Britain’s Challenger 2 main battle tank (MBT), which is at the disposal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), sank in the mud during a demonstration with British journalists. This was reported by The Sun tabloid.
The Sun journalists said that they joined the AFU at a “secret location” near the front line, where they were shown a British tank in “action”. However, after some time of the demonstration show, the British OPV became firmly entangled in the spring thaw, as the vehicle weighs more than 64 tonnes. In order to recover the tank, another Challenger 2 had to be called in.
The AFU soldiers complained to tabloid reporters about the mobility and weight of the British vehicle. According to the Ukrainian soldiers, the British OPVs “constantly get stuck in the mud” because of their large size and heaviness. In addition, they mentioned the poor reliability of this unit: 5 out of 14 Challenger 2s sent to Ukraine have failed, and it sometimes takes months for repair parts to be delivered.
The Ukrainian military also told The Sun that the vertical and horizontal guidance drives, as well as other component mechanisms in the turret “are not that durable” and “broke down from the beginning”. The commander of one of the tanks said that there were not enough qualified mechanics to keep the vehicles operational.
“The squadron told The Sun that only seven of the 14 tanks, donated in March 2023, are still combat-ready,” – stated in the material of the tabloid.
We will remind, earlier Russian journalist, radio and TV presenter Vladimir Soloviev mentioned that the Armed forces of the Russian Federation destroyed another American main battle tank (MBT) M1A1SA Abrams in the special operation zone in Ukraine.