Ajax Scout SV CT40 40mm cannon light tracked armoured vehicle

The SCOUT SV is a program for the British Army to provide a new generation of light tracked armoured vehicle. The Scout SV program is lead by the Company General Dynamics UK with the goal to replace the CVRT (light armoured vehicle) fleet of the British Army. At DVD (Defence Vehicle Dynamics) exhibition which was held in Millbrook (United Kingdom), General Dynamics has unveiled the first pre-production prototype SCOUT Specialist Vehicle in Reconnaissance variant PMRS (Protected Mobility Recce Support).

Each SCOUT SV platform variant will be a highly-agile, tracked, medium-weight armoured fighting vehicle, providing British troops with state-of-the-art protection. AJAX SCOUT SV vehicles are developed upon a highly-adaptable and capable Common Base Platform, maximising commonality in mobility, electronic architecture and survivability that ensures the British Army has a family of world-class platforms.

Scout SV provides commanders with a survivable and capable GMMR (Ground Mounted Manned Reconnaissance) platform, which gives them flexibility to perform a range of roles across the spectrum of conflict. SCOUT’s primary role is to provide accurate and timely information to support decision making at all levels. It integrates a range of leading edge technologies to provide an optimised survivable, lethal and agile ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) platform. At DSEI 2015, the International Defense Exhibition in London (UK), the Scout SV has received its new official name, the AJAX. Under a contract awarded late in 2014, General Dynamics UK to build a total of 589 Scout SVs for the British army, with deliveries running from 2017 through to 2024. There will be paralel trials and production. The training establishment and first squadron will be equipped by mid-2019 to allow conversion to begin with a brigade ready to deploy from the end of 2020.

Variants:

– ARES / Scout SV – PMRS: Protected Mobility Recce Suport
– Apollo / Scout SV – Repair: Repair armoured vehicle
– Atlas / Scout SV – Recovery: Armoured recovery vehicle
– ARGUS / Scout SV – Engineer: Armoured engineer vehicle
– ATHENA – Scout SV – command post: Command post armoured vehicle

Armament

The AJAX Scout SV is fitted with a two-man turret developed by Lockheed Martin UK, armed with a CT40 40mm automatic cannon and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun.

The 40mm cannon is integrated into a revolutionary, user defined, fightable turret. Where the operation dictates, a fully stabilised Remote Weapons Station can be fitted to the turret instead of the Primary Sight.

Image @thinkdefence.co.uk

A bank of eight electrically operated smoke grenade launchers is mounted either side of the turret firing forwards. Primary and secondary sights of the turret are integrated with a sensor processor unit which, combined with the sights’ stabilisation systems, enables the vehicle’s turret to be rapidly traversed onto the target while on the move, providing an unsurpassed hunter-killer capability for vehicles in this class. Both sights have fully digital video outputs, in accordance with the UK Ministry of Defence’s new vetronics infrastructure for video over ethernet (VIVOE) standard, facilitating connection into the vehicles’ electronic architecture for onward distribution.

Thales; £125 million contract for sighting systems and ancillary equipment. This includes the Orion primary sight, local situational awareness cameras and smoke dischargers. Scheduled for delivery between 2016 and 2021.

Thales; £54 million contract for gunnery sights, the DNGS-T3 Stabilised Day/Night Gunnery Sight. Scheduled for delivery between 2016 and 2021.

Oxley Group; £1 million contract for internal lighting including DC Combi LED interior lights and Gooseneck task lights.

Meggitt; £27.2 million contract for ammunition handling systems. Scheduled for delivery between 2016 and 2021.

Kongsberg; £61 million contract for Protector Remote Weapon Station (RWS).

Curtiss Wright; £32 million contract for Turret Drive Servo System (TDSS).

ViaSat; £3.8 million contract to supply encrypted storage systems

Esterline; £13.5 million contract to supply rugged display terminals including TX-335S turret crew-station displays, TX-321S triple-head driver’s displays and VPU-101 video-processing units.

