Ajax (formerly Scout Specialist Vehicles)
Ajax is the British Army’s new multi-role, fully-digitised armoured fighting vehicle delivering a step-change in versatility and agility, being delivered by Defence Equipment & Support [DE&S] through the biggest single order of armoured vehicles in a generation. Ajax is a family of network-enabled armoured vehicles intended to meet the Army’s requirement to operate effectively in the digital battlespace. It will replace the in-service Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) (CVR(T)) fleet which is over 40 years old and suffers capability and obsolescence issues. The CRV(T) Out of Service Date was originally 2014, but has since been extended to 2023.
The Armoured Cavalry program, alongside the Mechanised Infantry program (delivering Boxer), will enable the Army’s Strike capability through the transformation of the Armoured Cavalry and the generation of Medium Armour capabilities. The Armoured Cavalry program delivers Ajax into service. Ajax provides a reconnaissance and direct fire engagement capability alongside Boxer providing dismounted troops on to the battlefield; together they form the Army’s Strike capability. Ajax is being developed and manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems UK (GDUK), the prime contractor, supported by GD European Land Systems, GD Mission Systems and other second party sub-contractors. Ajax was developed with concurrent demonstration and manufacture. Far from being a modified Military Off-the-Shelf (MOTS) program the Ajax program was in practice spearheading a range of world-leading technologies and hence required significant testing in the demonstration phase to raise the Systems Readiness Level before moving on to the manufacturing phase.
The program was originally known as the SCOUT Specialist Vehicle (SV) program. It was renamed AJAX, along with new names for each variant, at DSEI in September 2015. ‘Ajax’ refers to the Armoured Cavalry program covering a family of six armoured vehicles. ‘AJAX’ refers to the individual variant. The 6 variants are:
- AJAX - turreted version fitted with 40mm cannon; reconnaissance; including ground-based surveillance and joint fire control specialist capabilities
- ARES - armoured personnel carrier; protected mobility reconnaissance support, including formation reconnaissance overwatch and engineer reconnaissance; delivering and supporting specialist troops across the battlefield
- ATHENA - command and control; providing a mobile battlefield headquarters
- ARGUS - engineer reconnaissance; carrying specialist engineering equipment and personnel
- ATLAS - recovery vehicle; equipment and support recovery; recovering damaged vehicles
- APOLLO - repair vehicle; equipment and support repair; repairing and towing damaged vehicles
AJAX represents the future of Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV) for the British Army, providing best-in-class protection and survivability, reliability and mobility and all-weather Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Recognition (ISTAR) capabilities. Its range of variants will allow the British Army to conduct sustained, expeditionary, full-spectrum and network-enabled operations with a reduced logistics footprint. AJAX can operate in combined-arms and multinational situations across a widerange of future operating environments. Each AJAX platform is designed for future growth. With an upper design limit of 42 tonnes of driveline capacity, scalable and open Electronic Architecture and a modular armour system, it has enormous potential to combat future threats and incorporate new technology throughout the lifespan of the platform.
Providing best-in-class protection and survivability, reliability and mobility, and all-weather Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Recognition (ISTAR), the AJAX Family of Vehicles (FoV) enable sustained, expeditionary, full-spectrum and network-enabled operations with a reduced logistics footprint. AJAX can operate in combined-arms and multi-national situations across a wide-range of future operating environments. Each AJAX variant has been ‘future-proofed’ to ensure it can be upgraded quickly and effectively throughout its service. With a surplus payload capacity and an open Electronic Architecture that is stable, secure and safe, the AJAX FoV have extensive potential to combat future threats and incorporate the latest technology.
In a report 03 June 2022 the Public Accounts Committee says the Ministry of Defence has “once again made fundamental mistakes in its planning and management of a major equipment programme” and is “failing to deliver the enhanced armoured vehicles capability that the Army needs to better protect the nation and meet its NATO commitments.” The PAC said the Ajax program, begun in 2010 and “intended to transform the Army’s surveillance and reconnaissance capability” has “gone badly wrong”. MoD has a £5.5 billion firm-price contract with General Dynamics Land Systems UK for the design, manufacture and initial in-service support of 589 Ajax armoured vehicles, and initially expected to bring Ajax into service in 2017 - but subsequently missed a revised target of June 2021.
Ajax’s design is based on a pre-existing vehicle, but the Department’s 1,200 capability requirements meant that, in effect, it was developed from scratch. However, the Department and General Dynamics did not fully understand the complexity and challenges of this hybrid approach and did not manage design changes effectively. The Department says it has reviewed its approach to requirement setting and now only approves programs with a reasonable number of requirements, such as the 150 to 200 for the purchase of Boxer armoured personnel carriers and the upgraded Challenger tanks. Ajax’s problems were exacerbated by inadequate governance and program management failures. The current senior responsible owner, appointed in October 2021, is the first to be full-time, but even he has additional corporate roles and responsibilities. The program’s reset in 2018 introduced greater complexity and the revised program schedule was unrealistic.
By December 2021 MoD had paid General Dynamics £3.2 billion for just 26 Ajax vehicles, none of which it can use: MoD still does not know how to fix noise and vibration problems two years after identifying they were injuring soldiers using the tanks. More than a year behind the revised schedule, slow progress and continued delays create “significant risks to value for money, put at risk the Army’s plans for transformation and mean soldiers will have to use existing outdated vehicles for longer”, while the “program remains under significant pressure”. Trials involving Army crews have been suspended indefinitely and noise and vibration issues remain unresolved. MoD and General Dynamics remain in dispute over payment.
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