Saxon (vehicle)

Saxon
Saxon
	A Hong Kong Police Force Police Tactical Unit Saxon AT105, all retired in 2009.
Type	Armoured personnel carrier
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
Used by	Operators
Production history
Manufacturer	GKN Sankey; Formerly by Alvis plc
Specifications
Mass	10.6 tonnes
Length	5.17 m (17 ft 0 in)
Width	2.49 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height	2.63 m (8 ft 8 in)
Crew	2
Main; armament	7.62 mm MG
Secondary; armament	none
Engine	Bedford 500 6-cyl diesel; 164 hp (122 kW)
Payload capacity	10 passengers
Suspension	Wheel 4x4
Operational; range	510 km (320 mi)
Maximum speed	96 km/h (60 mph)

The Saxon is an armoured personnel carrier used by the British Army and supplied in small numbers to various overseas organisations. It was developed by GKN Sankey from earlier projects, AT 100 IS and AT104, and is due to be replaced by the Future Rapid Effect System. It was first produced by Alvis plc.

Design

The Saxon was intended to act as a cheap but efficient "battle-taxi" for units that would have to make long journeys from the UK to reinforce the British Army of the Rhine. It was made as a relatively low cost armoured personnel carrier based on a revised Bedford M series 4x4 truck chassis and other commercially available components.^[1] As a lightly armoured wheeled vehicle it is much faster - especially on roads - and easier to maintain than a tracked vehicle. Indeed, it shares many parts with commercial trucks, reducing the operating cost. It is armoured against small-arms fire and shell splinters, but is not intended to stand up to any anti-vehicle weaponry. The vehicle has a single machine gun for local air defence, and can carry up to ten men.

The Saxon's hull is welded steel with a V-shaped under-chassis plate to deflect mine detonations. Seating is provided in the rear for up to ten troops, although eight is a more comfortable load if all their equipment is included.^[1] There is an equipment stowage area on the hull roof.^[1]

Some Saxon IS, or Saxon Patrol, vehicles were acquired for service in Northern Ireland, serving both as troop carriers and used in riots with extendible wings to be used as protective shields as well as being used as ambulances. These have various minor modifications compared to the normal version, such as searchlights and wire cutters, intended for internal security operations.

History

The first operational Saxons were deployed in Germany in 1983, to equip mechanised infantry battalions. The Saxon has now been withdrawn from service in HM Armed Forces, but 147 are kept in storage. The Saxon has been deployed to places such as Bahrain, Brunei, Bosnia, Malaysia, Oman, Iraq and Afghanistan.

20-75 Saxons were sold to Ukraine reportedly under a contract made in 2013, i.e. predating the start of the War in Donbass.^[2] The Ukraine military announced the deal on 5 December 2014.^[3] The former chief commander of British land-forces, General Sir Richard Dannatt, said that supplying the vehicles to Ukraine was "immoral" as they were "useless".^[4]

Variants

The Saxon can be fitted out as:

AT105A - Ambulance
AT105E - Turret armed with one or two machine guns
AT105MR - 81 mm mortar
AT105C - Command vehicle
ARV - Recovery vehicle

Operators

Current operators

Bahrain^[1]
Iraq: - Iraqi Armed Forces now mostly used by police.
Malaysia^[1]
Mozambique - 25 delivered in 2013^[5]
Nigeria^[1]
Oman^[1]
Somalia - 50 donated second hand by Djibouti April 2013.^[6]
Ukraine - Ukraine's Ministry of Defense has purchased 75 vehicles,^[7] of which 20 are delivered.^[8]