In its first public appearance, General Dynamics Land Systems–UK, which is based at Oakdale, showcased AJAX at the Tank 100 celebration at The Tank Museum in Bovington, South Dorset.
The Tank 100 event took place 100 years after the first tank battle in history, at the Battle of Flers, and commemorates the centenary of the tank and the sacrifice of those British tank soldiers over the century.
AJAX has recently successfully completed live firing testing at a range in West Wales. The testing focused on generating specific data and evidence to support manned firing trials planned for early next year.
Kevin Connell, vice president of General Dynamics Land Systems–UK, said: “We are delighted to support The Tank Museum’s celebration marking 100 years of the tank. The introduction of the tank in 1916 was a watershed moment on the battlefield during the First World War, and it has continued to play a significant role in military operations ever since. While the tanks of today are very different to the first, the service and dedication of tank soldiers remains the same.”
The range of AJAX variants will allow the British Army to conduct sustained, expeditionary, full-spectrum and network-enabled operations with a reduced logistics footprint. They will operate in combined-arms and multinational situations across a wide-range of future operating environments. The first British Army squadron will be equipped by mid-2019 to allow conversion to begin with a brigade ready to deploy from the end of 2020.
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