Under the plan, one of the army’s three tank regiments will see all its 56 Challenger 2s replaced with Ajax fighting vehicles. The cut would leave the army with only about 40 more tanks than traditionally neutral Switzerland. At the other end of the scale, Russia has 2,700 tanks.
The plan, due to be announced in coming months, has alarmed serving and retired commanders and comes as Russia introduces the T-14 Armata — a new generation of tank that some experts believe has the firepower to defeat any British or American equivalent.
Colonel Bob Stewart, who led British forces in Bosnia, said: “You should only reduce your main battle tank numbers with great caution. Reducing your tank strength may well be misconstrued by our potential opponents and be perceived as weakness in our will to properly defend our country.”
The Ministry of Defence has signed a £3.5bn deal with the US defence company General Dynamics for nearly 600 Ajax vehicles but industry sources have reportedly highlighted their vulnerability to heavy artillery. (end of excerpt)
Click here for the full story, on the Sunday Times website.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Commenting on the above article, an MOD spokesperson said:
“The Challenger 2 fleet is due to have a £700 million life extension project that will ensure capability until 2035.
We are also investing in the transformational, multi-role AJAX armoured vehicle and the Warrior infantry fighting vehicle.
The project is not fixed and could potentially include upgrades to the main gun, ammunition or armoured protection.
We’re open to innovative, cost effective proposals that could improve the capability.”)
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