Household Cavalry puts Ajax variants to the test in harsh -36°C temperatures

Personnel from the Household Cavalry have put their new Ajax armoured vehicles to the test in the freezing Swedish winter.

The troops were operating the base Ajax fighting variant in Sweden, as well as Athena, a command and control variant, and Ares, a specialist troop carrier.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Royal Armoured Corps said the troops "pushed their vehicles to their limits and [came] out on top" - with temperatures dropping as low as -36°C.

• Inside factory where production lines are running hot to build Army's long-awaited Ajax
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• Get up close and personal with the British Army's new Ajax armoured vehicle

In November, Forces News got exclusive access to take a look under the hood of the Ajax vehicle with the Household Cavalry and also visited the factory in the heart of the Welsh Valleys where all six variants of the Ajax are being built.

The Ajax family includes six distinct variants:

Ajax is used for reconnaissance and direct fire, and is crewed by three people with the option of an additional passenger. It is equipped with a fully stabilised 40mm cannon.

Atlas is the recovery version and has more than 30 metric tonnes of winching power.

Argus is designed to carry out battlefield engineering tasks.

Athena is a command and control version.

Apollo is a repair variant, being equipped with a five-tonne crane.

Ares is a specialist troop carrier.

The Ajax project has run into several issues, with tests being paused on a number of occasions.

Almost 200 more personnel involved in the British Army's delayed £5.5bn Ajax armoured fighting vehicle programme were contacted for an urgent hearing assessment, with vibration in the vehicle causing damage to some soldiers' hearing.