The UK’s Ajax armoured cavalry programme, intended to provide the British Army with a new generation of armoured fighting vehicles (AFV) and variants, is projecting to deliver more than 180 vehicles by the end of 2025.
Should it be met, the delivery would represent a significant proportion of the 589 units due to be acquired. In 2024 it was disclosed that 152 Ajax programme vehicles had been built, representing just over 25% of the planned total fleet number.
In a 17 March written parliamentary response, UK Minister for Defence Procurement Maria Eagle said the vehicles being delivered in 2025 would be “operationally deployable”.
Earlier, in mid-2024, the UK government had stated that the British Army’s Ajax armoured cavalry programme would not reach initial operating capability (IOC) until December 2025.
The IOC standard vehicle is known as Capability Drop 3 and forms the deployable standard ahead of the spiral development and integration of Capability Drop 4, or Full Operating Capability (FOC).
British Army officials disclosed in September 2024 that the service had received its first Capability Drop 3 Athena command post vehicle.
In total the programme is intended to deliver the platforms across six variants, incorporating the Ajax AFV, Apollo armoured recovery vehicle, Ares armoured personnel carrier, Argus reconnaissance vehicle, Athena command post vehicle, and Atlas engineering vehicle into British Army service.
The Ajax programme had to be paused in 2021 following revelations that crews training on early-build iterations had experiencing significant medical issues related to excessive noise and vibration.
Trials subsequently since restarted, with hot weather tests taking place in 2024.
Ajax to stand side-by-side with Challenger 3
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), a term seemingly lifted straight from the lexicon of the US Army.
Situated in Armoured BCT formations, the Ajax AFV would complement the current Challenger 2 and future Challenger 3 main battle tanks in providing the British Army’s lead heavy armour element.
