Ajax and Ares | The Future of Armoured Vehicles | British Army

Here at the British Army, we are always modernising.
By working closely with industry partners, we are ensuring that we remain an innovative, agile and lethal force.
You may be familiar with our armoured vehicle Ajax, but did you know that Ares is the name of the specialist troop carrying variant?
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[@man_vs_life]

The courage of the British Army is reflected in them having comments turned on on their videos. Anyway, a 40mm gun on this is definitely kick ass. Nice choice.

[@user-iq6gp8qo8b]

That huge notch in the front of the challenger is a huge weak point and other tanks have solved that issue with different designs. Also, the tank profile is too compact and it will sink in mud, it should be WIDER and LONGER to distribute the weight over a larger area

[@Gareth04100]

Nice choice..... Ha ha ha.... You know less than nothing....

[@harrywright6544]

@@user-iq6gp8qo8b Where is the huge notch on the challenger? Stop using games like warthunder as sources for armour protection.

[@deankelz29]

@@user-iq6gp8qo8b someones worried LOL

[@user-rd4du8iq1q]

@@Gareth04100???

[@scraggy983]

Let's not mention how late this thing is.

[@whiggles9203]

Hardly worth mentioning how late stuff is

[@jamesknight3070]

........and also not mention the 300 soldiers with deafness or hearing damage as a result of testing these vehicles, with compensation claims still being made.

[@CheapSushi]

@@jamesknight3070 WHAT

[@MH-jx1hc]

Well, as long as you don't have to fight a war without the new kit let's just say it was fashionably late. It's also upholding the traditions of British military procurement, which should mean, once they've wrung all the bugs out, it will be pretty decent, about a decade from now. Albeit with a much reduced fleet, with many having been "mothballed" for spares.

[@lachlanchester8142]

@@whiggles9203what a strange mindset

[@mitchdaytonam3]

This thing is so well engineered, over such a long period of time it’s almost obsolete, pretty impressive.

[@CheapSushi]

@@arakami8547 any anti-drone features other than possible pot shots from the main gun? seems like Ukrain-Rus War has completely changed the dynamics on all of this

[@arakami8547]

@CheapSushi The main gun is a next generation 40mm cannon with dedicated anti-aerial airburst munitions. Aboard warships, it's expected to be able to shoot down missiles and jets. Ajax otherwise is about twice the tonnage of a Stryker with twice the armour, has an LWS and acoustic sensors, and can be fitted with a Barracuda multispectral camouflage system as well.

[@Dingdangdoo]

@@arakami8547 the crew has to know the drone is there first and a lot of the time there’s more than one, and all this while trying to avoid mines enemy troops and armoured units.😂

[@captainbuggernut9565]

This vehicle has taken so long to get into the field the actual threat has now evolved and its needs even more upgrades. I could be wrong of course. In which case tell as about its drone protection features. A recon vehicle is useless, if its instantly spotted by a drone too. In short this is one of those tales from long ago. You know the one's, they built a great biplane in 1938 and it was instantly obsolete in 1939 when WW2 started.

[@maginotline7490]

Swordfish ?

[@markienatnots9479]

They were two gopping berets.

[@locky3690]

Overpriced over budget enough said CV90 would of been a far better choice!

[@christianjunghanel6724]

Yeah send them to ukraine and get new ones !

[@jugganaut33]

CV90 was designed by BAE systems in the 90’s. It’s only back handers that have lead to it not being used my backhander and greed and stupidity

[@schuletrip]

Should have gone for off the shelf CV90

[@danbatesy5492]

Early doors yet but yes I would have gone for the cv90 but still should have carried on with the warrior program tried and tested platform that has been proven

[@theobvious1958]

can somebody explain why APCS never have bullet proof glass panels on top that open for the mounted troops to have the ability to see around the vehicle

[@Magizmo2007]

​@@theobvious1958 bullet proof glass would be a venerablity compared to the existing component.

