Britain's armed forces are set to receive a new main battle tank that defence officials believe will surpass anything Vladimir Putin's military can field in combat.
The Challenger 3 represents a joint Anglo-German venture expected to deliver 148 vehicles at a total cost of nearly £1billion.
Each tank costs roughly £6million and weighs 66 tons, capable of reaching 37mph whilst travelling up to 300 miles on a single tank of fuel.
Construction is currently underway at a Telford facility operated by Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land.
The first vehicles are anticipated to enter operational service next year, with deployment across three regiments: the King's Royal Hussars, Queen's Royal Hussars and the Royal Tank Regiment.
The most significant upgrade is the Rheinmetall L55A1 smoothbore gun, a German-manufactured weapon replacing the older rifled 120mm barrel on the Challenger 2.
This new armament delivers greater explosive capability than any previous British main battle tank and opens access to advanced Nato munitions that were previously incompatible with UK armour.
The gun can launch high-velocity projectiles capable of penetrating enemy tanks from a distance of three miles, travelling at nearly five times the speed of sound.
A Challenger 3 Main Battle Tank is displayed at the Ministry of Defence UK Capability Showcase
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Challenger 3 can also deploy sophisticated programmable ammunition, including airburst rounds, time-delayed explosives and point-detonation shells.
A new digital sensor array enables improved coordination with other armoured vehicles and future unmanned aerial systems.
The tank's defensive systems include Israeli-manufactured Active Protection Systems that provide complete 360-degree shielding against anti-tank missiles, grenades and drone attacks.
Nick Berchem, a retired tank commander with three decades of British Army service who now works at RBSL, said: "[Challenger 3] will overmatch all current defence or current armour defences.
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Challenger 3 can also deploy sophisticated programmable ammunition, including airburst rounds, time-delayed explosives and point-detonation shells
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He added: "Everybody globally will agree it's the best armour in the world, the levels of protection are spectacular."
Col Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former tank commander who tested the vehicle on Telford's mile-long track, described it as "a mightily impressive tank".
He said: "What sets it aside is its levels of protection and that it is a full digital platform which should enable it to control a multiplicity of drones and autonomous ground vehicles which are having such an impact in Ukraine."
Critics have questioned whether tanks remain relevant given the proliferation of inexpensive suicide drones that have destroyed numerous armoured vehicles during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including at least two British Challenger 2s donated to Kyiv in 2023.
The most significant upgrade is the Rheinmetall L55A1 smoothbore gun, a German-manufactured weapon replacing the older rifled 120mm barrel on the Challenger 2
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However, developers maintain the upgraded vehicle can repel swarm attacks using its new defensive systems.
The Challenger 3 is positioned as a rival to Russia's T-14 Armata, a programme plagued by manufacturing difficulties and cost overruns.
In 2015, an Armata famously stalled on Red Square during a Victory Day parade rehearsal, and British military intelligence reported in 2023 that Russian troops considered the tanks in "poor condition".
A senior Army officer involved in the project told The Telegraph: "Ukraine has proved beyond doubt that while the battlefield has changed and is changing, there is a place for armour."