General Dynamics Land Systems–UK, working with Lockheed Martin, has unveiled a new Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) variant of Ajax at DSEI 2025 in London.
The design builds on a lengthened Ajax hull, stretched by about 30 centimetres compared to the baseline Ares, and integrates a new uncrewed turret developed in Britain by Lockheed Martin. The turret carries the 40mm CTA cannon first acquired for earlier Army programmes, offering greater firepower and flexibility.
The vehicle is configured for a crew of three plus eight dismounts. Features highlighted at the show included space for anti-tank guided missiles, active protection systems, and the use of composite rubber tracks from Soucy Defence.
The unveiling at the ExCel centre drew a strong crowd, with industry noting the significance of the UK-developed turret and the move to broaden the Ajax family. General Dynamics described the new IFV as “a major step forward in British armoured vehicle innovation”, pointing to sovereign investment, collaboration and the aim of delivering operational advantage.
At the unveiling, company representatives highlighted how the new variant “leverages the advanced Ajax electronic architecture and a proven survivability solution, both passive and active, enabling the highest level of protection for our British and NATO soldiers.”
Presented as export-ready, the platform is designed and built in the UK with a view to supporting NATO operations and future partnerships. Its appearance at DSEI is a signal to international customers that the Ajax family can be adapted into a more combat-oriented role.
Is this the Warrior replacement we have been waiting for?
Yes but with a hefty development price tag no doubt
Of course, we should be buying this to reequip the armoured infantry but we won’t. It’s probably far too expensive, more expensive than say upgrading Warrior or buying CV90. Anyway the Army is committed to Boxer, with it’s high profile, wheels & wholly inadequate weapons station (top side GPMG).
Might not be so simple, Rob.
There are lots of rumours and reports that the Army is looking at Ares to replace the Warrior in AI Battalions and that Boxer will migrate to 7 Brigade.
Now with this in the mix, who knows.
Maybe but you can’t fit a proper infantry section into Ares can you unless you are splitting the section into two vehicles which would be mad cost wise. I do think something will have to give because, although I’m a fan of Boxer, it most certainly isn’t an IFV.
I read something about removing storage racks at the back to increase dismounts.
Agree on Boxer. The reasons for HMG turning in desperation to it have been discussed many times here, it was not originally planned to fulfil this role.
I hope they reduce any further orders of it and to compensate increase numbers of a cheaper OTS type for supporting roles.
Put Boxer in all wheeled 7 Brigade and move Foxhound into 4, which would be an uplift for that formation at least.
Even though the elephant in the room, sod all regular CS CSS for it, remains.
Also heard mods to Ares turret too, not sure how accurate but it would make sense. Very limited number of Ares ordered though (Wikipedia says 93).
Those 93 are for carrying small teams in varied roles, much as Spartan did previously.
If they want to put 4 or 5 Battalions in a modified Ares more would be ordered.
I’d read the idea was to order fewer Boxer in any future tranches and more Ares.
With this IFV type now unveiled, no idea any more.
I’ve heard, not sure on validity so could just be Chinese whispers, that they are already converting some of those 93 to IFV spec.
Certainly a convoluted mess….again.
As I understand it, even enlarged you only get 6 dismounts from Ares, but this is the full 8.
My understanding too.
Probably why the hull has been lengthened for this version.
Replace ‘looking at Ares’ with ‘ looking to new Ares IVF variant’ and your scenario makes sense, no?
This is beyond an adapted Ares.
Cost will be interesting. And timescales.
Cost isn’t likely to be that different. There are variations such as a more powerful engine option, rubber tracks to lessen noise and so on, but it’s broadly the same base, same LM turret, same 40mm gun – although the recon vehicle on display had a slightly upgraded cannon. They did say there was a manned turreted version with fewer dismounts, but I can’t see the Army going for that. It’s just another member of the Ajax family.
We’ll get it if we order it.
We’re bound to.
Boxer was never an IFV.
New commentary suggests that current government spending could be urgently reviewed before the autumn budget. Additionally, the French financial situation could impact UK military spending as the spectre of general tax rises is on the horizon. The British Army needs investment urgently; however, naval programmes and aircraft projects appear to be protected under international agreements, thus ringfencing their budgets. This may result in the Army losing out on receiving any additional vehicles beyond what has been signed off. This new Ajax variant may become nothing more than a pipe dream until the budget performance improves.
