Britain has a brand new battle tank blasting into action - and it is deadlier than we've ever had before. The terrifying Challenger 3 has been unleashed in Scotland in tests and is the biggest and best tanker the country has ever had in its arsenal.
The arrival of a new beast of a machine being unveiled comes as fears increase of the UK having to join World War 3 at any moment.
Only a handful of Challenger 3s have been built so far and they are undergoing rigorous tests before entering service as early as next year.
The massive machine boasts a 120mm main gun — which can unleash higher velocity and more lethal strikes than its predecessor at a much faster speed and with higher precision than ever.
Ministry of Defence bosses have hailed the world-beating tank as a 66-ton “sniper” that can regularly hit targets over three miles and now troops who have been involved of the testing of the first tank of its kind say it offers a power that is "second to none".
Warrant Officer Max Belton, from the Royal Tank Regiment, told The Sun: “Best tank in the world? Without a doubt. I’ll back that 100 per cent.”
There will be a total of 148 of the new tanks in time, with each costing a whopping £6 million each.
The monsters are being built by BAE Systems Land and are made by converting the older Challenger 2s they are replacing. The total cost of the new fleet is expected to reach just under £1billion.
The Challenger 3s can travel at up to 37mph on roads and its 1,200hp diesel engine means it can travel just over 300 miles without needing refuelling.
As well as these bonus features it also has a raft of upgrades, including better suspension, more armour, laser threat detectors and Israeli-made Active Protection Systems, providing 360-degree protection from missiles and grenades.
The biggest change is the tank’s new German-made gun — the smoothbore Rheinmetall L55A1 gun which can unleash high-speed NATO darts which can pierce other enemy tanks at nearly five times the speed of sound.
The ammo has also been updated. Unlike old-fashioned tank rounds that have separate shell cases and explosive charges, the Challenger 3 will fire “one-piece ammo”.
All that remains once they have been blasted is a metal plate-sized drawing pin.
Engineering lead Jude Priestley said: “The trials have been a massive success.
“Our aim is to put this vehicle through its paces so that we can address those issues, and by the time the Army receives the tank, it will stand up to what they want to put it through.”
Major Colin Macintyre, who has served for 44 years on tanks and fought in both Iraq wars, said: “We’re providing the country with a world-class tank.”
Troops due to use the Challenger 3 said they would feel safer inside a tank than fighting as an infantryman.
Lieutenant James Harding, a tank troop leader in the Queen’s Royal Hussars, said: “As long as our enemies have tanks, we will have tanks. We will have better tanks.”
“The Challenger 3 trials are not only on schedule, but we’ve been shocked, looking downrange, at the accuracy of the gun.
“It’s actually caused us a few issues in terms of having to manage the environment out there. The same round is going to pinpoint the same place, so the gun is more accurate than we thought.”
Marc Slade, one of very few people to command both a Challenger 2 and 3, said all the new technology — including extra thermal sights and a reversing camera — were designed to “reduce the burden on the crew”.
Marc, a soldier turned contractor, said: “It means you can fire quicker, further, faster and deliver more lethal capability.”
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