Well, I think they just kept it from the Chieftain....I think that when they were first with the 120mm(Chieftain) they kind of got fixated with the rifling, while the other MBT makers had time to think it over...When the Challenger I came out it got baiscally the same L11 120mm rifled main gun as the Chieftain...So, when they had to decide what to do for a main gun for the Challenger II, someone probably stood up and said "We already got a rifled 120mm, and our other tanks have it...We might as well improve it a bit and stick it on..."
They now wish to develope a Smooth-Bore to replace it:
Quote:
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Challenger 2 is equipped with an L30, 120mm rifled tank gun from BAE Systems RO Defence. In January 2004, RO Defence was awarded a contract to develop a new smoothbore 120mm gun for the British Army Challenger tanks. A technical demonstrator will be produced by 2006.
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http://www.army-technology.com/proje...er2/index.html