The British-made Challenger 2 has been touted as being one of the most advanced main battle tanks (MBTs) in service today
also suggested that the video may have been recorded on a roadside outside of Robotyne in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Oblast.This is the first loss of a Challenger 2 in combat, but as Axe noted, this highlighted the greater survivability for the four person crew, as the tank's turret was still intact—while there have been reports that the crew did survive the vehicle's destruction.
Yet, the loss of the tank was still noted by supporters of the Kremlin, who were quick to claim that Kyiv can expect its remaining 13 Challenger 2 MBTs to meet a similar fate.Though the loss of a single tank may not seem significant in wartime, it was still a minor propaganda victory for the Kremlin as the British military had been able to declare that not a single Challenger 2 had been lost in combat.
"We shouldn't draw conclusions about single incidents," explained Dr. Matthew Schmidt, associate professor of national security at the University of New Haven. "Localized factors like terrain, operator error, or just the chance—luck—of warfare as von Clausewitz would say, may be a better explanation for the loss, rather than systemic deficiencies in the weapons system or some new tactic developed by the enemy," added Schmidt."If we start seeing wide-scale losses, then things become more worrying."Highlighting the destruction of even a single tank may be an attempt to change the narrative that Russia is losing ground.
"While no Challenger 2 had been previously lost in combat, there is little significance to the 'first being destroyed' in Ukraine other than the tragedy of warfare," said military vehicle historian John Adams-Graf, editor of"Russia and Ukraine are fighting a war with primary weapons and tactics devised for the Cold War," added Adams-Graf."In that scenario, every tank is vulnerable to destruction.
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