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United Kingdom BAE Systems
L52A3 APFSDS
Latest-generation British 120 mm APFSDS round fired from the rifled L30A1 gun, developed as a Challenger 2 upgrade round.
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-05
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
UK export-licensed
Subject to UK SPIRE licensing (ECJU); generally available to allied states.
Channel: Government-to-government or direct
Fielded & proven
Operator data not public
Status: active.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
No public unit price to model from. Why so few systems publish one →
Interoperability
Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Full specifications
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
| Caliber Bore diameter of the main gun or rifle. Larger throws heavier projectiles; not simply better, ammunition commonality matters. | 120 mm |
|---|
Munition
Round type, penetration, velocity and projectile data.
| Round type APFSDS (kinetic sabot), HEAT / multipurpose, HE-FRAG, canister or gun-launched ATGM. | APFSDS |
|---|---|
| Penetration Published/estimated rolled-homogeneous-armour-equivalent penetration. Values are open-source estimates; real figures are classified. | 650 mm RHA |
| Muzzle velocity Speed as the projectile leaves the barrel. Higher flattens trajectory and shortens time-to-target. | 1,650 m/s |
Specifications compiled from public BAE Systems and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-05.
Compare with rivals
Raytheon (RTX) GBU-53/B StormBreaker (SDB II) 
Israel Aerospace Industries LAHAT gun-launched ATGM 
