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| The Ajax, which will be ready for deployment by 2020 |
The Ajax was born out of the need for a replacement for the CVR(T), a varied family of Armoured Fighting Vehicles in Service with the British Army. As the CVR(T)s aged, the many roles they fulfilled had to be replaced, and like the CVR(T) it made sense to have all those roles within a family of similar vehicles. The Future Rapid Effect System program was set up to find the CVR(T)’s replacement and in 2010 General Dynamics was awarded the contract to build the replacements, which will be based off the ASCOD, Armoured Vehicles currently in service with the Austrian and Spanish armies. In 2014 the MOD ordered 589 Ajax vehicles (a number that hasn’t changed) of multiple variants at a price of £3.5 billion.
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| The Ajax is a family of vehicles, all similar, but each with a different specialisation |
The variants consist of 245 turreted variants, simply called Ajax, for reconnaissance and strike. The rest of the 589 is made up of the Ares variant - Armoured Personnel Carriers, the Argus variants - Engineer reconnaissance, the Athena variant - Command and Control, the Atlas variant - recovery vehicles and finally the Apollo variant - repair vehicles (I’m sure you’ve noticed the theme of Greek mythology amongst the names). The variety of variants perfectly replaces the CVR(T)s and keeps the Army with a great variety of equipment at a lower cost, due to the common design.
The Ajax vehicle is well thought out, from top to bottom. Its final assembly is in Wales, meaning a total of 1300 skilled jobs have been in the UK. Alongside this, 75% of the Ajax turret is being produced in the UK, and 80% of its manufacture will be completed here.
The aim of a compact armoured fighting vehicle is to be small, nimble and fast, so the Ajax utilises every inch of space available. With a turret ring of 1.7m, which is comparatively large for the size of its body, it creates a better working environment for the crew of 2 and allows 4 passengers if necessary. It is needless to say that the Ajax is packed with all the bells and whistles that a 21st century AFV should require. Maybe one of the most noticeable has been taken from the Army’s Naval counterparts, this being an Acusonic sensor system that uses sound to detect the source of enemy fire. This enhances the crew’s situational awareness, allowing them to respond more effectively to threats, with each vehicle fitted with 3 sensors, giving a 360° view. It is based on Thales’ work on naval sonar and uses the same principle to detect sound travelling through the air as in water.
The Ajax, as with all technically advanced capabilities, are never easy to produce without a series of hurdles. It has been a long and lengthy process, with many changes in design from 2012, to what the end result is today. This is evident in the highly priced £500 million demonstration phase contract. However, it seems all this meticulous attention has the potential to pay off when the last vehicle is handed over in 2026.
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