Raytheon; undisclosed contract amount for power management and distribution system

Saab; undisclosed contract amount for Mobile Camouflage Systems. Scheduled for delivery between 2017 and 2024.

Marshall Aerospace and Defence; Contract to support XPI Simulation for driver training systems. 28 sets of static and full motion simulators.

XPI Simulation; £20 million contract for driver simulators.

Smiths Detection; £6 million contract for LCD 3.3 Detectors.

Vitavox; £2.8 million contract for ‘outacom’ public address systems.

Williams F1; £17 million contract for design support on the Core Infrastructure Distribution System (CIDS) power and data backbone.

GKN Aerospace; £27 million contract for rotationally moulded fuel tanks that will be self sealing and foam filled for explosion protection.

The manufacturing strategy changed in 2015 with mounting speculation about the work split between General Dynamics locations in Span and the UK.

A £390 million support contract, in addition to the manufacturing contract.

The contract will extend the current in service support contract for the Scout Specialist Vehicles (SV) to 2024, delivering onshore technical engineering and maintenance from a site in South Wales. As a result, General Dynamics UK has taken the decision to bring to Wales: assembly, integration and testing for the vehicles which was previously carried out overseas.

The manufacturing strategy changed in 2015 with mounting speculation about the work split between General Dynamics locations in Span and the UK.

A £390 million support contract, in addition to the manufacturing contract, was let in order to build up experience to 2024 to allow a more thorough assessment of support requirements to be completed.

The contract will extend the current in service support contract for the Scout Specialist Vehicles (SV) to 2024, delivering onshore technical engineering and maintenance from a site in South Wales. As a result, General Dynamics UK has taken the decision to bring to Wales: assembly, integration and testing for the vehicles which was previously carried out overseas.

At DSEi in September, the latest Scout prototype was revealed, along with a name change.

Scout was now to be called Ajax. thinkdefence.co.uk

Rheinmetall; £130 million contract from Lockheed Martin for the production of turret shells, the Turret Structure and Weapons Mount (TSWM). First production unit is scheduled for delivery in 2016. @.thinkdefence.co.uk

The first production standard Cased Telescoped Cannon System has been handed over to the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) in Bourges, France by CTA International (CTAI) – a 50/50 joint venture company between BAE Systems and Nexter Systems.

Comparison of CTA cannon and normal cannons notice the CT 40mm is very compact

It is the first delivery of 515 new 40mm cannons that have been ordered for the British Army for use in the Ajax and Warrior vehicles and incorporates unique technologies that will provide superior firepower.

Developed by specialist engineers from BAE Systems and Nexter Systems, the cannon system uses an innovative design for both the cannon and its ammunition, and is the first completely new cannon system ordered by the MOD since the 1960s. The new cannon fires 40mm Cased Telescoped ammunition, manufactured for the British Army by BAE Systems’ munitions factories in Washington, Tyne and Wear and Glascoed in Wales.

40mm Cased Telescoped ammunition @thinkdefence.co.uk

The new ammunition is neatly contained in a straight tube instead of the traditional bullet shape and can deliver a more explosive charge – up to four times the power of the 30mm rounds it replaces. The current types of ammunition developed for the cannon include armour piercing and training rounds – while a new airburst round for engaging light vehicles and infantry spread over a large area, and a point detonating round which can penetrate thick concrete – are currently undergoing qualification. CTAI is also working on an anti-aerial airburst round for airborne targets.

The cannon uses a new rotating breech system, with ammunition loaded at a 90 degree angle to the barrel before being rotated into firing position. Loading the ammunition sideways saves a large amount of space in the vehicle, allowing this to be used to store more ammunition or other equipment. The cannon has been developed and is manufactured by CTAI whose factory is now in full production of the new cannon for the MOD.

The cannon uses a new rotating breech system, with ammunition loaded at a 90 degree angle to the barrel before being rotated into firing position (VBCI-2 in IFV configuration fitted with the Nexter Systems T40 turret armed with a CTAI 40 mm CTAS @thaimilitaryandasianregion.wordpress.com)

Minister of State for Defence Procurement Philip Dunne said: “This next-generation cannon has been developed through close Anglo-French collaboration and adds significantly to the capability of the UK and our NATO allies. The delivery of the first cannon on our Ajax vehicles is another example of how our £178 billion investment in UK Defence is ensuring our Armed Forces have the equipment they need.”

