Affordable, available alternatives to Saxon would include variations of the LAV used by the US Army and a different variation by the USMC, Canada and Australia. A highly versitile multi role vehicle.
There are also a host of similar vehicles built in other nations, I was almost boared to tears listening tio the virtues of the wheeled LAV type vehicle used by the Finns, after some British soldiers had worked with them.
Stormer in service with the RA, CVRT spares and training, does what it says on the box, and of course Viking amongst a host of others.
The problem isn't availablity or even affordability its the way the MOD purchases kit.
if I can refer to a naval example that shows the dreadful way our MOD spends money its the new aircraft carriers. Some years ago the RN was told it was to get two new super carriers of 50-60,000 tons to replace its existing three 20,000 ton carriers, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth (unlucky names for British warships).
About the same time Italy announced it was going to build a 30,000 ton carrier the Cavour. Where Italy spent one year examining various plans and working out the details and just six months awarding contracts, we spent tens of milllions of pounds and many years in competitive tendering, study groups, management oversight groups, gateway project management, artists impressions, models, contract sharing arrrangements with France.
Italy's Cavour, is currently sailing up and down the Med and will be in service with the Italian Navy sometime this year. The MOD has now spent more on our carriers than Italy has on its, but where Italy has 30,000 tons of steel we have some lovely artists impressions, a few models and bugger all else. In broad terms we have spent roughly 10 million pounds more on nothing than Italy has on its new vessel.
Sorry to give a naval, rather than an army, example of why we cannot afford anything but it is relivant and the lessons apply almost accross the board. From Bootlaces to Bowman, Tinned food to Tanks the MOD is a financial "black hole" we have a huge defence budget most of which is swallowed up by men in suits so our actual expendeture on the services is very small indeed.
It doesn't even help our Defence industry, since foreign customers dont want to buy kit they feel our services dont want themselves, so they go to France and Italy instead. There is enough cash to have a bigger better equipped armed forces but the money is going adrift.
Cardinal