Challenger 2 Street Fighter is the most modern version of the Challenger 2 Tank in British Army service. It is the most heavily armored tank in the world.

It was developed during the Iraq War to offer the Challenger 2 Tank and its crew the greatest level of protection available against Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFP) and RPG-7 attacks (from all angles) in populated areas.

The term “Street Fighter” is not the vehicles official designation, but rather a nickname amongst British tank crew. This upgraded Challenger 2 Tank was deployed to Iraq between 2007 to 2008.

Challenger 2 Street Fighter Upgrades

A new CCTV camera has been fitted in the rear of the vehicle, so that the driver can see what he is doing as he reverses, rather than the commander using his sights and giving instructions. The driver now has a new forward-looking thermal sight.

It is fitted with the latest Dorchester Level 2 armour on the sides of the hull and turret, new armour on the belly of the hull and bar armor on the rear.

A Remote Weapons Station is also installed. This is controlled from within the vehicle and equipped with a thermal imaging camera and replaces the loaders L7, so he is not exposed to use it. It can be mounted with either a 7.62mm or 50 cal MG or 40mm GMG (grenade machine gun).

The latest jamming technology was also installed on the vehicle to counter detonation of road side IED. These included signal jammers and a form of false thermal imagery generation projected in front of the vehicle. This was done by a box fitted at the front of the hull on either side. Each box had a whip mount so the driver could see them.

Challenger 2 Street Fighter DL2 Armor

Challenger 2 Street Fighter used DL2 E: Retained the DL2B modules on the side of the turret, DL2 C front module, cage armor and both the backing board and spaced armor.

The DL2 B hull modules are replaced with double layered ERA blocks. You can see that they stick out past the DL2 D spaced armor. They were added to defeat shaped charged IED daisy chain attacks and mean they can defeat tandem charged ATGM.

Challenger 2 Street Fighter Specifications

References:References:

Firepower
Main Gun	120mm, calibre Length 55 Rifled L30 CHARM Elevation -10 to +20
Secondary Weapons	x1 coaxial 7.62mm MG, x1 7.62mm MG
Ammunition Storage	x50 120mm, x4,000 7.62mm
Mobility
Engine	Perkins Condor V-12 1200hp Diesel
Transmission	David Brown TN54 epicyclical (6 forward/ 2 reverse gears)
Top Road Speed	56 km/h (Governed)
Road Range	450 km
Fuel Capacity	1592 Litres
Vertical Obstacle	Unknown
Water Capability	Unknown
Trench Crossing	Unknown
Gradient	60%
Side Slope	30%
Dimensions
Length Gun Forward	11.55m (excluding bar armor)
Length Hull	8.327m (excluding bar armor)
Width	3.52m+
Height	2.49m (roof top)
Ground Clearance	Unknown
Weight	73,000kg aka 73 tonne combat
Protection
NBC Protected	Yes
Armor Type	Steel/Composite/modular/passive/ERA
Active Protection Systems	No
Crew
Commander	Yes
Gunner	Yes
Loader	Yes
Driver	Yes
Additional Crew	—
Troops Carried	n/a

Reference:

• Anon ex and serving Challenger 2 crew who operated the tank in Iraq and Bovington ADTU.
• Pictures sourced from Wikipedia Multimedia