The latest British Ajax armored vehicles, on which the kingdom spent $ 5 billion, were almost unusable. Apparently, the development turned out to be more dangerous for the British military itself than for the enemies. It turned out that the high-tech, one of the most advanced armored vehicles in the world, because of the vibration is not able to shoot on the move, and its maximum speed has to be limited to 30 kilometers per hour, which is half of what it is capable of.
In order not to risk the health of the military, from November 2020 to March 2021, the operation of all armored vehicles of the Ajax family was suspended. The military leadership and manufacturers decide how to eliminate the excessive vibration that appears during the movement of the car at high speeds, as well as other design defects of armored vehicles.The conditions inside the car are so uncomfortable that the crew is forced to constantly wear noise-canceling headphones, but even with protective equipment, it is difficult to sit in the cabin for an hour and a half. After a long stay in the car, the crew members were found to have swollen joints, and they complained of a constant buzzing in their ears.
#AJAX – The British Army’s first digital Armoured Fighting Vehicle… enabling ‘prototype warfare’ #FirstDigitalAFV #BritishArmy #AFV pic.twitter.com/naUVNlx1zg
— General Dynamics UK (@gduknews) October 1, 2020
The UK has long been going to modernize the fleet of armored vehicles and has long considered various options. At the moment, the basis of the equipment of the British ground forces is the CVR(T) family of vehicles, created in the late sixties of the last century. These machines are outdated and can not fully solve the tasks set inin the context of modern conflicts. Therefore, it was decided to adopt several types of equipment of the Scout SV family, which received the new name Ajax. The rearmament program was approved in 2010, and an order for 589 vehicles in six variants was made in 2014. The first deliveries of armored vehicles were made in 2019 and should continue until 2025.
The development of the Scout SV/Ajax project was carried out by the English branch of General Dynamics European Land Systems. It was based on the ASCOD 2 project, a joint Austrian-Spanish development. Several hundred cars of this family are currently operated by Austria and Spain. The Ajax that entered service with the British army is a modified version of this technique.
The main element of the Ajax project is a universal tracked chassis with a set of armor protection, on which various combat modules, special equipment, etc.can be mounted. The combat weight is 35-42 tons, depending on the equipment. There is an Ajax with cannon armament, a PMRS (Protected Mobility Recce Support) armored personnel carrier, and a special PMRS variant for additional tasks, including fire control vehicles and reconnaissance variants with surveillance equipment.
The hull accommodates up to three crew members and several paratroopers or other specialists. The machines can collect data from various surveillance devices and sensors, store it, and transmit it to other crews or a command post. All machines of the family received unified elements of electronic equipment. The equipment is proposed to be built on an open architecture and equipped with a set of necessary elements. There are also places for the installation of various types of combat modules, including those equipped with remote control.