU engine coupled to a RENK HSWL transmission, providing a top speed of up to 72kph, with an emergency boost available to reach 80kph.
The earliest iterations of the Challenger 2E, the Desert Challenger, can be differentiated from later versions by the presence of a dedicated drivers camera, discernable as a small circular hole in the frontal hull, as shown below.
The Desert Challenger/Challenger 2E was demonstrated by Vickers with a sizeable range of modifications and variations, including the above drivers camera. This variant being suggested here is a late(ish) model of the Challenger 2E (having removed the drivers camera), being equipped with the French SAGEM IRIS Commanders sight, the same as the one as installed on the Leclerc MBT, as well as various other prototypes. This is an advanced commanders sight, offering a panoramic view, an inbuilt stabilised laser rangefinder, and thermal imaging.
This suggestion is for the Challenger 2E (IRIS) as operated and marketed by Vickers. Various iterations of the Challenger 2E got offered to various Middle Eastern countries/gulf states, as well as Greece in 1998, and although these attempts at marketing are generally fairly poorly recorded, they are understood to have been firmly unsuccessful, with the Desert Challenger/ Challenger 2E being marketed until around 2005, when development ceased.
How does this differ from other variants of the Desert Challenger/Challenger 2E?
This variant is unique in that it lacks the drivers camera (as shown above), but has the SAGEM IRIS commanders sight, offering high-resolution thermal imaging, meaning that it will have lack drivers thermals but offer high-resolution commanders thermals. It also completely lacks the redesigned breech and gunners sight, as seen on the most modern Challenger 2E, as we currently have in-game.
Specifications
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Images
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Comparison of commanders sights across different variants of the Desert Challenger/Challenger 2E
Sources
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Desert Challenger, Challenger 2, and CRARRV Demonstration, 20th September 1995, to the Royal Saudi Armed Forces (available here)
Jane’s Armour and Artillery 1995-1996 (available here)
Jane’s Armour and Artillery Upgrades 2002 (available here)
SAGEM IRIS Brochure (available here)
Additional SAGEM IRIS Brochure (available here)
Challenger 2E Brochure
Jane’s International Defence Review - March 1999 - Pg. 8
Military Technology - September 2000 - Pg. 120 - 121