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Chieftain 2000 Demonstrator at Witham Specialist Vehicles Ltd in December 2009
The Chieftain 2000 Demonstrator is part of a very much forgotten upgrade program for the Chieftain Main Battle Tank which has very little information regarding it both online and in books, this suggestion is on the Demonstrator, not the final product as it was the only tank that was (albeit partially) upgraded
Chieftain 2000 Demonstrator at Lulworth firing ranges in 1993
History:
The story of the Chieftain 2000 project goes back to the 1980’s with Chieftain 800, which was a private venture by Royal Ordnance to sell a Chieftain upgrade package on the export market, it included a new Rolls-Royce/Perkins CV-12 Condor 800hp engine (As used on Challenger 1 but at 1200 hp) and an automatic gearbox, it was displayed at the British Army Equipment Exhibition (BAEE) in 1980 but had no success
Then in late 1981 another project was started this time called Chieftain 900, which had the same engine but uprated to 900hp, a new fire control system of the customers choosing, thin metal cladding over the hull and turret intended to house the new Chobham armour (though it was never installed) and other improvements, Chieftain 800 was also given the cladding to look like Chieftain 900 and both were sent to BAEE in 1982 but once again had no sales and the project was abandoned by 1986
At some point Chieftain 800 and 900 were allocated to SEME Bordon Technical Training Area in an attempt to reduce the number of Challenger 1s diverted for training, and in 1988 Chieftain 800 was donated to the Bovington tank museum where it still resides today
Chieftain 900 with Marconi Centaur fire control system and additional sights installed during trials at Bovington in January 1991
On the other hand, Chieftain 900 was sent to GEC-Marconi Radar and Defence Systems in late 1990-early 1991 who modified it to be used as a testbed for the Marconi Centaur fire control system (used in the Vickers MBT Mk 7, Engesa’s Osório, VFM 5 and partly in Challenger 2)
In addition, they added the Marconi GCE 628 all-electric gun control and stabilisation equipment which increased the traverse and elevation speed, an unnamed SFIM stabilised sight for the gunner (possibly the VS 580 VICAS), SFIM VS 580 stabilised panoramic sight for the commander and a SFIM VS 580-30 Casimir stabilised thermal sight on the loaders side that injected the thermal view into both gunner and commander sights, also installed was a Hughes Leitz automatic muzzle reference system, after the conversion was done it was sent to Bovington to undergo firing trials in January and then shown to UK and foreign military personnel in the spring
At some point Chieftain 900 had its turret swapped for that of a Challenger 1s and was then sent to the Lulworth firing ranges to be used as a hard target where it may still be today
Chieftain 900 with Challenger 1 turret at Lulworth waiting to be used as a target
In the 1990’s Pakistan was looking for modern tanks to replace their old T-54’s/Type59/69’s while they wait for their new Al Khalid to finish development, as a previous deal for Polish T-72M1s stagnated Britain saw an opportunity to sell surplus Chieftain tanks that were leaving service after decades of use, and so in 1993 a British consortium consisting of GEC-Marconi, Royal Ordnance, Vickers, and Perkins Engines offered Pakistan up to 300 second-hand Chieftain Mk 10 and 11s
To have any hope of Pakistan buying Chieftains that were woefully obsolete by then, the consortium decided to upgrade them to a standard they called Chieftain 2000 which kept the Stillbrew armour, replaced the fire control system with the Marconi Centaur, added either a new thermal camera in place of the old infrared searchlight of the Mk 10/Thermal Observation Gunnery Sight (TOGS) of the Mk 11 which would be shared between the gunner and commander or independent thermal channels integrated into both sights, a panoramic stabilised sight for the commander, a laser warning system, uprated gearbox and the same 800 hp CV-12 Condor engine as installed in Chieftain 800
The deal would include a technology transfer that would allow Heavy Industries Taxila, a Pakistani state owned defence manufacturer to carry out some of the upgrades in Pakistan
Additional options included improved hull armour, suspension reinforcement with Air-Log hydro struts, a panoramic gunners sight, more advanced ammunition or replacing the existing gun with the L30A1 which is used in Challenger 2, although without the option for Pakistan to produce its depleted uranium ammo
