In Development: Ajax

Commanders!

Earlier this week, we unveiled the first main prize of the upcoming Europe’s Edge Battle Path – Leopard Cockerill and today, we’re going to take a look at another one – the Ajax IFV.

But first, a bit of history as usual. In the early 2000s the British Ministry of Defense took another stab at designing a scout vehicle and this project morphed into the Future Rapid Effects program (FRES). The parameters were hampered by the UK’s perplexing STRIKE doctrine. The resulting requirements that fueled FRES looked on paper to have created an impossible vehicle. The resulting winner for FRES was the General Dynamics Scout SV series, one of which is Ajax.

By this point, the utter stupidity of STRIKE was apparent, however, very senior officers had their careers tied up in the success of at least some of it and the Scout SV series was therefore pushed forward. Due to the lack of Army-controlled vehicle design systems, the project ran into several failures such as the Spanish manufacturers making the two sides of the vehicle’s hull of different lengths. And because they were not using even such basic tools as jigs, no two parts were of the same dimensions.

These problems were not discovered on site as the final assembly was conducted in Wales. Even after several hundred components had been delivered, only a handful of vehicles were able to be completed. These problem, along with and many more, resulted in multiple over-spends and delays, and made Scout SV tied up in politics, which compounded the delays even further.

Eventually, the politicians demanded that the project be gripped, and with a replacement of one very senior officer, who had been in part responsible, the project was gotten back on track with the estimated operational date of 2024-2025.

While expensive, the vehicle is a lot larger than your usual scout vehicle, however, it is phenomenally well protected and armed and has a list of sensors with capabilities beyond belief. That means it is a very welcome addition to the UK’s AFV fleet.

There’s a lot more to the story of the Ajax and it’ll be followed by a more comprehensive history article. But, for now:

In Armored Warfare, the Ajax will be a Tier 10 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle.

Just from the photos alone you can probably tell the Ajax will be – in the best traditions of British armor development – extremely well protected. Despite lacking advanced armor such as ERA or NERA, those thick slabs of composites covering its entire hull will make it all but impenetrable to autocannons. The advantage is that they don’t degrade like ERA or NERA does.

Firepower-wise, there’s a single weapon system, 40mm CTAS autocannon similar to the one that can be found on other high-Tier vehicles. It provides sustained firepower that’s especially viable in PvE where every second of damage output matters. Although – let’s face it, this kind of weapon is usable under any circumstances. It’s also worth noting the gun will have excellent depression and elevation values. Mobility-wise, things are a little worse off as the vehicle is very heavy due to all that armor installed on it. The Ajax isn’t especially fast, nor is it very agile – but who needs agility when you have so much armor.

There’s one more ace up Ajax’s sleeve though – a new special ability Gunshot Detector that will (for a short duration) increase the automatic spotting range your vehicle has. Nobody’s sneaking up on this British bulldog. In short, what we have here is a well-armored behemoth that’s performing best on the front lines. Thanks to its relatively forgiving design, the Ajax is suitable both for old and new players who like to have fun in more challenging PvE content, more of which is definitely coming this year.

We hope you’ll enjoy it and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!