Challenger 2 TES

This page is about the British medium tank Challenger 2 TES. For other versions, see Challenger 2 (Family).

Challenger 2 TES

Challenger 2 (2F)

Black Night

Challenger 2 TES

Challenger 2 (2F)

Black Night

Britain

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
11.7	11.7	11.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:175 000

Purchase:950 000

Show in game

Description

The FV4034 Challenger 2 (Theatre Entry Standard – TES) is a high-intensity battlefield modification of the standard variant of the FV4034 Challenger 2 main battle tank family. In terms of protection, the Challenger 2 TES is extremely similar to the M1 Abrams TUSK (Tank Urban Survival Kit). The TES system was designed to protect the tank from various threats, such as tandem warheads and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The public first saw the technology demonstrator of the Challenger 2 TES (nicknamed "Megatron") in June 2013 during the DVD defence event in Millbrook, United Kingdom. In July 2016, at the Tank Fest in Bovington, a revised modification of the Challenger 2 TES was presented, complete with a new armour design. It is outfitted with a unique combination of reactive, composite, and slat armour to provide unparalleled protection against modern warfare threats. Depending on the nature of the threats and the type of battlefield where the tank must be deployed, the Challenger 2 TES can be outfitted with changeable and modular armour packages. The mobile camouflage system (MCS) is also installed on the hull and turret to reduce the vehicle's heat signature when observed by thermal imaging equipment. The TES counter IED technology is installed on the Challenger 2 TES, as demonstrated by the array of standard and "Bird Table" antennas positioned at the upper rear of the turret. The system is used to disrupt radio or telephone signals that could be used to trigger improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Introduced in Update "Winged Lions", the Challenger 2 TES is one of the most advanced modifications to the standard Challenger 2 in response to the increasing challenges of a modern battlefield. The Challenger 2 TES, equipped with a multitude of cutting-edge technology, provides players with the finest possible protection during conflicts. This tank, however, will be easy to spot and recognize during combat owing to the well-known jammer plate affixed to the roof. Flanking and sneaking up on opponents will be exceedingly difficult, as the distinctive jammer plate will easily disclose the player's location. Although the TES modification offers more protection than the standard Challenger 2, using the same engine without any improvements makes the Challenger 2 TES considerably slower to accelerate and turn.

General info

Survivability and armour

ERA

Effective action against the cumulative ammunition

Composite armour

Balanced protection against all types of ammunition

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

ESS

Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull130 / 38 / 50

Turret270 / 80 / 58

Crew4 people

Visibility88 %

The Challenger 2 TES has the armour that would be expected of the name (TES - Theatre Entry Standard). The tank has been updated to meet the modern theatres of war, including streetfighting and more effective chemical munitions and kinetic weapons. The ERA on the sides displays this exact line of thought. In-game, the combined ERA and composite screen add ~240 mm of effective protection against shaped charges and about 46 mm protection against KE rounds at 0 degrees.

Equipped with the iconic jammer plate mounted to the roof, this tank will be easy to spot and identify, so one should take care to cover their weak points with extra care, as many will know where the weaknesses are, and feel pressured to shoot them due to the increased armour elsewhere. The tank retains the same weakspots: the gun mantlet, driver's port, and the lower frontal plate, though unlike the Challenger 2 (2F) you get the LFP composite block (and the rest of the add-on) stock, which does help with the chemical protection. The gun breech will most likely block spalling from any penetrating round, allowing TES players to retreat and repair their breech, should they be far enough away from danger.