[@danbatesy5492]

@@theobvious1958 may have it wrong mate but IFV that carry troops are designed to drop off and just support the troops on the ground they get told to unload when they are told to bullet proof glass is the last of their worries. IFV are designed to get in and drop off the men while support them while doing it.

[@theobvious1958]

@@danbatesy5492 BP glass panels on the roof does not change that purpose that the APC is just a taxi for troops

[@allanmcleod1384]

I just love the corporate speak they use

[@commandingjudgedredd1841]

No surprises there. The armed forces is just revealing itself as yet another corporation these days. Lots of jobs gone over to crappy private companies over the last few decades. (Just to "save cash", but yet, it costs them more).

[@_Matsimus_]

“Whhhhaaaaat?!!…….” 🦻🏻🦻🏻

[@bomburthedwarf9036]

Matt will you ever do an update vid on the Ajax comparing where it was with all the failures to where it is now. Also how it now stacks up against the CV90 the king of IFVs.

[@jugganaut33]

@@bomburthedwarf9036: cv 90 was even designed by Britain to replace warrior in the 90’s but Labour sold the IP because of budgeting. So it’s taken 30 years to come up with a worse machine in every way

[@bomburthedwarf9036]

Well thank you for making my day worse. Truly sometimes ignorance is bliss. @@jugganaut33

[@fod1855]

"Here at the British Army" sounds like an early 2000s office advert.

[@michaelguthrie7315]

General 1: Do you remember the old blue Pickford removal lorries ? General 2: I do sir,great big brute of a thing. General 1: Great,I want the next generation of reconnaissance vehicles to be the same size,but green obviously. General 2: Capital idea, I know just the man who can set things in motion

[@jgw9990]

But does it work without damaging Troops health?

[@jugganaut33]

Nope. Because it’s assembled in Britain with parts from 23 countries

[@HighlandPhoenix]

Opinion: I think I'd prefer a fleet of new-built light air-transportable Wiesel Armoured Weapons Carriers (AWC)...with BVs installed of course!

[@bullitzfromabove5376]

agreed

[@h.a8681]

Is the Scimitar not already filling that role?

[@HighlandPhoenix]

@@h.a8681 Ajax was/is the replacement for Scimitar…

[@h.a8681]

@@HighlandPhoenix ah yes thats right, I personally think some of the Scimitars should be kept, theyre great and versatile vehiles

[@Beaulocks_]

​@@h.a8681....if they where that good we would still be using them, they where out of date 30 years ago.

[@garethwilson4925]

got to love the Double Decker recce vehicle, army told them small so they listen well and made us a recce tank the size of 10 store flats, got to love the generals that listen to the troops, with there educated brain and then they say F u lot i am doing what i wont as i get a lovely back hander from them and i will give u a bus for a recce tank

[@SGz_Eliminated]

It can't even fire on the move yet?? Hasn't an automatically tracking turret/gun been a thing for awhile now?

[@mattwright2964]

I think what they were saying is it does but they are field testing how well it works. I Hope so anyway!

[@fightforaglobalfirstamendm5617]

Does it still permantly injure it's crew?

[@ellisgoulding]

yes but at least it makes tea!

[@marijnnn4992]

When and how did that happen

[@fightforaglobalfirstamendm5617]

​​@@marijnnn4992bad design and from what I understand, the majority of the test crews were permanently disabled through vibration injuries. Perman

[@greva2904]

@@marijnnn4992It was a serious - and I mean SERIOUS - noise and vibration issue. The things hospitalised a lot of the test crews and some were invalided out of the army

[@bomburthedwarf9036]

My understanding was it was also partly due to poorly manufactured hull in Spain, because you know why produce the hulls in the UK@@fightforaglobalfirstamendm5617

[@jakechapman254]

Its number one feature is deafening the enemy and the occupants!

[@nightwing.3378]

They should buy at least 1000 of these.

