Challenger 1

FV 4030 Challenger
Challenger 1 at Tankfest 2009 at the The Tank Museum
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1983 – 2001 (UK)
Production history
Manufacturer	Royal Ordnance Factory
Unit cost	$1.5 million (1987)
Number built	420
Specifications
Weight	62 tonnes. (Combat weight of 70 tonnes with additional armour modules)
Length	11.5 metres (37 ft 9 in) (Gun forward)
Width	3.51 metres (11 ft 6 in)
Height	2.95 metres (9 ft 8 in)
Crew	4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Armour	Chobham, classified
Main armament	Royal Ordnance L11A5 120 mm rifled gun 64 rounds
Secondary armament	7.62 mm L8A2, 7.62 mm L37A2 machine guns 4,000 rounds
Engine	Rolls-Royce CV12 26 litre diesel 1,200 hp (895 kW)
Power/weight	14.4 kW / tonne
Suspension	Hydropneumatic (hydrogas)
Operational range	450 kilometres (280 mi) (on road)
Speed	56 kilometres per hour (35 mph)

The FV4030/4 Challenger 1 is a British main battle tank (MBT) used by the British Army from 1983 to the mid-1990s, when it was superseded by the Challenger 2. It is also currently used by the Royal Jordanian Army as its main battle tank after heavy modifications. The variants for the Jordanian military are to be upgraded using the unmanned Falcon turret.

The Challenger design by the former Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment (MVEE) near Chobham in Surrey originated in an Iranian order for an improved version of the Chieftain line of tanks in service around the world. These were the Chieftain Mk5(P)- FV4030/1, FV4030/2 Shir (Lion) 1 and 4030/3 Shir 2. With the fall of the Shah of Iran and the collapse of the UK MBT90 project, the British Army became the customer and the tank was further developed by MVEE to meet Western European requirements. For a short time the tank was named "Cheviot" (the name of a hill range) before becoming "Challenger", a name reused from the Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger tank of World War II.

The most advanced aspect of the Challenger 1 design was its Chobham armour, which gave protection far superior to any monolithic Rolled Homogeneous Armour (RHA), then standard of western tank armour material. This armour was later adopted by other designs, including the American M1 Abrams. Additionally, the hydropneumatic suspension provided outstanding cross-country performance through the long suspension arm travel and controlled bump and rebound behaviour offered.