When opposing enemy tanks, commanders should attempt to angle their tank slightly, as the side add-on will be more effective against HEAT-FS and ATGMs (so long as they don't have tandem charge warheads), though this won't prevent any darts you meet from going through - M735 and DM23 can make it through 3 ERA blocks and still have enough energy to take out the engine. Angling has the added bonus of making the driver's port less effective as a means of knocking out the tank's crew.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	38-50 mm (56-83°) Upper plate 70 mm (31-34°) Lower glacis 60 mm (0-80°) Driver's port	25 mm (70°) Top 25 mm Middle 38 mm Bottom	25 mm (32°)	10-20 mm
Turret	38 - 50 mm (56-82°) Turret front 30 mm (3-82°) Gun mantlet	20-25 mm (8-10°)	20 mm (18°)	10-38 mm
Cupola	8 mm (3-78°)	8 mm (9-60°)	8 mm (1-80°)	44-60 mm

Notes:

• Upper front plate has additional 6.35 mm external structural steel plate.
• Lower front plate has additional composite with NERA elements, which is very effective against chemical munitions.
• Tracks and suspension wheels are 20 mm thick.

Composite armour	Frontal effective protection	Sides
Hull	Upper Kinetic: 420-700 mm Chemical: 800-1100 mm Lower Kinetic: 100-270 mm Chemical: 130-800 mm	Ext. Composite Screen with ERA: Kinetic: 90-120 mm Chemical: 560-680 mm
Turret	Turret Cheeks Kinetic: 440-720 mm Chemical: 780-1000 mm	Internal Composite Kinetic: 190 mm Chemical: 324 mm External NERA: Kinetic: 15 mm Chemical: 280 mm

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB66 / 42 km/h

RB and SB60 / 38 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

4 back

Weight74.8 t

Engine power

AB2 322 hp

RB and SB1 217 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB31.0 hp/t

RB and SB16.3 hp/t

The mobility of the TES is poor, even by Challenger 2 standards. The drastic increase in weight over the Challenger 2 (2F) makes the already below average power-to-weight ratio even worse, and getting the add-on stock ironically makes the situation worse: other Challenger 2s allow you to go for mobility upgrades before the add-on packages, making mobility through the stock grind more bearable as you decide when the extra weight is added, whereas with the TES you start out at 75t and 1076 hp. Even with all the mobility upgrades, the TES is slow to turn and slow to accelerate, and on some dirt roads it may struggle to reach 25 km/h. The neutral steering is unaffected by the increase in weight, completing a 360 traverse in the same amount of time as a 62.5t Challenger 2 (~14.5s).

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	66	42	74.8	1886	2,322	25.21	31.04
Realistic	60	38		1076	1,217	14.39	16.27

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 343 → 6 857

RB4 245 → 6 702

SB5 369 → 8 477

Total cost of modifications279 500

461 000

Talisman cost3 000

Crew training270 000

Experts950 000

Aces2 200

Research Aces1 210 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

150 / 190 / 210 %

244 / 244 / 244 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 300 Suspension Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 330 Brake System Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 330 Filters Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 480 Transmission Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400 Engine Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400	Improved Parts Research: 3 600 Cost: 19 000 300 Improved FPE Research: 3 900 Cost: 20 000 330 Crew Replenishment Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 480 ESS Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400	Horizontal Drive Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 300 120mm_britain_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 300 120mm_britain_L26_APDSFS_ammo_pack Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 300 Adjustment of Fire Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 330 NVD Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 330 Elevation Mechanism Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 480 Smoke grenade Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 480 Laser rangefinder Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400 120mm_britain_L27_APDSFS_ammo_pack Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400 Artillery Support Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 400

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Night vision device

Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Thermal imager

Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

120 mm L30A1 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition49 rounds

First-order4 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

6.5 → 5.0 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 20°

120 mm L30A1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	50	-10°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	29.5	40.8	49.6	54.8	58.4	6.50	5.75	5.30	5.00
Realistic					18.4	21.7	26.4	29.1	31.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Shot L23A1	APFSDS	396	394	387	376	367	357
Shell L31A7	HESH	152	152	152	152	152	152
L26	APFSDS	493	491	487	481	474	468
L27A1	APFSDS	564	562	557	551	545	538

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Shot L23A1	APFSDS	1,535	3.89	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°
Shell L31A7	HESH	670	17.34	0.1	4	6.53	73°	77°	80°
L26	APFSDS	1,650	4.3	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°
L27A1	APFSDS	1,650	4.3	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
L34	670	17.1	20	5	25	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Challenger 2

Full ammo	Ammo part	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty
50	Projectiles Propellants	48 (+2) 45 (+5)	45 (+5) 39 (+11)	43 (+7) 31 (+19)	41 (+9) 22 (+28)
5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
34 (+16) 14 (+36)	29 (+21) 5 (+45)	5 (+45) 1 (+49)	4 (+46) N/A	1 (+49) N/A	No

Notes:

• Projectile racks 8 and 9, and propellant rack 7, are first-stage ammo racks.
• Hull front empty: 39 (+11) shells.