[@CH-pt8fz]

Sad thing is though this looks very impressive, its bigger and heavier than warrior but its actually replacing cvr(t) which was small and fast. In 2000 GKN offered the MOD "warrior 2000 " a new improved hull with new turrets, new more powerful gun , new upgradable electronics's, software with one less wheel station making it more maneuverable , more powerful engines. Upgrades and improvements where needed, too a tried and tested design. GKN where turned down for Ajax . Sad thing the same people that made Ajax did the warrior turrets upgrade and made such a poor job of this that warrior ended up being cancelled. You have got to love the MOD and government backroom decision making. Hopefully now ajax and its family of variants are starting to arrive with battalions with these drastic design and engineering issues having been overcome and the lads using them will be safe and able to do the job. Best of luck they do look impressive.

[@TheRst2001]

Yes on the whole they will be very good I reckons and maybe a bit of envy from other nations :) , much better armoured as well. Im sure now they are coming into service that there will also be upgrades like they do to all vehicles when in service .

[@sgtrpcommand3778]

Tbf, the size of it doesn't mean much out of the box. The US M2 Bradley is a massive vehicle, but still does pretty well in the Cav Scouts. And Warrior certainly had it's issues. I'm just waiting to see what the squaddies say when they get it, that'll be the true test!

[@vitaliyvyntu4566]

Thank You

[@LewisEdwards1990]

These videos should have a more serious tone about them - this cheerful music doesn't do it justice

[@BeepBoop2221]

So has the harmonics problems of the hull be solved so its no longer shaking itself to pieces?

[@Halberd1216]

Massively oversized/overweight for its original role, hugely expensive and so late to be deployed that there is a very good chance it will only be in service for a few years. Apart from that, pretty good.

[@theonlydoug]

Do you still have to put the enemy inside it to kill them?

[@Peace-ok7xo]

😂😂😂

[@neilhughes9310]

It has tracks, it can easily be disabled and then finished off later. Better buying shovels.

[@AethelwulfOfNordHymbraLand2333]

This is tech-heavy. It looks like a logistics sustainability nightmare.

[@user-iq6gp8qo8b]

The Vertical hull height is WAYYYY too thin, which means the internal space is either too small or the Armor is too thin. Unless you have an Applique for the Bottom, top, front and lower front, these things look lile underarmored deathtraps, esp compared to the Bradley or German IFVS

[@numan5976]

I would like to express my sincere condolences to the soldier who was killed in the plane crash near the base in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, eastern England.……

[@createdeccentricities6620]

I sure hope they no longer sicken the troops that use them.

[@Gareth04100]

Projects started on these things before 2006.... Back then nobody knew what a quadcopter/fpv drone was ... now everyone knows what a drone target is and it has tracks in ... 😂😂😂

[@thecoffeemaker7444]

But did you guys fixed its vibration issues?

[@joe-vl3nd]

What about the 100 Billion on HS2 😅😅😅😅

[@lachlanchester8142]

Different government departments with different budgets

[@magecraft2]

I know we are getting boxer but are some of them in a IFV format or are we not having that capability (I know there are IFV boxer versions but are we getting them)?

[@furiousscotsman2916]

Boxer is the new British Army IFV , these are not IFVs the family of them we are getting do not include IFVs.

[@magecraft2]

@@furiousscotsman2916 I thought the Boxers where just going to be battlefield taxis (and lots of other specialised roles). I have not seen we are getting a IFV variant or have I just missed that?

[@furiousscotsman2916]

@magecraft2 Well, they are calling it a miv mechanised infantry vehicle, but yes, they will have different versions that will be the taxis and support.

