General Dynamics Ajax (Scout SV)

The History of General Dynamics Ajax (Scout SV)

The British Army is currently working with General Dynamics (UK) to develop the Scout SV range of vehicles. The vehicle's origins date back to the late 1990s, when the British Army was looking for a modern, modular, air-transportable solution for its aging fleet of tracked armoured fighting vehicles (Lockheed C-130 Hercules / Airbus A400M class), and then deployed in service. Initially, the UK worked with Germany to develop what would later become the Boxer Modular Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV), but UK participation in the program ended in 2003.

In May 2004, the Future Rapid Effect Systems program (FRES) was established, competing with the German Boxer, Swiss Piranha V and French Nexter VBCI - all multi-axle wheeled AFVs. The reorganization of the program ultimately resulted in none of these vehicles being selected, and the FRES program became history.

In 2009, BAe Systems and General Dynamics were named survivors of the new "Special Vehicle SCOUT SV" program launched by the Department of Defense (MoD). On March 22, 2010, General Dynamics was announced as the winner of the competition and received funding to design, develop and build seven pilot vehicles for testing and evaluation.

The Ministry of Defence expects to have 589 Scout SV systems - the production contract (?3.50 in total) was awarded on 3 September 2014.

Airborne systems are said to include panoramic sights, target acquisition systems, laser warning systems, acoustic detection suites, electronic countermeasures (ECM) and other components to provide enhanced situational awareness.

Scout SV is designated for the basic IFV role and several other forms are under consideration, including Protected Mobile Reconnaissance Support (PMRS), Engineering Reconnaissance, Repair and Recovery (R&R), Command and Control (CC2), and SV maintenance vehicle. The PMRS lost the Scout SV's cannon turret and replaced it with a fully stabilized Remote Weapon Station (RWS). The reconnaissance model follows this example, but with a bulldozer-like arrangement on the bow. R&R vehicles have RWS but a smaller bulldozer package up front.

CC2 vehicles have RWS and additional communication equipment for the role. Recovery SV includes a powered overhead crane jib and RWS.

To date (2015), the Scout SV program has provided a mobile test bed (MTR) for trials, and the first pre-production system (in PMRS form) was launched in 2014.

The Scout SV is based on the original General Dynamics ASCOD system (used by the Spanish Army). This development began with joint ventures in Austria and Spain to produce the Ulan and Pizarro cars, respectively. The line was put into operation in 2002.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

Depends on weapon. 18 x Smoke Grenade.

Changes