Saxon (vehicle)

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 BAOR. It was made as a relatively low cost armored personnel carrier based on a revised Bedford M series 4x4 truck chassis and other commercially available components. 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 V-shaped under-chassis plate to deflect mine detonations with seating provided in the rear for up to ten troops, although eight is a more comfortable load if all their equipment is included. There is an equipment stowage area on the hull roof.

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 The Saxon is now withdrawn from service in HM Armed Forces, but 147 are kept in storage. The Saxon has been deployed to places such as Bahrain, Brunei, Malaysia, Oman, Iraq and Afghanistan.

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



 * 🇧🇭 Bahrain
 * 🇲🇾 Malaysia
 * 🇳🇬 Nigeria
 * 🇴🇲 Oman

Former Operators

 * 🇭🇰 Hong Kong - Hong Kong Police Force Police Tactical Unit. All retired in 2009 and replaced by Unimog U500s.
 * UK - British Army. All taken out from service.