The British Challenger 3 tank and the Russian T-14 «Armata» are two fundamentally different approaches to armored vehicle design. But the development of the company Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land has an advantage, according to military expert Steve Balestrieri in an article for 19fortyfive.
The main problem of the previous generation Challenger 2 tank was the L30A1 rifled gun. Its solution was the adoption of a 120 mm L55A1 smoothbore gun from Rheinmetall.
The T-14 «Armata» is a microcosm of the Russian army. Overhyped but problematic, its production has practically ceased. The tank was not used in combat.
In 2021, Rheinmetall received an order from the UK Ministry of Defense to modernize 148 Challenger 3 main battle tanks. It was about improving the turret, armor, active protection system, and aiming system of armored vehicles.
The T-14 «Armata» boasted a number of technological innovations that, on paper, indicated the superiority of the tank. Unlike the Challenger 3, the T-14 has an unmanned turret, which reduces the crew to three people. Its 125-mm smoothbore gun fires both conventional ammunition and anti-tank guided missiles.
According to the author, the T-14 «is technologically ambitious and theoretically quite impressive». The tank received the «Afganit» active protection.
Russia probably has 50 T-14 tanks. Why do Russian commanders not like to use it in battle? Knowing this, I would give preference to the British Challenger 3.
Read more on the topic:
The National Interest: Russia is afraid of losing its «too valuable» T-14 «Armata» tank
T-90 and T-14 «Armata» entered the top ten tanks in the world