Chieftain 900: Royal Ordnance’s Chieftain

Today we’ll be taking a look at the Chieftain 900, an improved modification of the Chieftain Mk 5 carried out by Royal Ordnance Factories in an attempt for export orders.

Vehicle History

In the 1980s, 20 years after the first Chieftains appeared, Royal Ordnance Factories (ROF) looked to improve and modernize the aging Chieftain tank for potential domestic use in the UK and as an option for export. They focused on improving the weakest areas of the Chieftain: its overall mobility, engine power and armor. To do this, they looked to add Chobham armor and improve the mobility with a 900 HP Rolls Royce Condor engine. They also added a better transmission and suspension, and topped it off with some updated electronics.

Two Chieftain tanks, which were built for an Iranian order but were cancelled due to the fall of the Shah of Iran, were modified for the project. The pair of prototypes were completed in 1982 and shown at the British Army Equipment Exhibition (BAEE). Despite the ROF marketing brochure material suggesting the addition of new Chobham armour, the two modified tanks were never actually fitted with it. The tanks had mock-up metal cladding to show how the Chobham armor package might look like had the armor actually been mounted.

Ultimately, ROF received no orders for the Chieftain 900, leading to the failure of this private venture and the cancellation of the project in 1986. Of the two Chieftain 900 prototypes built, one (serial 56 MS 09) was sent to Marconi who carried out internal modifications, which now resides at The Tank Museum. The other (serial 56 MS 78) went to Lulworth Ranges as a practice target. Part of it survived however, and was used later by BAE Systems to test other Chieftain improvements.

Introducing the Chieftain 900!

Meet the Chieftain 900, a new Chieftain variant coming to Great Britain in the next major update! This was a private venture by Royal Ordnance Factories, who sought to improve the base Chieftain Mk 5 and export it to other nations. Coming in with a new engine and a different turret and hull shape, you will feel right at home when playing this tank. Let’s take a closer look!

Right off the bat, the Chieftain 900 is a modified and improved Chieftain Mk 5 tank. One of the disadvantages of the Chieftain Mk 5 is its mobility, at least compared to contemporary tanks. The Chieftain 900 improves on this, coming in with a 900 HP Rolls Royce engine compared to the Mk 5’s 760 HP. Thanks to this, the Chieftain 900’s max speed has increased to 52 km/h, which might not seem like much — however, every little helps in terms of mobility for a Chieftain tank. This will allow the tank to get around more effectively on both hard and rough terrain!

Interesting: The “900” in “Chieftain 900” is named after the 900 HP Rolls Royce Condor engine.

The Chieftain Mk 5’s potent 120 mm cannon and its ammunition are retained on the Chieftain 900, however with the addition of the L23 APFSDS round alongside the APDS, HESH, a smoke round, and the same gun traverse speeds found on the previous Chieftains. Another new addition is a laser rangefinder, not found