Editing Challenger 2 (section)

===Production and delivery===
In June 1991 the decision to buy Challenger 2 was made formal with a £520&nbsp;million contract for 127 tanks and 13 driver training tanks.<ref name="leclerc">{{cite news |title=Company News; Britain Selects Tank Produced By Vickers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/22/business/company-news-britain-selects-tank-produced-by-vickers.html |access-date=11 November 2021 |newspaper=The New York Times |agency=Reuters |date=22 June 1991}}</ref> Production began in 1993 at two primary sites, [[Elswick, Tyne and Wear]] and [[Barnbow]], [[Leeds]], with over 250 subcontractors involved. It was formally accepted on 16 May 1994 with the first tanks delivered in July 1994. An order for a further 259 tanks and 9 driver trainers worth £800&nbsp;million was placed in July. The Challenger 2 failed its acceptance trials in 1994, and it was forced into the Progressive Reliability Growth Trial in 1995. Three vehicles were tested for 285 simulated battlefield days.

Due to downsizing of the Army after the end of the [[Cold War]], the two runs of Challenger 2 would result in enough tanks to arm the entire Army, as opposed to the mixture of Challenger 1 and 2 that was formerly planned. This made the Challenger 1 surplus, and these were eventually shipped to Jordan for free. Vickers struggled to market the tank for export.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gow |first=David |title=Vickers and French form tank alliance |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/260071674/?terms=leclerc%20challenger%202&match=1 |access-date=11 November 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=12 January 1999}}</ref> Its one success led to Oman ordering 38 Challenger 2s; 18 in June 1993<ref name="Oman 1993">{{cite news |last1=Beavis |first1=Simon |title=Oman orders Vickers Tank |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/260345870/?terms=challenger%202%20oman&match=1 |access-date=11 November 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=23 June 1993}}</ref> and a further 20 in November 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Harrison |first1=Michael |last2=Godsmark |first2=Chris |date=1997-11-10 |title=Car makers in the frame fo battle for the control of Rolls-Royce |url=https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/ |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=The Independent |publisher=newspapers.com |page=18}}</ref> Both batches ordered by Oman contain notable differences from the UK version: a larger cooling group and rear [[towing eyes]], running gear and bazooka plates similar to Challenger 1, and a loader's [[M2 Browning|Browning 0.5 Calibre M2 Heavy Machine Gun]]. Deliveries of Challenger 2 to Oman were completed in 2001.

[[File:Challenger2-Bergen-Hohne-Training-Area-2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A Challenger 2 Tank of the [[Royal Scots Dragoon Guards]] (Squadron D) during live fire training exercises on [[Bergen-Hohne Training Area]] (Germany)]]
The tank was then accepted into service in 1998. An equally important milestone was the In-Service Reliability Demonstration (ISRD) in 1998. The CR2 In-Service Reliability Demonstration (ISRD) milestone was successfully achieved in January 1999. The ISRD took place from September to December 1998. Twelve fully crewed tanks were tested at the [[Bovington]] test tracks and the [[Lulworth]] Bindon ranges. The tank exceeded all staff requirements.