Managing Director of CTAI, Craig Fennell, said: “This is a significant milestone for CTAI and a proud moment to see our cannon being handed over to the British Army. We are the only group in the world who can design and manufacture this type of cannon and ammunition, giving us a unique product for export.”

The handover of the first cannon follows many years of exhaustive testing and qualification, which has proved the effectiveness and reliability of the system. (New 40mm Cannon System Handed Over to British Army) Posted By BAE Systems – March 23, 2016. Source defencetalk.com

 

Design and protection

The AJAX Scout SV has much higher survivability against a wide range of modern and evolving threats, enabled by all-round modular protection (including Mastiff levels of blast protection), acoustic detection, powerful far-target thermal sights and local situational awareness sensors.

AJAX Scout SV will provide the land environment with the only protected vehicle that has real growth potential. The hull and power train growth are designed for a 25% increase in weight, and there is 100% growth capacity in sub-system electrical power and data throughput, all built-in at the outset. The open scalable ‘security accredited’ electronic architecture will enable upgrades to be integrated with relative ease through life.

Mobility

The AJAX Scout SV is motorized with a 600kW Diesel engine coupled to an automatic transmission. The torsion bar suspension on each side consists of seven dual rubber-tyred road wheels with the drive sprocket at the front and idler at the rear. The vehicle can run at a maximum road speed of 70 km with a maximum cruising range of 500 km. The AJAX Scout SV is able to negotiate slopes up to 60%, natural and engineered trenches of 2.5m maximum and vertical obstacle of 0.75m.

MTU 8V 199 TE21 engine

MTU 8V 199 TE21 engines each have a power output of 600 kilowatts @telegraph.co.uk

Source mtu-online-shop.com

Accessories

The AJAX Scout SV is fitted with primary and secondary sight. Thales UK has been selected by General Dynamics UK to supply the primary and secondary sighting systems for Scout, the reconnaissance variant of SV (specialist vehicle).

Orion two-axis stabilised commander’s sight

The Orion two-axis stabilised commander’s sight features day/thermal channels, an integrated eyesafe laser rangefinder and a full 360° search capability, to allow hunter killer target engagements to take place. The commander first acquires the target, and if confirmed as hostile, it is passed onto the gunner who carries out the engagement.
Gunner has a Thales DNGS T3 stabilised sight with day/thermal channel and integrated laser rangefinder.In addition, Orion has a Thales laser target designator, which enables the commander to designate targets for precision engagement from ground or air-launched laser weapons, with the latter including the Paveway laser guided bomb used by the Royal Air Force. The commander’s sight also has a software-driven wide area search and detect capability that uses a combination of thermal signature recognition and background change detection software to indicate potential targets.The UK Orion sight will feature longwave infrared thermal imagers, and will have both automatic target detection and automated video tracking. Source ukarmedforcescommentary.blogspot.com

Characteristic

Source copybook.com

Main material source: armyrecognition.com

Images are from public domain unless otherwise stated

Updated Oct 27, 2016

Syrian Arab Army captures FSA TOW operator who shot an RuAF Mi-8 during rescue op for Su 24 pilot – Video

According to Asian Defence News

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

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Great job hope he gets what he deserves!

See related post (Warning raw)

Russian plane shot down by Turkish Air Force

‘Turkish jets gave us no warning before shooting’ – rescued pilot of downed Russian Su-24

 

From Test Jet to Money-Maker: Lockheed’s AML “Net Dragon”

Mar 23, 2016 00:55 UTC by Defense Industry Daily staff

Lockheed is more aggressive than most defense firms in self-funding projects that make sense to them, and the Airborne Multi-Intelligence Laboratory (AML) was their response to the rising popularity of small manned surveillance planes like the USA’s MC-12W Liberty, the MARSS program, etc. Now, their AML is moving from a privately-funded surveillance variant of the Gulfstream III business jet, to a money-making platform, courtesy of the Italian Ministry of Defence.

