Jump to content

Can someone explain Ajax to me?


Retro

Recommended Posts

  • Members

'Ajax' as in the Ajax vehicle family that is.. it was supposed to go into use in 2017 (with 500+ vehicles on order by the UK MOD!), but now I read that

 

[quote]In June 2021 it was revealed that trials of Ajax variants were halted from November 2020 to March 2021 due to excessive vibration and noise, leaving crews suffering from nausea, swollen joints and tinnitus. Test crews were then limited to 105 minutes inside and 20 miles per hour (32 km/h). The excessive vibration while moving was also damaging electronic systems and preventing armament from stabilising. Suspension issues on the Ajax variant meant turrets could not fire while moving[/quote]

 

 

Given that this is using the Ulan/Pizarro hull, how can that be? TBH I never gave much thought about such 'pedestrian' design issues in tracked vehicles like ride comfort, but I surely thought things such as this would be understood by now (especially if using a proven hull)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yeah, that's what one would think. Surprised me just the same. I guess, the configuration is different enough that a new suspension was required, at which point direct comparisons are no longer possible.

 

Ah, here: "The BBC reports the additional armor, which ballooned the vehicle’s weight to 38 tons, is the culprit for many of the identified problems."

Also, "Ajax also can’t back up over obstacles that are 20 cm high, and the vehicle has suspension problems that prevent the new 40-millimeter gun from firing on the move."

(quoted from popularmechanics.com)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ahhh my vife called and you beat me too it The Ministry of Defence say they “will not accept a vehicle until it can be used safely” and that they “cannot determine a realistic timescale for the introduction of Ajax into operational service”.

John Healey, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, asked:

“To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s Government Major Projects Portfolio Data 2022, what assessment he has made of the feasibility of delivering the Armoured Cavalry 2025 Ajax programme (a) on time and (b) on budget in the context of the Independent Projects Authority’s rating of that programme as red.”The Ministry of Defence continues to work with General Dynamics to resolve the noise and vibration problems on Ajax while protecting the taxpayers’ interests. As acknowledged by the Infrastructure Projects Authority the project remains within its approved budget and General Dynamics are required to deliver to the terms of the £5.5 billion firm-priced contract.

We will not accept a vehicle until it can be used safely for its intended purposes and until long-term solutions to the noise and vibration problems have been found, we cannot determine a realistic timescale for the introduction of Ajax into operational service.”

The Ajax programme, which began in 2010, is intended to transform the Army’s surveillance and reconnaissance capability.

However, it has gone badly wrong, with no deployable vehicle delivered to date let alone providing Initial Operating Capability or Full Operating Capability dates, say the Public Accounts Committee in a report released earlier this year.

Committee chairwoman Meg Hillier said that the government “must fix or fail this programme, before more risk to our national security and more billions of taxpayers’ money wasted”, adding “these repeated failures are putting strain on older capabilities which are overdue for replacement and are directly threatening the safety of our service people and their ability to protect the nation and meet Nato commitments”.

 

The Ajax will weigh in at 38 tons with growth potential to 42 tonnes whereas the Pizarro weighs in at 26.3 so to say that it's the same hull / Chassis is too simplify things a bit.

If we don't look at all the problems with it that it have and look at it from a tactical perspective how on earth will they ever be able to hide that thing “ The British recon forces have a saying/Mantra that goes something like “if your a being seen you have failed”

To show how ridiculous that is I have posted a pic of the Danish Piranha 5 Mortar version which is about the same height its easy to hide in an urban environment just paint it as a skyscraper and you wont be able to spot it 😉.

Somebody really have messed up on the criteria's for that vehicle it's heavier than a lot of cold war Tanks.

 

Jon Hawkes on Twitter: "An older slide from a briefing a few years back.  GCV (now cancelled) was to be larger than M1 Abrams despite offering no  greater firepower or capacity vs
I stilling, skyd og hurtigt videre - YouTube

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

All the modern vehicles are larger and heavier.

- People tend to get taller, so if you build for the 95% male percentile to accommodate most people, the internal volume tends to grow, not shrink

- Protection and safety seem to be the dominant criteria for new designs, and both tend to inflate volume and mass

- gun calibers go up, and with it the demand for ammo storage volume

- you can shrink engines, but the growth of combat mass counteracts this possibility for savings

- you can reduce the number of rounds, which has been a trend for the last 60...80 years, but we're reaching the point where we probably start to get get negative results

- I don't think that a vehicle must have a low profile to be successful as a recon vehicle: Luchs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Retro said:

'Ajax' as in the Ajax vehicle family that is.. it was supposed to go into use in 2017 (with 500+ vehicles on order by the UK MOD!), but now I read that

 

[quote]In June 2021 it was revealed that trials of Ajax variants were halted from November 2020 to March 2021 due to excessive vibration and noise, leaving crews suffering from nausea, swollen joints and tinnitus. Test crews were then limited to 105 minutes inside and 20 miles per hour (32 km/h). The excessive vibration while moving was also damaging electronic systems and preventing armament from stabilising. Suspension issues on the Ajax variant meant turrets could not fire while moving[/quote]

 

 

Given that this is using the Ulan/Pizarro hull, how can that be? TBH I never gave much thought about such 'pedestrian' design issues in tracked vehicles like ride comfort, but I surely thought things such as this would be understood by now (especially if using a proven hull)?

I see a movie on the horizon,much like the Bradley😝

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...