Challenger and Chieftian question

[wodin]

Looking at the two tanks it seems the Chieftian MK 2 came out 3 years after the Challenger yet has less armour and slower speed and the weapon systems seem more or less the same Challenger has a 7.62mm Hughes and the Chieftian a 7.62 L8A1 (no idea what the big difference between the two is though except one fires further and has AD capability)..why bring out another MBT thats worse than the previous one?

Also what would be great is if the game also has info\description on the actual weapon systems and even the armour types and other equipment that a sub unit has. Alot of it means nothing to me at all.

[2ndACR]

I would have to brush back up, but IIRC, when Challenger was fielded they had a tone of Chieftan tanks fielded, pretty sure they might be counting it as an upgrade. Sort of like what we did in the US with all out M60 MBTs

[Mad Russian]

ORIGINAL: wodin

Looking at the two tanks it seems the Chieftian MK 2 came out 3 years after the Challenger yet has less armour and slower speed and the weapon systems seem more or less the same Challenger has a 7.62mm Hughes and the Chieftian a 7.62 L8A1 (no idea what the big difference between the two is though except one fires further and has AD capability)..why bring out another MBT thats worse than the previous one?

Also what would be great is if the game also has info\description on the actual weapon systems and even the armour types and other equipment that a sub unit has. Alot of it means nothing to me at all.

The Challenger was designed and built for Iran. When they had their revolution the orders to them were cancelled and the British Army took over ownership. This wasn't a planned event.

Good Hunting.

MR

[kemmo]

If my understanding is correct the original model for export to Iran was called Shir 1 and was basically an upgraded Chieftain  with a new powerpack. After the Iranian revolution the order was cancelled and  Jordan took delivery of nearly 300 slightly modified tanks called Khalid 1.The British Army took over the rest of the order, first called Shir 2 then renamed Challenger.

[wodin]

The Challenger is a better tank though isn't it? Why would you sell a foreign nation a Tank better than the one you currently use??

[Mad Russian]

Cash flow.

Good Hunting.

MR

[wodin]

I see..but you'd think they'd always make sure they had the best for themselves.

[2ndACR]

Yeah right, we sell F16 packages that are better than what our current fleet of F16 use. We sell M1A2 MBT to Egypt and a few other countries I don't trust as far as I can throw them. Along with Apaches and everything else.

Nothing makes sense anymore, has not for a long time. The almighty dollar speaks louder than the possibility of being on the wrong end of your own toys.

[kemmo]

The Challenger (Shir 1)that the Iranians would have got wasn't as good as the Challenger (Shir 2) that the British did get. Shir 2 had hydropneumatic suspension which made it a much more stable gun platform and gave better mobility , it also had Chobham  armour, the export model had neither.  

[Rotherman]

Challenger had a superb engine compared to Chieftain. Chieftain crews would hope to find a good fire position before developing engine problems. challenger could travel faster in reverse than the woefully underpowered Chieftain could going forward. God help WP armour on the receiving end of the L11 tank gun.