The firing involved testing the main 40mm stabilised cannon and chain gun while Ajax was static.
The test was conducted by General Dynamics-UK and Lockheed Martin-UK with the MOD observing.
The Senior Requirements Manager for the AJAX Programme, Lt Col David Cathro, said:
“This a great achievement for the programme. The challenges in getting to this point should not be underestimated and today is the result of a lot of hard work by General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, CTAI, DE&S and the Army. Seeing the firings today gives us confidence that the Army will receive this battle winning and transformational capability on time and to budget.”
Ajax is a development of the ASCOD armoured fighting vehicle used by the Spanish and Austrian armed forces. In 2010, General Dynamics UK was selected as the winner of the Future Rapid Effect System contract with the ASCOD Common Base Platform, beating BAE Systems’ CV-90 proposal.
The UK government announced the order for 589 Scout SV vehicles in 2014, totaling a cost of £3.5 billion. A number of Block 2 variants has been merged into the Block 1 order, which still encompass the planned 589 vehicles.
The variants ordered include:
- 245 turreted ‘Ajax’ variants
- 198 Reconnaissance and Strike (Ajax)
- 23 Joint Fire Control (Ajax)
- 24 Ground Based Surveillance (Ajax)
- 256 Protected Mobility Recce Support (PMRS) variants
- 59 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC)(Ares)
- 112 Command and Control(Athena)
- 34 Formation Reconnaissance Overwatch(Ares)
- 51 Engineer Reconnaissance (Argus)
- 88 Engineering variants based on the PMRS
- 38 Recovery vehicles (Atlas)
- 50 Repair vehicles (Apollo)
Further variants, including an ambulance type, are speculated in a future Block 2 order. The first vehicles are planned to be delivered in 2017.
Are these supposed to replace Warrior?
Nope, CVRT.
No, they’ll replace the Scorpion family vehicles – Scimitar, etc.
They are intended to replace the CRVT series of vehicles.
No, the are replacing the armoured reconnaissance vehicles.
Deadpool call it francis
What?
I was gonna say the same thing. Francis, ultimate.
Well, enlighten us then? ..
Ajax is a character in Deadpool but Deadpool calls him Francis(his real name) to piss him off.
What a poor joke.
Prefer those massive guns from the cold war era, this looks so puny, though im guessing it isnt.
It’ll still smart a bit if you get hit by one
This is not a Tank guys!!!
Who the hell designs these tanks ???
Why not make something like this ?
We’ll wipe the floor with Ajax ?
@ David Southern
No. The FRES programme (if it is even still called that) was supposed to replace a bunch of different fleets of ageing vehicles with 2 new ones: one based on a tracked chassis, the other one a wheeled chassis. The Ajax line of vehicles is what the tracked variant of FRES turned into and it is supposed to replace the CRV(T) family (Scimitar, Spartan, Sultan, …) and the FV430s.
The Warriors are getting a separate upgrade programme, which will include the same 40mm CTA cannon for some of them.
Is it wearing a sexy camouflage nightie?
Drive it over an IED ….. then you’ll know if it’s worth the money
They are designed with mines, IED’s and ballistic protection.
Benjamin Christopher Collins
The new 40mm telescoped ammunition packs quite a punch actually. A summary comment I read recently likened it to a 50mm type weapon. + in comes with a selection of interesting ammo right up to anti air, and lots more ammo due to the new configuration. It revolutionary.
For this type of vehicle its EXTREAMLY well armed.
Seems barrel life is a bit short and 20,000 lbs of recoil may take its toll on the vehicle. Development started in the 1950’s so not really revolutionary as it took this long to integrate into a vehicle !
Are going to add a javelin launcher?