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Well, what kind of animal is this - "Challenger-2"? Let's listen to a well-known connoisseur of foreign military equipment, military expert Victor Murakhovsky:

- This British tank in its current form has a number of critical flaws that cannot be quickly eliminated within the current platform. In particular, its outdated gun is ineffective against other modern tanks.

But there is nothing to replace the Challenger, so the British are planning "palliative" or, in other words, formal methods of modernization. In addition, an outdated 120 mm rifled gun is installed on the British vehicle, and it does not allow the use of powerful ammunition when firing at heavily protected targets. In fact, it is ineffective against most modern tanks. "Challenger-2" loses not only to our smooth-bore guns of 125 mm caliber, capable of using guided projectiles, but also to most foreign counterparts.

In addition, this old British vehicle does not have an automatic loader like our tanks, and this leads to a low combat rate of fire, especially when moving over rough terrain.

Another serious problem of the Challenger is the outdated fire control system, which, for example, lacks the automatic target tracking system that is already common for modern tanks. And on all our modern machines there is such an automatic machine.

This British tank in its current form has a number of critical flaws that cannot be quickly eliminated within the current platformPhoto: EAST NEWS

But that's not all. The hydropneumatic suspension of the British tank also needs to be replaced, as its capabilities are at the limit in terms of the tank's mass. With the canopy of additional armor and equipment in combat conditions, it demonstrated poor reliability and did not provide an acceptable ride. Earlier, for these British tanks, a LEP (Life Extension Project) modernization plan was developed, with which the British hoped to solve the problems listed. The program involves the installation of a new smoothbore gun, a new fire control system and a more powerful engine of 1.5 thousand horsepower. However, the project has not yet been implemented. But, apparently, in London they decided that it would do for Ukraine anyway ”...

To add to Murakhovsky's words, the 14 old Challengers in Ukraine will inevitably require spare parts and repairs. How this problem will be solved is unknown. But this will add a headache to Kyiv. So it turns out in the bottom line that there is much more show, deceit and populism in London's arms assistance than practical sense.

Isn't that why the Defense Committee of the House of Commons of the British Parliament muttered dejectedly that "in the event of an armed conflict with Russia, the battle of tank units will most likely end not in favor of Great Britain"? Well, the main reason for such a conclusion is again called obsolete armored vehicles.

IS THE BEST BRADLEY IN THE WORLD?

The United States is going to transfer to Ukraine 50 Bradley M2A2 ODS infantry fighting vehicles, modernized as a result of Operation Desert Storm. That is, Kiev is invited to conduct a winter campaign on old infantry fighting vehicles prepared for fighting in a hot climate in a desert area. And in the Donbass, it’s not hot, not hot sands, but snow and frost. Every army likes to call its equipment “the best in the world.” The US Army is no exception, which praises the BMP M very much -2 "Bradley". This machine, of course, has a number of advantages over analogues, but at the same time it has several weaknesses that American specialists do not like to talk about. Moreover, the opinions of the military of various countries fundamentally diverge from what is trying In fact, for 35 years of being in service, despite all the attempts of the Pentagon, it was not possible to sell this combat vehicle to any of its allies. oh Arabia. And then only as a token of gratitude for protecting the kingdom from the alleged invasion of Saddam Hussein's troops. In total, about 400 Bradleys were purchased.

The United States is going to transfer 50 Bradley M2A2 infantry fighting vehicles to UkrainePhoto: EAST NEWS

Royal M2 took part in the battles. And again, not very well. In a relatively short period, 5 vehicles were destroyed. At the same time, Saudi BMPs, after being hit by anti-tank weapons, caught fire like matches. According to military experts, in fact, the losses of the Saudis in the BMP are much greater. Not everything is made public. And during the fighting in Kuwait and Iraq back in 1991, the American army lost two dozen Bradleys. American crews tried to hit enemy armored vehicles with TOU anti-tank missiles at the maximum possible range. But when the M-2s got too close to the enemy, they began to suffer losses not only from the T-55 or BMP-1 tanks, but even from the DShK heavy machine guns.

And if we talk about the losses of the BMP M-2 in Iraq in 2003, here the Americans lost up to 150 of these vehicles. Faced with the fact that the "Bradley" is absolutely not adapted to the conditions of the war with the guerrillas, the American command of the occupying forces was forced to reduce the use of these infantry fighting vehicles to a minimum. The Pentagon has long been feverishly looking for what to replace this "best infantry fighting vehicle in the world" (which, of course, it does not tell the Ukrainians about).

US generals at one time looked closely at the Israeli Namer armored vehicles and the Swedish CV9035 infantry fighting vehicles, and as part of the GCV program they tried to start developing 84-ton (!) Infantry fighting vehicles. But in the coming years, the replacement of the BMP M-2 "Bradley" is not expected. And the American defense industry “riveted” them as many as 2300 pieces. "Old men" constantly need to be repaired, hundreds of them have long been waiting to be sent for remelting. And recycling also requires huge funds. And the Americans, who know how to count money, decided to save money - to transfer five dozen decrepit infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. Let her "recycle" these machines on the battlefield. Which was done with great propaganda fanfare. And Kyiv, happy from such "help", looks like a half-wild Papuan, to whom an American dodger, under the guise of gold, gives tinted pieces of iron.

CHANCELLOR IN A TRAP

As is often the case in a gang (say, NATO), each of its members must be anointed with the blood of common crimes. Something similar is happening in Germany. Washington and Brussels are putting pressure on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with all their might, demanding that he supply German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. They twist his arms with a bang, they frighten him, he is accused of betrayal, but he is not! It spins like a comb, but does not dare. On the one hand, the United States is pressing, on the other, the leadership of NATO, on the third, the opposition in the Bundestag. Scholz came up with an excuse: "The appearance of German tanks with crosses on the battlefield may cause the Russians not the best associations associated with the Second World War." And instead of Leopard 2, he promises to supply 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. This machine is also ancient by today's standards. Its production time ended at 1975 year. But, here's the irony, the Germans, who know how to build tanks, could not cope with a conventional infantry fighting vehicle. Marder's "permanent sores" were the engine and transmission. As soon as the driver "decided to turn up the heat", high speeds quickly overheated the engine, as a result of which the Marders often broke down. It took “only” 20 years to find the reasons. And at the end of the last century, German military engineers found the reason: it turns out that metallurgists could not find the right alloys for the engine and transmission, so Marder needs to be driven "carefully". But this did not suit the military. They even promised to abandon Marder as well, releasing the Puma infantry fighting vehicle to replace it. But here there was a bummer. Either the Germans lost their engineering school, or something worse, but due to frequent breakdowns, they had to return back to Marder. The Bundeswehr has heaps of this junk. For Ukraine - just right.