BLACKWOOD-BASED defence firm General Dynamics Land System-UK have successfully tested loading their new tanks onto aircraft.

The Oakdale-based office completed trials for the AJAX family of transports at the Joint Air Delivery Test and Evaluation Unit (JADTEU), at RAF Brize Norton, in May.

The vehicles were loaded onto real-size mock-ups of two RAF aircraft, the C-17A Globemaster II and A400M Atlas.

The aircraft give the RAF heavy-lift capabilities and help provide support to potential areas of combat operations, and peacekeeping or humanitarian missions worldwide.

The trials form part of the process to ensure the AJAX family of vehicles can be transported anywhere in the world quickly to support the British Army.

The specialist transports will allow soldiers conduct sustained operations with a "reduced logistics footprint", and are set to be deployed from the end of 2020.

The firm was given a £3.5 billion contact to deliver 589 AJAX vehicles to the British Army in 2014.

Chief of materiel (Land) for the UK’s defence equipment and support organisation, Lieutenant General Paul Jaques, said:“AJAX is the biggest armoured vehicle programme for a generation for the British Army.

"These trials mark significant progress in the programme; it is essential that these fully-digitised fighting vehicles, which will sit at the heart of the UK’s agile Strike Brigades, can be deployed at short notice worldwide to protect the UK and our interests.”

Kevin Connell, vice president of General Dynamics Land Systems-UK, added: “The AJAX programme continues to make excellent progress during this trials period, with these successful trials following quickly on the back of early live fire trials in April. 

"Thanks to the hard work of the project partners and our supply chain, we have been able to successfully demonstrate that the AJAX family meets a key requirement for air portability.”