General Dyanics [GD] successfully completed initial air portability trails for the AJAX family of vehicles being developed for the United Kingdom (U.K.) military, the company said Tuesday.
The trials took place at the end of May at the Joint Air Delivery Test and Evaluation Unit (JADTEU) at Royal Air Force (RAF) Brize Norton. Trials assessed the loading of the ARES prototype platform, which is set to be used to deliver and support specialist troops across the battlefield, into the cargo holds of a mock RAF C-17A Globemaster III and mock A400M Atlas Aircraft.
AJAX is being designed with six variants for multiple missions and environments, set for delivery between 2017 and 2024. It was chosen by the British military to replace the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) (CVR(T)) armored fighting vehicles.
The ARES prototype was driven onto real-size mock-ups of each aircraft so that JADTEU could develop a tied down scheme. Combined with additional trials, these trials were part of the process to ensure the AJAX family can be transported in rapid time to support the British Army, GD said.
“These trials mark significant progress in the program; it is essential that these fully-digitized fighting vehicles, which will sit at the heart of the U.K.’s agile Strike Brigades, can be deployed at short notice worldwide to protect the U.K. and our interests,” Lt. Gen. Paul Jaques, Chief of Materiel (Land) for the U.K.’s Defence Equipment and Support organization, said in a statement.
“The AJAX program continues to make excellent progress during this trials period, with these successful trials following quickly on the back of early live fire trials in April,” Kevin Connell, vice president of General Dynamics Land Systems-U.K., added.
The first British squadron of AJAX vehicles are set to be equipped by mid-2019 to allow conversion to begin and a brigade ready to deploy by the end of 2020.