NEWS FEED
The AJAX armoured fighting vehicle will be unveiled to the public for the first time at The Tank Museum in Bovington.
The British Army’s newest armoured fighting vehicle will be revealed on Saturday, 17 September, a century after the first tanks in history went into battle.
The museum is hosting a special commemorative event – Tank 100 – with historic and modern tank displays, living history, and an array of talks, tours and First World War exhibitions.
There will be a First World War battle re-enactment, tracked vehicle rides and a commemoration led by the Royal Tank Regiment.
Visitors can see a British Army display and listen to a performance by the Bovington Military Wives Choir.
And as a grand finale there will be a ‘poppy drop’ in which hundreds of thousands of poppies will be launched into the air and dropped from the skies.
However, it is the appearance of the AJAX that is likely to attract much of the attention.
The first of nearly 600 AJAX platforms – made by General Dynamics Land Systems-UK – will be delivered to the British Army next year.
The first squadron will be equipped by mid-2019 with a brigade ready to deploy from the end of 2020.
The AJAX carries up to four crew and has a 40mm cased telescopic cannon, modular armour, electronic architecture, remote weapons system as well as numerous other capabilities.
David Willey, curator of the museum, said: “A century after the first tanks rolled into battle people will have the opportunity to see the British army’s latest armoured fighting vehicle.
“AJAX is the latest page in this hundred-year-old story and there is much excitement about it.
“On top of that we have a whole day of events and attractions and we will of course be commemorating those first tank crews who engaged the enemy in World War One.”
Tank 100 begins at 10am on and runs through to 5pm. Tickets available at 10% discount from tankmuseum.org.
