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Sept. 15 (UPI) -- General Dynamics Land Systems U.K. has begun manned live-fire trials for its AJAX armored vehicle program, using the vehicle's CTA International 40mm autocannon, chain gun and smoke grenade launchers. The trials will last five months beginning with static firing positions against immobile point targets and gradually progress to a moving vehicle engaging moving targets. The testing will occur in West Wales, Great Britain.
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"The start of the CT40 cannon manned industry firing phase is a significant milestone in the AJAX programme," Kevin Connell, vice president of General Dynamics Land System U.K., said.
"This cutting-edge capability that enables AJAX to pack a significant punch, alongside its wide-range of best-in-class sensors that makes it an Information Age platform, ensures that the British Army has everything they need to do their job effectively," Connell said.
The AJAX is a family of armored-fighting vehicles being developed for the British Army. It is armed with the CT 40 autocannon and a coaxial 7.62mm chain gun for lighter targets.
It will be produced in several variants including command-and-control, strike vehicles and vehicle recovery platforms.
The CT 40 autocannon uses a type of telescoping 40mm ammunition designed to take up less space and reduce the necessary size of the gun. It can fire armor-piercing discarding sabot and high-explosive airburst ammunition out to an effective range of 2500 meters. It has a maximum rate of fire of up to 200 rounds per minute. It is used by both the British and French armed forces.
