The development of British post-war tanks was basically the same.

Starting with the Centurion, going to the Chieftain; then to the Chieftain-900 (Iranian Lion); followed by Challenger-1 and Challenger-2.

It can be said that the difference between Challenger-2 and Chieftain is much smaller than the difference between Leopard-2A6 and Leopard-1.

Since the first Challenger-1 main battle tank was equipped with the British Army in March 1983, the outside world has always had a low evaluation of the Challenger-1. The main criticisms focus on fire control and maneuverability. Due to the Challenger-1’s fire

The control system was improved from the Chieftain main battle tank. Its precision and comprehensive performance are not as good as those of the M1/Leopard-II. It has not performed satisfactorily in previous NATO tank shooting competitions, and its first-time hit rate is not high.

At the Canadian "Army Cup" (also known as the "Silver Cup") tank gun shooting competition held in 1987, Challenger-1 competed with M1 and Leopard-2 on the same stage.

As a result of the competition, the hit rate of the M1 tank gun reached 94%, that of the Leopard-2 was 92%, and that of the Challenger-1 was only 75%; the average firing time of each round was 9.1 seconds for the M1 and 9.6 seconds for the Leopard-2

, while Challenger-1 is as long as 12.61 seconds.

Comparing the two results, the Challenger-1 tank has a clear gap.

This made the tank crews of the Royal Hussars, who had trained for several months and fired 6,585 rounds of artillery shells, even more humiliated.

The Challenger-1's power system also has problems with reliability. Coupled with its extraordinary combat weight, it goes without saying that its maneuverability is much lower than that of the M1 and Leopard-2.

Like the M1A1 main battle tank, the Challenger-1 received its baptism of fire for the first time in the first Gulf War in 1991.

Although the maneuverability is not as good as that of the M1A1, the Challenger-1's firepower and protection are no less than the former.

The main participating units of the British Army are the 7th Armored Brigade of the 1st Armored Division (the brigade is known as the Desert Rats) and the 4th Mechanized Infantry Brigade. It is equipped with 157 Challenger-1 main battle tanks (and another

12 Challenger-1 armored rescue vehicles participated in the battle), serving as the most important left wing of the coalition's ground offensive - crossing the Inan Desert, cutting off the Iraqi army's retreat route towards Baghdad, and capturing the Iraqi armored forces, especially the most elite of the Iraqi army.

*** and National Guard.

On May 25, the 7th Armored Brigade of the British Army came into contact with two armored brigades of the Iraqi Army. The Challenger-1 tanks of this division showed their talents in actual combat for the first time, severely defeating the Iraqi troops.

The next day, the 7th Armored Brigade continued to advance rapidly toward Kuwait City, the capital of Kuwait. Along the way, Challenger-1 still overwhelmingly attacked the Iraqi armored forces on the road.

During this day's battle, a Challenger-1 used a thermal imager to kill an Iraqi T-55 tank 5,100 meters away. This was the longest successful hunt for a coalition tank in the Gulf War ground battle.

Take full advantage of the long-range accuracy advantage of the rifled gun.

Throughout the Persian Gulf War, the Challenger-1 destroyed more than 300 Iraqi tanks and armored vehicles of various types, and only one Challenger-1 was destroyed.

During the Gulf War, the British Army further strengthened the protective capabilities of the Challenger-1, including the installation of high-explosive reactive armor manufactured by the Royal Ordnance Factory on the front of the vehicle and the front of the turret. The original side skirts were also developed by Vickers.

Passive armor skirts were replaced; in addition, the Challenger-1 participating in the war was also equipped with the newly developed L-26 wing-stabilized sabot armor-piercing projectile newly developed by the Royal Ordnance Factory (this projectile was originally designed for the new generation of Challenger-2 tanks, and the shell power

A significant increase compared to the original L-23A1).

Objectively speaking, Challenger-1's performance in the Gulf War left a deep impression on people.

However, the ground combat results of the Gulf War are not enough to evaluate the true combat strength of a certain type of tank. There are many factors that caused the Iraqi army's rout. The performance advantage of the coalition tanks is only one aspect, and it is not even the decisive factor.

In addition, a large part of the Iraqi tanks destroyed by Challenger-1 and M1A1 tanks were old tanks from the 1960s, 1970s or even the 1950s, and the two sides were not at the same level at all.

This one-sided battlefield situation and the competition between tanks with generational differences in performance are obviously not enough to judge the true performance of the Challenger-1 tank.

After the Gulf War, arms dealers from various countries have become optimistic about the large market in the Middle East, and the United Kingdom is naturally not lagging behind.

However, due to the better performance of the M1A1 in the Gulf War (or the Americans' propaganda campaign was more in place and the advertising was more effective), and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were grateful to the United States, they successively ordered a large number of them.

M1A2 main battle tanks (315 in Saudi Arabia and 218 in Kuwait); at this time, France's new main battle tank Leclerc surfaced, and Germany also took the opportunity to launch the Leopard-2A5/A6 main battle tank, and both obtained

Order (The United Arab Emirates has ordered 436 Leclerc tanks and supporting armored rescue vehicles. In the commercial war among European countries to purchase new main battle tanks, the militaries of Sweden, Spain, Denmark, and Austria have favored Germany's Leopard-2A5/A6 tanks.

, making the Leopard-2 tank almost a "European tank").

In contrast, the Challenger-2 main battle tank launched by the UK is lackluster. The UK only received an order for 36 Challenger-2s from Oman, which is only a fraction of others.