Machine guns

7.62 mm L37A2 machine gun

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition1 600 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate650 shots/min

7.62 mm L94A1 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition4 000 rounds

Belt capacity2 000 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate600 shots/min

7.62 mm L37A2
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	1,700 (100)	650	-10°/+50°	±180°

7.62 mm L94A1
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	4,000 (2,000)	600	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

With the Challenger 2 TES, the addon armour protection comes as standard and leaves the vehicle more protected than the base Challenger 2. However, this add-on armour has the downside of making the TES rather sluggish at accelerating and turning.

As with all the Challenger 2's, the ideal playstyle is to be at long range, utilising hull down positions to protect the hull and use the gunners thermal sight and laser range finder to return fire with good effectiveness. The TES retains the option of carrying smoke or HESH shells. Smoke can be used to fire at enemy positions to obscure their view while either the TES is repositioned or teammates are advancing. HESH can be used against light vehicles to overpressure them in situations where getting a killing blow with APFSDS would be difficult.

Where close range combat is required, ensure that the hull remains protected as much as possible by using terrain features. Take the time to ensure that when pushing into a location that it is clear of threats, as pushing round corners of buildings will leave the hull exposed without the chance to return fire.

Brawling is an option, however, the TES is rather sluggish and will not last long against fast or experienced opponents when the range is very short. Try to get the enemy to shoot the turret cheeks, as shots to the hull or gun breech will render the TES combat ineffective. Using the Challenger 2's impressive reload will give the TES an upper hand in brawls, as if both the Challenger and the opponent fire at the same time, the Challenger will typically reload first.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Retains pros from previous Challenger 2:
  • Impressive chemical protection on the front and sides
  • Maintains the kinetic protection from previous variants, with improvements in places
  • Very accurate 120 mm L30A1 gun
  • Fast reload
• Roof mounted machine gun has access to thermal and can be used as a makeshift CITV for scouting (but not firing, unfortunately)

Cons:

• No composite plates behind the ERA panels on the turret sides like with 2F model, and since ERA is useless against tandem-charge warheads it is bad to not have full coverage to at least be safe from normal tanks
• The jammer is useless in-game and begs other tanks to scout it out or use HE on it
• Also retains weaknesses of previous Challenger 2 models:
  • Heaviest MBT in the game with a very poor hp/ton ratio; very poor acceleration
  • Same ammunition options as the previous Challengers
  • Maintains the same weak spots from previous variants
  • L27A1 has low penetration compared to other top rank NATO ammunition and armour cannot compensate for it against high ground
  • Cannot maintain the short reload time after the first-stage ammo rack (4 rounds) has been depleted

History

A modification of the British Challenger 2 main battle tank with Dorchester Level 2 armour set has been used by the British Army in the operation in Iraq since 2002. At the end of 2004, these tanks were additionally equipped with combined turret side shields, as well as grilles covering rear parts of the hull and turret for protection against shape-charged anti-tank weapons - this configuration received the designation Dorchester Level 2F (DL2F). The next modernization, also aimed at improving the protection, took place in 2008. The tanks received hull skirts made of combined armour, NERA blocks on the hull sides were replaced with ERA containers manufactured by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Limited. This variant of the Challenger 2 was designated TES (Theatre Entry Standard).

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Challenger 2 TES from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

MBTs with Best Armor discusses the Challenger 2 TES at 03:52 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] Challenger 2 TES: a new perspective