cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/2358675
Archived version: https://archive.ph/XEFSj
Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20230905152812/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/05/british-challenger-2-tank-destroyed-in-combat-for-first-time-ukraine-footage-shows
No Challenger 2 has been lost in combat since it was first deployed in 1994, although one was destroyed in a friendly fire incident in Iraq in 2003. The record is partly because of the relatively small numbers built and their infrequent deployment.
That was my takeaway from it.
We’ve rarely been involved in wars where a main battle tank would be key - probably the Gulf War but we hardly met any opposition there. They are designed for the kind of situations you encounter in world wars (a similarly equipped strong dug-in opponent) and the invasion of Ukraine is the first time they’ve been deployed on a, if you’ll excuse the pun, challenging battlefield.
I can see how they’d be useful in pushing through the layers of fortifications the Russians have thrown up in the south but they are also much more vulnerable. If a drone can call in a missile on your position then a main battle tank has to be carefully deployed with a lot of support and countermeasures or it’s a sitting duck. Just bunging the Ukrainians a few Challenger tanks might not be enough.