Now for some modern British Army equipment in this mega-update!
The Jackal or MWMIK (pronounced EmWimmick) or Mobility Weapon-Mounted Installation Kit is a family of vehicles designed and developed by Supacat Ltd. It was built to meet the British Army's specific requirements for an agile, well-armed, light patrol vehicle, and has an innovative height-adjustable air suspension system. The vehicles can be fitted with a range of weapons, such as a 12.7mm or 7.62 mm machine guns, or the 40 mm automatic grenade launcher. Shown here is the upgraded Jackal 2 version.
The Scimitar 2 consists of an upgraded turret from the FV107 Scimitar light tank coupled with the upgraded hull of an FV103 Spartan armoured personal carrier, which provides greater internal volume and protection and a new fuel system, environmental control system and suspension. It is armed with a 30mm RARDEN cannon – in the first Gulf War, Scimitars of the 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers engaged and knocked out Iraqi T62s, penetrating their armour with sabot rounds (not bad for a 30mm calibre weapon!).
The Warrior tracked vehicle family is a series of British armoured vehicles, originally developed to replace the older FV430 series of armoured vehicles (although some FV430 variants still remain in service). On display was the FV510 Infantry Section Vehicle, and on static display the FV512 Mechanised Combat Repair Vehicle (or FV513 Mechanised Recovery Vehicle (Repair), not sure which!).
The FV4034 Challenger 2 is the British Army’s main battle tank and is an extensive redesign of the Challenger 1. Although the hull and automotive components seem similar, they are of a newer design and build and fewer than 5% of components are interchangeable with those of the Challenger 1. Challenger 2 is one of the most heavily armoured and best protected tanks in the world. The turret and hull are protected with second generation of Chobham armour (also known as Dorchester) the details of which are classified but is said to be more than double the strength of steel.
During the 2003 invasion of Iraq the Challenger 2 tanks suffered no tank losses to enemy fire, although one was penetrated by an IED. This was, at the time, unprotected by "Dorchester" armour. In one encounter a Challenger 2 came under attack from irregular forces with machine guns and RPGs. The driver's sight was damaged and while attempting to back away under the commander's directions, the other sights were damaged and the tank threw its tracks entering a ditch. It was hit directly by fourteen rocket propelled grenades from close range and a MILAN anti-tank missile. The crew survived remaining safe within the tank until the tank was recovered for repairs, the worst damage being to the sighting system. It was back in operation six hours later after repairs. One Challenger 2 operating near Basra survived being hit by 70 RPGs in another incident.
On display was “Megatron”, from the Armoured Trials and Development Unit (ATDU).
The Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle (CRARRV) is an armoured recovery vehicle based on the Challenger 1 hull and designed to repair and recover damaged tanks on the battlefield. It has five seats but usually carries a crew of three – the extra two seats are for crew members of the casualty vehicle.
In the first photograph below, the smaller vehicle on the left is a Husky, a variant of the US MXT-MVA modified to satisfy the UK MoD's Tactical Support Vehicles requirements for the British Army. The bigger vehicle on the right is a Ridgeback (I think?), which is a 4 x4 variant of the famous Mastiff 6x6 Protected Patrol Vehicle.
To be continued ...