A teenage British soldier from Minden in Germany is driving one of 20 formidable Challenger 2 main battle tanks on Exercise BLACK EAGLE - a British/Polish military exercise being conducted in Western Poland this month. Trooper Darren Furminger, aged 19, is a tank crewman with Tidworth-based The King’s Royal Hussars (KRH) and is one of more than 1000 British troops taking part in the large NATO exercise in Eastern Europe. “This is my first deployment, being out with my unit,” says Trooper Furming

During the next ten years, 148 of the British Army's 227 existing Challenger 2 main battle tanks are set to be upgraded as part of an £800m contract. The changes focus on a new turret being added to the existing Challenger 2 hulls - the Ministry of Defence says the upgraded tank, named 'Challenger 3', will be the "most lethal tank in Europe". The new tank plans were unveiled as long-awaited upgrades to the Warrior armoured vehicle were cancelled - a programme that also focused on building a new