At the World Defense Show (WDS) held in Riyadh from February 8 to 12, Lockheed Martin UK signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Saudi company ERAF to work together on turrets to be proposed for various programs in Saudi Arabia. This MoU follows a previous agreement signed at DSEI in London last September, which laid the groundwork for the collaboration.

At DSEI Lockheed Martin had presented, installed on General Dynamics UK's AJAX Infantry Fighting Vehicle,  the optionally uncrewed version of what is effectively a new family of turrets. In Riyadh they showcased the much more compact full uncrewed version, a turret weighing around 2 tons and designed to be multi-mission, highly modular, and as agnostic as possible regarding both weapons and sensors fits.

The uncrewed turret is a fully clean sheet design although it of course builds on the experience accumulated through work done over the years for WARRIOR CSP, AJAX and earlier derivative designs of the respective turrets.

The turret shown at WDS is armed with a Bushmaster 30x173 mm gun with a 7.62 mm M134 Gatling as co-axial weapon, but the turret is designed to accommodate weapons from 25 mm up to the compact 40 mm from CTA International as mandated by the customer. Similarly, while for obvious reasons the integrated anti-tank missile launcher was shown with JAVELIN, "the turret can integrate different types of anti-tank missiles, or replace the launcher with a different device, for example for launching drones/loitering munitions or for a laser weapon," as Alexander King, director of business development for complex systems at Lockheed Martin UK, explained to us in a briefing.

The same is true for the main optics: at the show, the Panoramic Above Armor Gimbal (PAAG) from Thales was installed because there is a long, solid and ongoing collaboration between the two companies, mainly due to the AJAX program in the United Kingdom, but alternative choices are entirely possible.

Despite its compact size, the turret offers truly interesting features, including an integrated launcher for small reconnaissance drones, which retracts into the back of the turret. Also very evident are the various flat faces for radar installations for an Active Protection System. "The antennas as seen at WDS are placeholders to highlight the spaces reserved for the integration of any APS chosen by the customer," King specified.

Notable features are the large number of cameras integrated on all sides of the tower, for maximum situational awareness, as well as the integration of semi-submerged smoke grenade launchers within the armored structure.

The elevation of the main gun exceeds 75°, with the possibility of extending it further with some modifications, because the use of this turret for SHORAD applications has been considered from the outset. The turret is proposed not only for installation on vehicles but also for use on palletized fixed mounts for the defense of key bases and installations.

The development in Ampthill, in the United Kingdom, is already advanced, and the goal is to conduct live fire tests around mid-2027 in Saudi Arabia, in the heat of summer. Tests are also planned in the United Kingdom, the home market, where several opportunities can be “guessed” while official plans remain nebulous as government continues to delay the publication of its Defense Investment Plan.

Developed entirely in the UK, the new family of turrets is ITAR-free and aims to pursue opportunities in all fields, including naval requirements, and projects both for new AFVs and for upgrading existing vehicles.

ERAF guaranties a pathway for the localization of production and support in Saudi Arabia, where there are several upcoming opportunities, including programs for new SHORAD solutions for the Saudi Arabian National Guard and potential upgrade projects for existing fleets.

"From the outset, Saudi Arabia has deliberately kept discussions about vehicle platforms separate from those about turrets, recognizing that the latter can find more applications at the same time across different projects. An approach we share," explained King.

In the United Kingdom, various requirements remain open and in wait of government taking its decisions: new SHORAD vehicles are needed, including a variant with gun to specialize in low-level C-UAS; the BOXER fleet needs to be up-gunned and a new Infantry Fighting Vehicle solution is needed if plans for “re-instating” 4 armoured infantry battalions (post WARRIOR, which is due out of service next year) are to be realized. The government is not speaking for now, but Lockheed Martin UK is the only national designer and producer of turrets, the "brain" of any AFV, and hopes that this strategic role will be recognized and protected.

Ampthill is currently producing the turrets for AJAX, but the project is nearing its conclusion: the 245th and final tower is already in assembly, for delivery by late summer. This is part of the reason why export opportunities are more important than ever, especially while the Company is forced to wait for a sign of life from the domestic market.

Lockheed Martin UK remains linked to Rheinmetall as well, thanks to another MoU. Rheinmetall has supplied the steel citadels for the AJAX turrets and remains a key partner for future endeavors, although the new turrets use citadels developed directly in Ampthill. The Company remains open to all sorts of cooperations, however, especially thanks to the modularity and agnostic design of its newest turrets.

The larger, optionally crewed turret seen at DSEI deliberately drew heavily from AJAX’s 2-man turret, to the point that internal arrangement and crew positions remain very similar – bar of course the key difference that the 2 crew member positions sit entirely into the vehicle hull. The turret was showcased armed with the same 40 mm CTA gun as AJAX, especially considering that the UK MoD has 245 such weapons in storage, left over by the cancellation of the WARRIOR CSP project in 2020-21. On the AJAX IFV prototype as seen at DSEI, the crew can easily reach into the turret from below to manually intervene in case of stoppages. The turret integrated elements of the Modular Integrated Protection System (MIPS) Active Protection System which is being defined for UK needs. The development of MIPS as a fleet-agnostic, best of breed solution, is led by Leonardo UK but the suite combines a variety of mature sensors and effectors.

As showcased at DSEI, MIPS currently uses Elbit’s IRON FIST as the interceptor. It also uses Elbit’s ELAWS Enhanced Laser Warning System receives (as already installed on AJAX and CHALLENGER 3) but then adds the Rafael ELI-3312 M3S2, for “Multi-Mission; Multi Sensor Suite”. This system, usually part of TROPHY, combines radar, optical and even acoustic detection to deliver integrated surveillance. The new staring radar face of the M3S2 is much smaller than the previous one employed for TROPHY yet more powerful. Thanks to this, the new IAI radar is a true multirole sensor which detects and tracks drones in 90 degrees sector for each flat face. The radar is powerful enough to detect small, hovering quadcopters by their spinning rotor blades and also doubles as a ground-level surveillance sensor. It is capable of detecting and tracking drones, personnel, and vehicle movements simultaneously in a broad field of view and can pin-point the source of enemy fire thanks to acoustic and muzzle flash detection.

A partial installation of MIPS was seen on the turret shown on the AJAX IFV prototype at DSEI; while a full MIPS array was installed on the AJAX “BLACKJAX” demonstrator which is being used for MIPS trials, which will continue this year. The optionally crewed turret at DSEI was showcased with a double launcher for JAVELIN ATGW and with the same Thales gunner sight as found on AJAX, with in addition a Thales PAAG as independent, panoramic sight on top.  Beyond UK and Saudi Arabia, Lockheed Martin UK has its sight on a number of other interested, potential customers.

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