[@TheRst2001]

Last I read the mod has officially announced all 4 warrior ifv battalions will become boxer wheeled battalions. So there are no specific tracked ifv in the pipeline . However I think when the dust has settled there maybe a push for a tracked ifv variant of ajax/ares , technically an ares could do the job just about with 4 infantry maybe 6 . As uk is all in with USA General Dynamics and German /bae Boxer I think we may see a tracked ifv boxer or even wait for the new USA IFv which will be developed in a couple of years and probably won by General dynamics , so hopefully uk will have a choice of ifv to be built in GD Wales or the 2 plants in England for boxer

[@arakami8547]

@TheRst2001 Ajax has already been built in substantial numbers. If I recall correctly, a bit short of a year ago they announced something like half the hulls and turrets having been completed and simply awaiting testing and acceptance. We may see a dedicated battalion of Ares APCs supplanting Boxers, otherwise - the Ajax is to be present throughout the Armies battalions supplanting the CVRT in the support companies. It's not like the Warrior where it can load dismounts when fitted with the CT40 gun, so it cannot form the backbone of an armoured/mechanised battalion.

[@bangdoll4500]

Has the vibration problem been solved?

[@lockedon8953]

Have the design flaws been addressed?

[@TheRst2001]

Mostly yes . I suspect there will also be upgrades when they are fully in service like all armoured vehicles

[@lockedon8953]

Good! I'm glad to hear that. I hope to see further fixes and adjustments. I hate to see our friends and allies in His Majesty's army be injured 😊

[@damonvanbekkum1543]

Iam a ajax fan i searched ajax news yhe we need some tanks in our back squad greets from holland.

[@elnesti1890]

Pls anyone know? Does Ares and Ajax have APC active protection system that are essential in today's battlefield?????????

[@Jimmythefish577]

They’re not gonna announce that publicly are they? Sheesh

[@user-iq6gp8qo8b]

It doesn't look like it, but like the other guy said maybe they are keeping it secret. I sure hope they do have an active weapons protection system because it is 1000% a must on the battlefield

[@user-iq6gp8qo8b]

In fact, I strongly believe active weapons protection systems should have at least 20 rounds to take down Artillery, Drones, Anti-tank weapons, and tank shells.

[@elnesti1890]

@@Jimmythefish577 are you serious or Ironic??

[@elnesti1890]

@@arakami8547 sorry in today's battle field is a must and that is for RPG-s so for urban warfare also whith ten men whith 10 RPG-s you can destroy at least 6 of them so APS like Trophy or Iron fist is a must my opinion Baracuda is a camouflage peace of material i know that is something else..

[@AstrologyandSpiritualEvo-ls5du]

How many millions of drones could we have bought for the price of these white elephants

[@tommothedog]

Does it still require a blood sacrifice to run?

[@kungfooslap2983]

Most British equipment is labelled “All weather” most struggle in any weather not like a British summer day…..

[@ryanc00p3r3]

You know it would be better if they go to BAE CV90, i mean... BAE is British Company, why not instead they go General Dynamics Land System which is USA? The Platform which is the ASCOD 2 is made in Spain(Same as the Philipine Army SABRAH Ascod 2 Light Tank by Elbit System base on Italian ULAN Ascod). Literally it should be BAE, the CV90 should be made in Britain.

[@Magizmo2007]

Please let me do your music for free next time

[@TgamerBio5529]

I would rather be in Ajax than the other due to its 40 auto cannon would be great for for firepower and protection

[@whya2ndaccount]

MLC 50!

[@wsm7929]

We need double , triple the number ordered.

[@joegeekie8511]

Still not enough we need treble that amount of vehicles

[@user-iq6gp8qo8b]

That vehicle should have another half a foot of armor on the TOP to protect it from Lancets, drone and Artillery. What are you guys even doing ?

[@robertwood1416]

BUT…how good is the BV!!!

[@xclonejager6959]

Bridging weight of 50 tons is unacceptable for a reccy vehicle, the Challenger two unloaded is only 12 tons heavier....

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

Mr. Semple squints at this.

[@RandomNameSoRandom]

Warrior with 40mm? Rly?

[@MarkRoss-md2bh]

British army doing what it does best....polishing a turd. For the money spent I'm pretty sure a more suitable and probably easier maintainable vehicle could of been developed and deployed. Instead re vamping the warrior.

[@paulhellawell5920]

could have

[@teddypicker8799]

Could have* Also all your points are moot this thing is a beast

[@oldsouljerry]

Army should have invested in quad bikes and pickups instead. Also spades and wheelbarrows. Got all your Mobility and defense right there.

