MSPO 2025: General Dynamics Land Systems presents Ajax infantry fighting vehicle in Poland for the first time.

At MSPO 2025 in Kielce, General Dynamics Land Systems presented the Ajax tracked combat vehicle in Poland for the first time, marking the debut of the British Army’s new platform before an international audience. The event provided a direct look at the vehicle’s design and capabilities at a time when Poland is expanding its interest in modern tracked armored fleets. The Ajax programme had only recently entered the delivery stage, with frontline British Army units beginning to receive production vehicles in January 2025. The appearance at the exhibition placed the vehicle in front of regional stakeholders while its integration into the UK force structure is still underway.
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The Ajax has been in development since the early 2010s, when General Dynamics UK was selected as the winner of the Future Rapid Effect System programme with the ASCOD 2 common base platform. (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The Ajax has been in development since the early 2010s, when General Dynamics UK was selected as the winner of the Future Rapid Effect System programme with the ASCOD 2 common base platform. In 2014, the UK ordered 589 vehicles at a cost of £3.5 billion, with the expectation of deliveries beginning in 2017, but technical issues caused delays. Problems with noise and vibration led to a halt in trials from 2020 to 2022 and caused injuries among test crews, forcing new engineering work. Reliability growth trials resumed in 2023, and deliveries to operational units started in January 2025 after more than seven years of delay. By April 2025, 100 vehicles had been delivered, with Initial Operating Capability projected for late 2025 and Full Operating Capability expected between 2028 and 2029.

The family of vehicles includes six main variants based on a common chassis, allowing for modular design and shared logistics. These variants are the Ajax reconnaissance vehicle with a turreted 40 mm CTAS cannon, the Ares armored personnel carrier, the Athena command vehicle, the Atlas armored recovery vehicle, the Apollo armored repair vehicle, and the Argus engineering reconnaissance vehicle. Of the original order, 245 were for the turreted Ajax, 93 for Ares, 112 for Athena, 38 for Atlas, 50 for Apollo, and 51 for Argus. These vehicles are intended for roles within Armoured Brigade Combat Teams and the Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team, replacing older tracked reconnaissance vehicles. The British Army began receiving some Ares vehicles earlier in the programme, but the wider fleet is only now beginning to arrive in significant numbers.

The Ajax reconnaissance variant is armed with the 40 mm CTAS cannon firing cased telescoped ammunition and a 7.62 mm coaxial chain gun, with trials also testing a remote weapon station with a general-purpose machine gun and Javelin anti-tank missile. The turret has a diameter of 1.7 metres, providing more space for crew and systems compared to earlier vehicles. The vehicle has a baseline weight of 38 tonnes, with growth potential up to 42 tonnes through modular armor kits. It is powered by an 800 hp MTU V8 diesel engine connected to a RENK HSWL 256B six-speed transmission, allowing a top road speed of 70 km/h and an operational range of about 500 km. The crew is typically three, with additional passenger capacity in the Ares variant.

The vehicle’s electronics and architecture are designed to provide advanced intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance functions. Its 20 Gbit/s Ethernet backbone enables the capture and processing of six terabytes of data, which can be shared through the integrated Bowman communication system. Sensors allow automated search, tracking, and target detection at extended ranges, while a silent auxiliary power unit enables these systems to remain active when the main engine is not running. The Ajax also incorporates modular ballistic protection and is designed to support future integration of systems such as active protection suites. Extensive testing since 2022 has included over 40,000 km of trials and the firing of about 5,000 rounds as part of the reliability programme.

Industrial participation has been structured to maximize domestic involvement in the United Kingdom. Around 80 percent of manufacturing is conducted in Britain, with 70 percent of the supply chain sourced locally, supporting more than 4,000 jobs. Final assembly was moved to Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, while Lockheed Martin UK has responsibility for the turret and fire control system, Thales UK supplies the sighting systems, Rheinmetall manufactures the turrets, and Meggitt produces the ammunition handling system. The programme also involved investment in local facilities and workforce, including 230 UK suppliers. This industrial approach reflects long-term policy to ensure self-sufficiency in armored vehicle production.

Future development paths for the common base platform have been studied since the start of the programme. Proposals have included additional combat configurations such as a direct fire variant with a 120 mm cannon, a mortar carrier, a short-range air defense platform, logistics support vehicles, and an ambulance. Earlier demonstration models were tested in cold climates down to minus 36 degrees Celsius, and the vehicle was shown publicly at events such as Tankfest 2024 in the UK. The modular architecture is intended to accommodate new weapons, sensors, and defensive systems over time. The MSPO 2025 presentation therefore not only highlighted the current vehicle but also indicated how the platform could be developed further in response to operational needs.