Hi M8, As you know Army isn’t my Bag, but I do like to look at things from an industrial point of view. To me this enlarged Ares makes a lot of sense and I’m not surprised that GDLS have put this out there.
As mich as I hate the US MIC they do know how to smell an opportunity and this one comes at a very opportune moment from both parties point of view.
The US Army has just cancelled the Booker M10 MPF after @80 odd vehicles had been delivered out 594 ordered. It’s derivative of the Griffin II, which in turn is derivative of our Ares ASCOD.
Which ll means that GDLS are after maximising their present customer base and open to a deal. From their US perspective they have the Griffin III as one of the 2 last competing companies for the OMFV (M2 Bradley Replacement) programme which is MEGA Money.
Fact is I think CV90 is a dead duck as a UK IFV is concerned (it lost last time), Warrior CSP in addition to Ares and Boxer makes zero sense (they use the same engine) and besides whioch the Army never admits to making mistakes.
As for Boxer I imagine the cancelation costs would be prohibitive so you may as well just buy them and use them to mount the RCH155 instead of extra orders.
As to the timing I think the Army know damn well that they need a modern Tracked IFV to replace Boxer, ordering a developed version of the Ajax can be presented as a cost efficient add on. So if Rachel from accounts can be persuaded to release the funds they will go for this.
This is like an Ajax 2 variants with an extended hull. Surely the UK can order some of these. As i understand it the Ajax assembly line will run dry on a few years once the UKs 590 or do vehicles are complete so this new IFV 2 version would be an excellent progression. Poland is also looking at purchasing the Ajax family so this may also be tilted to foreign orders as well to show how the ajax family can evolve. The USA also has General Dynamics in the last two for their Bradly IFV replacement so this can also be to show USA that GD can build tracked IFVs. ALL positive stuff really . Fingers crossed
I hope stretching the hull by 30cm doesn’t introduce vibrations 😂
Good, good, good , good vibrations…
I wonder whether the MoD/Army will actually announce we are buying something at DSEI?
There is quite a list building, from the vehicles considered in the LMP to 120mm mortars to SHORAD and CUAS systems.
Yes, Staff Cars.
At this stage would they be able to announce actual purchases/numbers ahead of the equipment plan, which is likely still being argued over with the treasury considering everything else being dumped into the defence budget. I note the new National Armaments Director still is still not in place.
Cavs has been announced but you would think if numbers were ready the Govt would have made a big deal of ordering X number of vehicles for the mainstream media headlines, to show how they’re delivering on defence etc.
The Cavs announcement alone is interesting as part of the rumour mill had indicated LMP medium may have been re-scoped for additional Boxer so it seems they didn’t go that way.
Glad they didn’t, given Boxers cost.
I want to see vehicles that are good enough, with numbers plentiful, rather than gold plated perfect for every role.
I read they even plan a Serpens Boxer.
Why? Can a radar not sit on a flatbed truck?
I read they want a Boxer Bridgelayer, to replace Titan!
Why!? Not as capable neither is the bridge the same size.
An IFV, and Boxer, Ajax, then other cheaper types supplementing in greater numbers please.
Buying IFVs built in the UK for the UK would be a clear Treasury / Defence win, it’s a no brainer and would begin rebalancing Army mobility, lethality and an ability to delete Warrior from ORBAT with her associated maintenance costs and deliver an operational maintenance cost across the tracked Ajax variants.
Just need several hundred panzers to bring the fleet back up to Division level and the requisite personnel…
… plus a new Regt of RMP for traffic duties 🙂
Behave.
If you delete the last sentence DB makes perfect sense, if they ordered 300 Ajax IFV, repurposed 96 of the Boxers for RCH155, started a production line for Patria to replace all the Bulldogs and somehow managed to convert 60 extra CR3 (from somewhere). I think you would be quite happy.
Or maybe not !
I’d be ecstatic mate.
My behave comment was regards David and his beloved RMP!
Thanks makes more sense. 👍 I’m also told that this thin thing is basically an ASCOD 2 but reworked by General Dynamics and in essence it’s the XM30 variant which the US Army is looking at as it’s Bradley replacement.
Yes, ABC just detailed that. Seems a no brainer as the AI need an IFV, not a Boxer with a MG on the roof.
Cardiff i.e. the GD plant in Merthyr Tydfil, is one of the Defence Industrial Strategy areas. Its odds on the MOD will be buying this IFV for the British Army.
