Problems still persist, the UK MoD won’t accept GD’s Ajax AFVs
LONDON ($1=0.89 GBP) — The Ajax armored fighting vehicle being developed by General Dynamics for the British Army continues to have problems. Or more precisely: old problems remain unresolved. This is clear from a statement by Alec Shelbrooke, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.
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The Ajax AFV vibrates and is noisy. Shelbrooke said that the British Ministry of Defense is constantly trying to solve these problems in its joint work with General Dynamics Land Systems UK [GDLS-UK]. But the Ministry of Defense will not accept it into service until it allows it to be used safely.
Nearly 590 units of 40mm Ajax AFVs are to be brought into service and combat readiness in the British Army. In June of this year, BulgarianMilitary.com wrote that this may not happen soon. Shelbrooke confirmed this information, saying that they “cannot determine a realistic timetable for bringing Ajax into operational service.”
By mid-2022, the British government had spent more than half of the funds provided under the program. Shelbrooke responded that the Ministry of Defense was protecting taxpayers’ interests under the GDLS-UK contract, in March, an NAO report said “the gaps are unsolvable”. Criticism from the NAO has been directed at bad decisions and the contractor – the NAO claims that “GDLS-UK has never been able to understand the scale of the program and its complexity.”
The bad news was announced by the NAO back in March of this year. The agency claims that it is not yet known exactly how much money has been spent on the program so far [until March]. Even then, the NAO said that leaders at the UK Ministry of Defense should learn from their mistakes. Apparently, that’s not happening, with Shelbrooke confirming the existence of the old problems towards the end of the year.
General Dynamics Ajax
Ajax is an armored combat vehicle that needs to be fully digitalized and increase the combat capability of the British ground forces. At present, however, only 324 corps have been built, only 143 armored vehicles have been assembled and completed, and the British Army has received only 26 units.
For years, stages and target dates in the production of the armored vehicle were missed. The NAO says that the problem of noise and vibration and their impact on the health of soldiers have not yet been resolved.
Otherwise, Ajax is a 38-ton “monster” with the ability to reach 42 tons, depending on modifications and armaments. It is powered by MTU Friedrichshafen 600 kW (800 bhp) V8 engin and RENK 6 speed HSWL 256B transmission. The maximum speed that Ajax develops is 70 km / h.
The main armament consists of a CT40 40 mm gun developed jointly by BAE Systems and Nexter. The L94A1 coaxial 7.62 mm chain gun Kongsberg Protector Remote Weapon Station is also located on the turret. The vehicle is driven by a crew of 3 soldiers and will be able to transport an additional seven.
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