At some point in 1993 to show off some of the upgrades, a single Chieftain with the Equipment Registration Mark of 03 EB 35, which started life in 01/05/1967 as a Chieftain Mk 2 and served with the Royal Armoured Corps centre at Bovington, Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, 15/19th Kings Own Hussars and 1st Royal Tank Regiment and in later life was modified to Mk 11 standard, had Chieftain 900s turret with the panoramic thermal sight removed, mounted on it to be used as a demonstrator as it already had the Marconi Centaur fire control system fitted, also installed were the improved engine and gearbox, once completed the tank was sent to the Lulworth firing ranges for trials
Interior views of the modified Chieftain 900 turret showing the Marconi Centaur fire control system
Chieftain 2000 Demonstrator at Lulworth firing ranges in 1993
After the conversion and trials were finished it was displayed at the newly combined Royal Navy & British Army Equipment Exhibition (RNBAEE) at Aldershot on 5-10th September 1993
Chieftain 2000 Demonstrator at the Royal Navy & British Army Equipment Exhibition 1993
However, the deal seems to have fallen through by 1994-95 and the trail goes cold until around 2009 when Witham Specialist Vehicles Ltd acquires the Chieftain 2000 Demonstrator and is subsequently put up for auction where it is sold
On the 3rd of November 2011 the tank was spotted inside a yard owned at the time by Renocon Ltd, a concrete contractor in East London alongside several other tanks and AFVs, one being a rusty T-34 85, from this it seems the Chieftain 2000 Demonstrator is now in a private collection somewhere, maybe still in the UK or perhaps in America or the Middle east
Chieftain 2000 Demonstrator at Witham Specialist Vehicles Ltd in November 2009
Chieftain 2000 Demonstrator in the yard of Renocon Ltd in November 2011
Vehicle specifications:
Main armament: 120 mm Ordnance BL Tk. L11A5 cannon (Unknown how many rounds carried)
Secondary armament: 7.62 mm L8A1 machine gun
Protection: Standard Chieftain Mk 10/11 chassis with Stillbrew on the hull roof in front of the turret ring, regular Chieftain turret with thin steel cladding on the front and sides to house Chobham armour that was never fitted, would act as spaced armour in game
Weight: Unknown
Engine: Perkins CV-12 Condor at 800hp
Transmission: David Brown TN12 (6 forward and 2 reverse gears)
Power to weight ratio: Unknown
Top speed: Unknown
Gunners sight: Unnamed SFIM stabilised sight, possibly the VS 580 VICAS
Commanders sight: SFIM VS 580
In game:
The Chieftain 2000 Demonstrator would essentially just be a Chieftain Mk 10 with the Stillbrew on the hull roof but not on the turret and instead having spaced armour, no smoke grenades, faster gun elevation and turret traverse, a stabilized commanders sight and more powerful engine, despite a downgrade armour-wise it somewhat makes up for it in the gun laying and mobility department
Images:
Close-up photos of the Chieftain 2000 Demonstrator at Witham’s, courtesy of Rob Griffin
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Upgraded Chieftain 900 (same turret as 2000 minus a sight)
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Note to devs, Bovington tank museum has more photos of Chieftain 2000 in their archive
Sources:
Chieftain Main Battle Tank Owners Workshop Manual
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Chieftain by Rob Griffin
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Jane’s International Defense Review November 1993
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Jane’s Defence Weekly 13th March 1993
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Jane’s Defence Weekly 1st May 1993
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Jane’s Armour and Artillery 1991-92
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Jane’s Armour and Artillery Upgrades 1995-96
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British Defence Equipment Catalogue 1993-1994
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Bovington tank museum information panel for Chieftain 800, the last paragraph is incorrect
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Museum Ordnance: The Magazine for the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum July 1993
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Armada International June 1993
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Hrvatski Vojnik 12 kolovoza 1994 (Croatian soldier 12th August 1994)