A quick Google check it looks like 2028 will see the last build batch of 80 or so Ajax delivered with only retrofitted vehicles 140 ish plus delivered to the Army for 2029. And 2027 a peak delivery of around 130 vehicles. So it looks like in 3 years time the factory in Wales will not have too much to do . We would hope that something like the Ajax 2 ifv variants can start to roll out nicely in 2 to 3 tears time which will also time nicely with the Warrior vehicle retirement around 2030 I think . So let’s hope for a smooth transition to Ajax 2 IFV on the production line 🙂
I suppose the key question is how well developed is this prototype..
1) is it well developed and ready to go into serial production or does it need 10 years of development work.
2) does it come in at no more than 5 million per pop.
If both answers are yes, let’s buy 300 for the IA brigades. If the answer is no, let’s life extend warrior.
If it takes as long as it takes to build RN escorts and RFA vessels, they might have to!
I see the usual scattering of Army hanging around, will they order anything here or are they still going round in circles?
There were reports about 120mm Mortar years ago.
Life extending Warriors wouldn’t cost less than your 5 million. They need drive train replacement plus a new turret/gun and apparently some of the hulls are in poor condition.
Well they canned warrior upgrade because it was going to hit 1.5 billion for 350 vehicles..which just under 5million a pop on average.
Hi 589 Ajax on order present price £5.5 Billion, so if you do the math 300 costs @£3 billion and don’t forget that Warrior was just an update / refit / upgrade but using the original hulls, perkins engines and Transmissions.
Yep so it’s very possible for them to get an IFV version for 5 million a pop, it would be good if they did, not quite Bradley level cheap.. but the increase in tax base from the industrial stimulus would balance that out.
SO ASCOD hull, note seven road wheels. British Army don’t want CRT’s want steel – presumably fitted with CRT to make vibration tolerable for equipment & crew. Just a rehash of the Latvian vehicle really. Nothing new here, apart from Turret.
SO Given development & qualification timescales wouldn’t be ready until 2033 at the earliest GD want how much for development £200M? £12M each?
Agreed and this was my main concern with Ares in Armd Inf Bns , too few dismounts plus lack of a decent gun. The article specifically states that this stretched variant resolves that issue allowing for a crew of three ( commander , driver , gunner?) plus eight dismounts in the back . Don’t see how by stretching the hull by 30cm however they manage to squeeze in another four bods but quiet clearly having a completely unmanned turret will help. As an Infanteer however I will have to admit I’m quite enthused by this and it clarifies some of the duty rumours we have been hearing of late , Boxer going to 7X and 12X, 20X getting Ares instead. It just didn’t make sense with baseline Ares but with this thing paints a whole different picture indeed. We retain all eight dismounts ( 2 x Fire Teams) but also get a decent gun on the top.
I think one of the issues has been trying to squeeze in the mine protected seating for the pax. As others have said, they’ve pulled some equipment racks out of the recce support version, so they can squeeze in 6 seated bods. But doesn’t meet the standard squad size, hence the vehicle stretch. Pretty certain if the Ares used bench seats as per the original 432, you could get a lot more in. But the days of using bench seats have long gone by.
Thanks makes more sense. 👍 I’m also told that this thin thing is basically an ASCOD 2 but reworked by General Dynamics and in essence it’s the XM30 variant which the US Army is looking at as it’s Bradley replacement.
Drum roll please? Ta da!
Just announced.
UK and Norway joining Patria CAVS program.
OK mate, just looked this up to remind myself what this is. A 6×6 wheeled APV. So how does this fit with Boxer? I am guessing that they both fit into the mech brigades rather than armoured brigades or should do if we buy the above Ajax IFV, which actually doesn’t look too bad to my uneducated eye.
Cheers CR
Hi mate.
My eye is no more educated than yours regards vehicle specs. I agree, it looks the part.
Depends, as there are conflicting stories circulating. I’d not be surprised to see Patria in both 1 and 3 Divisions Brigades, rather than clinging to Boxer. And you have the FV432 issue….
A bit of timeline –
Historically, Warrior was supplemented by FV432 in Mechanized, then AI Battalions, and those Battalions also had Recc Platoon of Scimitar CVRT, which is now Ajax territory.
So you’d assume Patria would replace FV432, which is in 3 Division in 12 and 20 AI Brigades, and was also other 3 Division CS formations. ( Unless Mastiff has already replaced it in those roles.)
