The British Army’s Ajax armoured fighting vehicles (AFV) will be fitted with new thermal sleeves to surround the platform’s 40mm main gun following a “rapid procurement contract” with General Dynamics UK, Nexter Systems, and CTA International.
Acquired under a nine-month programme, the thermal sleeves, which have recently been delivered to General Dynamics UK, will improve firing accuracy and life span of the barrel of the CT40 40mm main gun, according to UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S).
The Ajax thermal sleeve will also contribute to reduce the thermal signature of the Ajax during and after firing. With the proliferation of small drones, often fitted with thermal cameras, across the battlefields of the Ukraine-Russia war, it appears the UK has moved to ‘war-spec’ the Ajax AFV fleet as it is delivered to the British Army.
The thermal sleeves have been developed by industry partners Nexter Systems and CTA International and have been modified by GDUK for use on Ajax. The sleeve works by being mounted on to the cannon’s weapon barrel support which allows the barrel to recoil freely inside whilst it remains static.
Colonel Jamie Hayward, British Army armoured cavalry programme director said: “The CTAI CT40 Thermal Sleeve is an off-the-shelf solution designed for the CT40 cannon’s static barrel bend, an integral part of the weapon system which is now being incorporated to further enhance the firing accuracy and improve the life span of the barrel.”
Ajax numbers delivered reaches 91 vehicles
According to a UK parliamentary written answer on 25 March, as of 19 March, 19 Ajax AFVs had been accepted by the Ministry of Defence so far in 2025, to a total of 91 platforms delivered so far.
It is not known how many of the 91 Ajax AFVs delivered are operationally deployable, with the number withheld due to national security.
Recently reported by Army Technology, the British Army intended to see more than 180 vehicles across the Ajax programme delivered by the end of the year, including command, medical, and engineer variants.
The Ajax AFV and armoured variants will form a central role of the British Army’s future combat structure, under the so-called Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) structure.
Situated in Armoured BCT formations, the Ajax would complement the current Challenger 2 and future Challenger 3 main battle tanks in providing the British Army’s lead heavy armour formations.
