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Britain to be left with fewer tanks than Serbia as existing war machines are replaced by Ajax (tr)
MAILONLINE ^ | 28 November 2016 | JESSICA DUNCAN

Posted on 11/27/2016 7:49:52 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki

The Army are planning to cut its number of front line tanks by up to a third, leaving Britain with fewer than Serbia, Russia and only a few more than Switzerland.

As MailOnline reported earlier this month hundreds of Ajax mini-tanks are due to be supplied to the Army next year with the full order of 600 delivered to the Ministry of Defence by 2024 costing around £3.5billion.

The Ajax armoured vehicles will travel at speeds of up to 40mph and have been touted as the first ever fully digital armoured fighting vehicle in UK military history.

All you need to know about the Ajax (pictured) which has a top speed of 44 miles per hour

But according to The Sunday Times for one of the army’s three tank regiments, the Ajax will replace all of its 56 Challenger 2s.

The cut would mean the army’s total number of Challenger 2 tanks would be reduced from 227 to about 170. Whilst Germany has 306 main battle tanks, France 200, Poland 971, Romania 437, Russia 2,700 and Serbia 212.

The plans come as Russia also announced a new generation of take the T-14 Armata leaving some people concerned.

Speaking to The Sunday Times Colonel Bob Stewart, who led British forces in Bosnia, said: ‘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.’

Concerns have been raised over the safety of the Ajax with some sources calling them 'death traps'.

Critics claim the 'lightly armoured' tanks cannot stand up to heavy artillery and say the weaponry on board is not sufficient – with the gun having already 'stopped working' during foreign trials.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Russia; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: armor; challenger; ifv; mbt

1 posted on 11/27/2016 7:49:52 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
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Stronger than dirt!


2 posted on 11/27/2016 7:55:25 PM PST by Olog-hai
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Uncle Sucker has been paying the tab since WW2, hopefully Trump puts a stop to it


3 posted on 11/27/2016 8:01:35 PM PST by Emergencyawesome
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To: sukhoi-30mki

The operating system will probably be a variant of Windows Vista.


4 posted on 11/27/2016 8:13:50 PM PST by Thud
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To: sukhoi-30mki

I read that the suicide rate among men in Britain is five times higher than the women. This is a nation in trouble. Brexit was but the first step. If they don’t watch it they will end up like Israel, with native Brits surrounded by a big population of Arabs.


5 posted on 11/27/2016 8:14:30 PM PST by Crucial
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Last time I heard, Britain was still pretty much an island. -— with no enemy countries sharing same. Also to be considered is the risk that too many tanks might tip the island over, causing it to sink. I believe an American congresscritter discovered this dangerous geological hazard in re Guam (another island somewhere or other)


6 posted on 11/27/2016 8:18:14 PM PST by faithhopecharity ("Politicians are not born. They're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero. $500for an appraisal of gen on)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

The T-14 may be able to throw a round out to three miles, but can it HIT anything smaller than a barn at that range?


7 posted on 11/27/2016 8:21:15 PM PST by 2CAVTrooper (Democrats... BETRAYING America since 1828.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

The Brits need to keep defunding tanks and use that to feeding islamists for sake of “islam is peace” crypto-communist mantra


8 posted on 11/27/2016 11:18:14 PM PST by lavaroise (s)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

For an Air Force vet, what is the advantage/disadvantage of a smooth bore gun vs a rifle bore gun on a tank?


9 posted on 11/28/2016 5:45:05 AM PST by ops33 (SMSgt, USAF, Retired)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Would the 40mm round bounce off all the other world’s tanks?


10 posted on 11/28/2016 4:08:30 PM PST by minnesota_bound
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