Have you heard about the British Army’s new infantry fighting vehicle?

Named after a mythological ancient Greek hero, the Ajax infantry fighting vehicle promises to be one of the most advanced in the world.

Although the program has faced strong headwinds, British mechanized brigades will soon have hundreds of Ajaxs in their arsenal and be ready for a conflict with Russia.

The Ajax

“Ajax is an advanced, fully digitised, land vehicle system delivering transformational change in capability to the British Army. There are six variants in the Ajax family, all based upon a common base platform,” the British Army states about the infantry fighting vehicle.

The six variants are the Ajax, Ares, Atlas, Athena, Apollo, and Argus. Each variant of the infantry fighting vehicle is designed for different mission sets, including armed reconnaissance, command and control, anti-tank warfare, recovery, and repair.

The fighting in Ukraine has shown that infantry fighting vehicles are a key component of modern mechanized forces. Both sides are using them profusely for offensive and defensive operations.

In terms of weapon systems, the Ajax will pack a 40mm autocannon, 7.62mm machine guns, and FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles. It will be able to hit speeds of around 43 miles per hour, hold a crew of three, and offer the ability to carry seven mechanized infantrymen.

“The Ajax family has been designed to be at the heart of the British Army’s future armoured fleet, offering enhanced lethality, survivability, reliability, mobility and all-weather intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities through its advanced sensor suite,” the British Army adds.

The British Army expects to have a full operational capability by the end of the decade as it transitions from current systems and trains troops to operate the new infantry fighting vehicle.

However, the program has faced considerable delays and production issues. Initially, the British Army planned to achieve an initial operating capacity in 2017, but today, it is still waiting for the bulk of its Ajax infantry fighting vehicles.

The program has cost over $7 billion thus far, but British officials remain confident that the Ajax will be a success once it enters service. London has ordered almost 450 Ajaxs of all variants for its armored forces.

A Wider Modernization Effort

The British Army is in urgent need of modernization. Years of budget cuts and the lack of a purpose have left the force in a perilous state.

The Ajax is part of the wider modernization of the mechanized forces of the British Army. In addition to the infantry fighting vehicle, the British Army will be rolling out the Challenger 3 main battle tank and the Boxer armored personnel carrier. The goal is to bring the British ground forces to the cutting edge of technology and ensure that they could take on a near-peer adversary like China or Russia in a large-scale fight.

The United Kingdom is America’s closest ally. In the event of a conflict with Russia in Europe, the British military would take a leading role in the fighting.

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.