When it was revealed that the Army was now looking at ARES to do the IFV bit, the Boxers were mentioned as being relegated to “support roles” though unsure where.
With all these rumours flying, who knows which is current and correct.
The latest has Boxer moving from the all tracked AI Brigades, where FV432, the Ajax, Warrior, and eventually IFV will be, to 1 Divisions “Mechanized” wheeled Brigades. Of those Brigades, currently, 7 is only “Light Mech” as its Battalions are in Foxhound Protected Mobility vehicles, hardly “mechanized”, and 4 Brigade’s Battalions have nothing.
So Boxer moves to 1 Division into 7 Brigade, making it a true Mechanized formation. Great too, if its supporting RA Regiment, 4 RA, gets Boxer RCH155. Whether Patria goes with it I am uncertain, as those 432s in 3 Division need replacing, and a state funeral, the way they have served for so long. I assume Patria will be the MPM part of LMP, which is also needed to replace other wheeled armoured vehicle types in other CS and CSS formations, like Mastiff.
So yes, you would likely see Patria in 1 Divisions 7 Brigade alongside Boxer, as it may end up in that Brigades CS and CSS Regiments too.
Foxhound could then move to 4 Brigade, giving that an uplift, to be replaced in time by the a newer LPM type under the LMP program.
I have liked the look of Patria for a long time, as a cost effective supplementary purchase as “good enough” and a cheap enough unit price compared to the ruinously expensive, but better armoured, Boxer.
Army types may well correct some of this.
Cheers.
Just a thought…if, in order to make the Ajax IFV, they stretched the ARES chassis and fitted the CTA 40mm turret intended for Warrior CSP, then it ought to be possible to make a stretched ARES APC; fit the RS4 instead of the CTA turret. If you did that, then the 432s in the tracked regiments / brigades could be given a tracked APC replacement, if that made sense.
Will the 8 dismounts require spring mounted seats and ear defenders just like the crew? Don’t want them exiting with minor injuries from Ajax.
Behave, have you ever actually been in an AFV? Everybody, always wears ear defence, whether it’s a headset or other types. The “Spring mounted seats” are actually blast mitigating seats to stop the crew and pax from being turned into mush in the event of a mine blast.
👍
Mate, your thoughts on this IFV type?
Hi Daniele, I’ve been aware of this vehicle for a while. The unmanned turret + 40mm CT cannon is the best bit I reckon. Stretching the platform is a no brainer too, allowing the two extra blast mitigating seats to fit. It makes sense on several levels to me:
Uses available GFE weapons
Common electronic architecture to AJAX
Common hull (nearly)
Common running gear
Would slide into the production facility seamlessly
If it’s produced with a non gold plated sighting/surveillance system costs should be manageable.
My twopenneth
Cheers
That does not surprise me mate.
Which is why I asked, as your views on all things armoured vehicles carry weight with me here.
Cheers.
Likewise Daniele, I’m not even sure what an Orbat is! Some kind of airborne mammal?🤣🤣🤣🤣
Good one!
Maybe a new Army Drone shaped like a flying Squirrel, that loiters at night.
Rubber tracks. Not hybrid engines – yet.
So at the end of all this….Mastiff gets replaced by Boxer APC, Bulldog gets replaced by Patria 6×6 and Warrior gets replaced by this new stretched Ajax IFV; all of which will probably be built in the UK. Have I got that right?
Boxer might replace Foxhound in the Battalions of 7 Brigade, with Foxhound used by 4 Brigade, in time replaced by a newer LPM type.
But yes, overall. I’d see supporting vehicles in CS CSS formations ( FV432, Mastiff, Ridgeback, Wolfhound, Husky types ) being replaced by Patria with Boxer in Infantry Battalions in 1 Division and Ajax IFV in Infantry Battalions in 3 Division.
Can the RE have some too please😀🤞
Let wait and see, this could be ideal, but knowing the MOD they F it up, A chance have a decent IFV over Boxer and a machine gun.
Great, order 300.
Right. So it’s already designed. All it needs is an APS added and possible Brimstone ATGW mount and cannisters. How much for 400 such vehicles to equip all the British army’s IFV needs?
Now, off the shelf, no gold plating, no opportunity for the MOD or mandarins in the defence chiefs or army top brass to ruin it. How much per vehicle?