GDLS displayed an AJAX at the Land Forces 2018 exposition. (ANDREW MCLAUGHLIN)
General Dynamic Land Systems Australia has officially confirmed it has submitted a bid with its AJAX range of armoured vehicles for Australia’s LAND 400 Phase 3 Mounted Close Combat Capability program to replace the Army’s M113 armoured vehicles.
The company says the AJAX family is a, “5th generation, fully-digital platform that can be readily adapted to meet the LAND 400 Phase 3 Mounted Close Combat Capability requirement including the Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV).”
AJAX and its derivatives is on order by the British Army, with the first dozen vehicles entering service in February. The UK plans to order 589 AJAX vehicles, and GDLS says it will leverage its development and testing of the Ajax range for Australia’s program.
“AJAX will allow the ADF to see first, decide first and act first. Its proven protection levels, mobility and lethality will keep soldiers safe and allow them to do their job effectively,” Vice President and General Manager of General Dynamics Land Systems–Australia and the Indo-Pacific, Kevin Connell, said in a statement.
“With the first AJAX vehicles already delivered to the British Army, the Commonwealth can have high-confidence in our ability to deliver to meet their timelines, whilst we maximize the role for Australian industry to ensure a sovereign tracked AFV manufacturing capability in Australia for years to come. We will reveal more details on our LAND 400 Phase 3 solution over the coming months.”
GDLS’s bid confirmation mean all four companies expected to have tendered for Phase 3 have now confirmed their entry, the others being Rheinmetall with its Lynx KF41, BAE Systems with the CV90, and Hanwha with the AS21 Redback.