Britain sending DOZENS of Challenger 2 tanks across Channel to prep for WW3 & join biggest Nato wargames since Cold War

DOZENS of British tanks will thunder through the Channel Tunnel in drills to prepare for war with Russia.

Top Brass have ordered tank crews to haul mothballed Challenger 2s out of storage amid fears of looming conflict.

The Army said it was part of the largest deployment of armour to Europe since 1984 when 132,000 Brits staged Exercise Lionheart.

That drill, almost 40 years ago, was the largest UK mobilisation since the end of World War Two and saw 55,000 personnel swoop into Germany on 290 flights and 150 voyages by sea.

More than 50 British main battle tanks are due to take part in vast Nato war games, codemaned Exercise Steadfast Defender, alongside 90,000 allied troops.

A dozen British tanks will come from a base in Sennelager, Germany, with a handful pulled out of storage.

The rest of the 62-ton beasts will be loaded on specialist trains in Britain for the journey to eastern Europe in May.

The drills are part of Steadfast Defender, the largest Nato exercise since the end of the Cold War.

More than 600 British armoured vehicles and 1,500 troops from the Desert Rats have already set course for Poland for the opening phase of the five-month-long drills.

Warships, submarines and a Royal Navy aircraft carrier are also taking part alongside RAF jets, sub-hunting planes and the UK’s new cyber force.

The Army has 213 Challenger 2 tanks after it gave 14 to Ukraine last year.

One was hit by a Russian drone but its three-man crew survived and the tank was recovered in Ukraine's summer counter-offensive.

Another 18 Challenger 2s are based in Estonia to beef up Nato's deterrent.

They are not expected to take part in the drills.

Scores more are held in storage in Britain and many have been stripped for parts to keep the active service fleet working.

An Army source said moving armour to Europe was “what we have done in two world wars”.

They added: “We don't have a British Army of the Rhine anymore.

“If you want to fight on the continent you've got to take the vehicles over there.

“It's what we do, it's what we have done in two world wars.”

The government is planning to cut the tank fleet to just 148 when it upgrades to Challenger 3.

Existing Challenger 2 chassis will be fitted with new turrets and guns as well as explosive reactive armour.

Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace vowed to review the cuts last year in light of the war in Ukraine.

He said: “Even as we gift Challenger 2 Tanks [to Ukraine], I shall be reviewing the number of Challenger 3 conversions to consider whether the lessons of Ukraine suggest that we need a larger tank fleet.”

But his hopes were dashed when the extra cash for defence was earmarked for the nuclear deterrent and replacing equipment and ammo donated to Ukraine.

Figures released this week show Russia has lost more than 3,000 tanks since Putin unleashed his full scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

The figure is the equivalent of Russia’s entire in-service fleet, the International Institute of Strategic Studies reported.

Its Militay Balane report, a yardstick of global armed forces, said Moscow had traded “quality for quantity” by dragging vintage tanks out of long-term storage.

An Army source said a handful of Challenger 2s earmarked for Steadfast Defender had been held in “light storage” but were not “mothballed”.