General Dynamics begins manned live-fire testing of AJAX armored vehicle

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.

"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.

General Dynamics gets order for 10,000 Mk80 series bombs
Washington (UPI) Sep 15, 2017 - General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems has received a $20.6 million modification to an existing contract for foreign military sales of Mk82 and Mk84 bomb bodies.

The modification will provide for 10,933 Mk82-6, 866 Mk84-4 and 1,365 Mk84-10 bomb bodies for Australia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in support of Air Force, Navy and foreign military sales requirements.

The Mk82 is a unguided low-drag, air-dropped conventional bomb in the 500-pound range. It's explosive filling is usually Tritonal but other explosives have been used. It is the most widely used aerial bomb in the world and has been exported to dozens of countries. Variants include the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb and the GPS-guided Joint DIrect Attack Munition.

The Mk84 is the largest of the Mk80 series of bombs and weighs over 2,000 pounds. It is the fourth-largest bomb in the U.S. inventory behind the BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter", the Massive Ordnance Air Burst and the Massive Ordnance Penetrator deployed by the B-2 stealth bomber. Laser and GPS-guided versions have also been produced.

The Mk80 series are relatively cheap and can be deployed by a wide variety of aircraft. The bolt-on JDAM kits are a low-cost method of converting the unguided munitions into precision strike weapons. The series has been in use since the late 1940s.

Mobile Camouflage System displayed at DSEI 17
Washington (UPI) Sep 6, 2017
Saab Defense Group will be displaying its business unit Barracuda's Mobile Camouflage System at the Defense and Security Equipment International 2017 trade show, the company announced on Wednesday. The Mobile Camouflage System is designed to be applied to vehicles in several varieties to provide infrared, thermal and radar masking protection against enemy sensors. It can be applied in d ... read more

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