[@t43562]

The warrior revamp was cancelled IIRC. Ajax is "new" although based on an existing ASCOD (I think)?

[@michaeltate8017]

Buy from IDF by god their kit is test at spot on they respect keeping crew alive! Do we? We are just cannon fodder in these. Put generals in as crew in battle by god we would then build or buy the best kit he he.

[@Dingdangdoo]

By the time they enter service in the numbers needed they will be old technology.

[@teresaponziani161]

God bless the British Army!

[@paladinsmith7050]

These are going to get destroyed by FPV drones so quickly.

[@user-iq6gp8qo8b]

None of these British vehicle look safe or next gen. The new German and French tank prototype looks better than the Challenger 3, the German IFV looks safer, and the top armor for the Ajax looks wayyyyy to thin and Lancets could punch right through it

[@ArmUkraine]

Why don’t we forget about the army and just focus on the only relevant forces, navy and airforce?

[@commandingjudgedredd1841]

What? Do we still have a navy, let alone an air force?

[@ArmUkraine]

@@commandingjudgedredd1841 ah you ok? We have second most powerful air force in nato (obviously the first is the US) and we have the third most powerful Navy in the world, (2nd being China and once again first being the US)

[@mauricetoussaint7283]

@@commandingjudgedredd1841 60,000 personal might disagree with you on that. Knob.

[@andrewborrell6373]

How many they making a week ..

[@stevenlennie]

One a decade sounds realistic right now.

[@Ianmundo]

🇺🇦 Ukraine changed everything. Without active protection systems like Trophy, and dedicated anti-drone variants similar to Gepard 🇩🇪 , these are no longer survivable. The latest variant of the M2 Bradley has an active protection system

[@gerardyoung8982]

How very sad to see this development must be heart warming for other European suppliers to see however.

[@edenshorthousesthouse1925]

Ever heard of a aircraft only a phone can detect?

[@user-jy2lr6oh9z]

For a recce vehicle it looks very big

[@ashfaqueali555]

कक्षा में शामिल होना जारी है

[@a.m1150]

lancet has new prey

[@mikerobinson3899]

Wow I love the new armored vhicle

[@clockmonkey]

If Ukraine is anything to go by we probably need Drones, a lot of Artillery and plenty of ammunition. I'm not sure huge expensive limited capability vehicles are the way to go but the Army should know what its doing.

[@t43562]

Bradleys have been extremely popular and useful in Ukraine so I think these would be too. It's main battle tanks that are dubious.

[@Dingdangdoo]

@@t43562 Bradley’s have been useful to Ukraine but don’t last long as the Russians prioritise them for destruction.

[@LifeandLiving-ns4ty]

Iam on the way to my next journey.... you will see after some years ❤

[@manicmangomango8118]

Not even made by a british company, smoke screen

[@pogromcagoblinow]

no i fajnie

[@gherkamum]

🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@mrjarhead6173]

all read from a script, not one of them have any idea about the vehicle.

[@philipspencer1834]

All the wasted money to get to this…..

[@iamsorryforbeingrudebefore1626]

Future Lancet's feed😂😂.

[@rawpotatofella9654]

Overpriced, and over schedule. Not to mention dangerous for the users

[@buzzmeanytime]

They should give the Ukrainians some Ajax vehicle to test how they do in combat.

[@Dingdangdoo]

It would be destroyed just like any other armoured vehicle.

[@jarvinho]

Why not just buy CV90s?

[@dragondude6984]

There must obviously be a reason why. The UK is not a weak military it is still strong for its size. Have some faith for once.

[@theobvious1958]

can somebody explain why APCS never have bullet proof glass panels on top that open for the mounted troops to have the ability to see around the vehicle

[@whylie74]

@@dragondude6984 I have faith, that they'll stuff it up, as usual.