Under an agreement for an undisclosed sum, Lockheed Martin will provide its AML as a contracted ISR(Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance) service “in a live operational environment,” which probably means Afghanistan. The service goes beyond the jet…

Italy’s contract includes full flight crew and maintenance personnel, plus 3 intelligence-processing ground stations, for 1 year. An option could extend the contract to 2 years. The sensor package will include day/night cameras and SIGINT electronic eavesdropping gear, other undiscussed communications and sensor packages, plus any new equipment the Italians choose to add and integrate.

Lockheed Martin says external link that its AML team includes L-3 Communications Systems-West, Rockwell Collins, FLIR Government Systems, and Finmeccanica’s DRS.

To date, the Gulfstream III AML has been used as a test platform to develop the architecture for swappable sensors that could be packaged in different mounting assemblies, and installed on a wide variety of planes. The firm now markets this offering as its Dragon series external link, with “Dragon Star” marketed as the modification for Gulfstream III sized jets, and “Net Dragon” external link as the name for the kind of rent-a-capability service the Italians are buying.

The Italian order will help the firm refine its core architecture, broaden its sensor choices, hone both parties’ understanding of how to operate and use a service like this, and give its Dragon line some operational credentials.

Those credentials may be a useful selling point in non-military markets as well. The mineral surveys of Afghanistan that recently found huge resource deposits used military assets, including magnetic imaging sensors on board P-3 maritime patrol aircraft. Unmanned drones have also shown considerable flexibility, with hunter-killer platforms like the MQ-9 Reaper refitted to take on roles like firefighting assistance. Manned aircraft with packages like the Dragon series offer similar potential, without the issues drones have getting permission to fly in civil airspace.

Updates

March 23/16: Lockheed Martin is to go ahead with its Net Dragon upgrade external link planned for the USAF’s U-2S fleet. The system will equip the fleet with a beyond-line-of-sight communications relay capability for forward-deployed forces on the ground or in the air. At present, the aircraft uses a Dragon Fly modem that will allow a soldier on the ground to relay full-motion video to another soldier miles away. The new upgrade increases the difficulty for competitors to get ahead of Lockheed, with a planned L-3 Communications upgrade due on the plan within the next few months. An L-3 Communication satellite modem will allow the same forces on the ground to call up imagery and other information from intelligence databases, such as the distributed common ground system.

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defense-update.com

Lockheed Martin Offers ISR Dragons With Different Scales

Posted by Chris Pocock  – July 9, 2012

Excerpt

The U.S.-based group has named the core offer Net Dragon. It consists of a contractor-owned, contractor-operated (CoCo) model that pitches Lockheed Martin (LM) into a market that has traditionally been serviced by smaller, specialist outfits. Customers can choose from various Dragon options according to their requirements, and quickly field an affordable ISR capability.

ftnews.firetrench.com

DENVER, Sept 13, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — A flying ISR laboratory developed by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) recently demonstrated advanced capabilities to disseminate real-time intelligence data, including streaming video, imagery and communications feeds to a ground station. Lockheed Martin’s Airborne Multi-INT Laboratory (AML) flew several flights using previously collected data to demonstrate intelligence collection, analysis, processing and dissemination. ftnews.firetrench.com

The Italians are also using another branded offer from IS&GS called Dragon’s Den. This is the ground station component, which comes in various configurations from a single computer workstation up to a trailer-like shelter. LM is providing the flight crew and maintenance personnel for both the aircraft and three intelligence-processing systems.

LM’s Italian contract lasts for one year, with an option to extend to two years. The AML–a converted Gulfstream GIII business jet–is fitted with equipment from Flir Government Systems, Rockwell Collins, DRS and L-3 Communications. “With its open architecture and configurable exterior, the Italian air force can integrate additional C4ISR software and hardware in a matter of hours rather than days,” said LM. Source ainonline.com