[@harrywright6544]

@@theobvious1958 Because ballistic glass is rated for around 308 and for the especially thick glass, 50bmg. Most modern tracked, nato AFV's can stop up to 30mm auto cannon rounds on the front 60 degrees. Also a lot of modern APC's have a suite of cameras around the vehicle anyway.

[@theobvious1958]

​@@harrywright6544 that reply does not answer my question, it's such a wasted positive potential like you always need to see the enemy before you engage them-more eyeballs scanning, more chance of seeing the enemy, at all distances ??!

[@deadwolf2978]

But do you have enough men to fight in those expensive toys? Sorry, vehicles.

[@kuva4832]

cheap drone says hi

[@user-tt6il2up4o]

Dream job for a Rupert. Being part of a procurement team, means earning millions buying irrelevant kit once you leave the army. Another bunch of get rich quick civil servants.

[@numan5976]

🫡

[@evagolldwing2623]

💎♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

[@lilysparkle2]

We can’t deploy them lol

[@XX-fq8kp]

SHOW ME DRONES…. All this is WW2

[@furiousscotsman2916]

Yor do realise war is a cat and mouse game right, by the time Ajax sees combat the army will be rolling around with microwave guns to zap all drones out the fkn sky, stop acting like drones will change the world ... they won't!! they will dominate this current russia/ukraine war until counters mature and then they will be obsolete, until someone finds away around those counter measures..... a bit like tanks over the last 100 fkn years.

[@timlewis5866]

Recce vehicle 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 It is bigger and noisier than Challenger 🤦‍♂ Need an IFV not a battle field taxi

[@legandcr7]

First

[@michaeltate8017]

So much bull expressed here. To little too late, we will be at war before 2030 as a third tier army, a global joke. Me ex sapper

[@XTSu-sl1bb]

Mass is needed, not expensive over engineering

[@user-iq6gp8qo8b]

New idea: Have a tank tread that goes under the WHOLE vehicle ( with it connected to the side treads to distribute the weight more evenly, and provide an extra layer of protection against mines.

[@Magizmo2007]

That would make it harder to turn and easier for anti tank mines or IEDs to disable the track thus disabling the vehicle. 🤔 i will try a 3d model though and get back to you if I remember

[@clausb5826]

Wow ... All Weather ... So no real innovation ...

[@chrisapost5409]

Both names belong to ancient Greek mythology The British, apart from the marbles of the Parthenon, continue to steal from the ancient Greek heritage. Don't they have their own cultural heritage names to use?

[@mr.d.6529]

Tanks a lot ..but tanks are irrelevant in modern warfare as Ukraine has shown..wars are won from the air.

[@matthewgroves2521]

A joke 😅

[@militaryvideos5754]

Zelensky give, give, give, give, give, give, yeah)))

[@klimentvoroshilov8273]

Send it to Ukraine for testing... 😂😂😂

[@brianholding4357]

🇺🇦🇬🇧

[@TOMUK420]

Soon to become scrap

[@Marco_Polo790]

Where rainbow flags!? 😏

[@dylantrinder1571]

Stop the waffle and get this out to the troops now.

[@johnbobson1557]

What troops?

[@fightforaglobalfirstamendm5617]

No it's poorly designed, underarmed and is dangerous to the crew.

[@harrywright6544]

@@fightforaglobalfirstamendm5617 They fixed that a while ago and it seems like a decent vehicle now. If you want to complain about it then go after its development costs and its weight.

[@fightforaglobalfirstamendm5617]

@@harrywright6544 and the fact it's under armed.

[@harrywright6544]

@@fightforaglobalfirstamendm5617 Its a reconnaissance vehicle, not a tank. Look at what weapon was on the previous British army reconnaissance vehicle (scimitar 2).

[@mythos5809]

Already outdated.

[@limitlessLtd]

Initially AJAX was an absolute mess but once the kinks have been ironed out nothing matches it.

[@camrenwick]

Typical MOD. Just looks and sales talk. For reconnaissance drones are the future. If there's a war, the outcome will depend on our strong allies. British military has gone downhill for decades.