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A UK government minister has expressed his “anger” at not being fully informed about the issues that led to the pause of the British Army’s Ajax armoured vehicle programme.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced a pause in decision-making regarding the future of the programme, pending further investigations. This follows reports of 35 service personnel across 23 vehicles falling ill , with some experiencing vomiting and shaking after training exercises last year.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard stated that he was initially assured the vehicle was “demonstrably safe.”
Pollard confirmed that he has already taken action, including replacing the senior team leader responsible for the troubled project.
Reports in The Times indicated that some soldiers experienced sickness due to vehicle noise and vibration, while others exhibited shaking after a military exercise on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, in November.
An MoD spokesperson stated at the time: “This weekend, a small number of soldiers reported symptoms of noise and vibration, having taken part in an exercise involving the Ajax armoured fighting vehicle.”
While most affected personnel have returned to duty, Pollard informed MPs on Thursday of his frustration at not receiving complete information, leading to the programme being paused for further investigations.
In a written ministerial statement, Pollard expressed strong dissatisfaction: “To say that I am angry about the findings of the ministerial review is an understatement.”
He added, “It demonstrates that people were raising issues with this programme, but they were not being elevated to an appropriate level.”
In November, Pollard announced that Ajax had achieved its “initial operating capability,” a significant milestone.
The multi-million pound vehicles, manufactured by General Dynamics in Merthyr Tydfil, were initially slated for service in 2019.
However, the £6.3bn project has faced criticism for mismanagement by the Ministry of Defence and was paused in June 2021 due to concerns about vibration and noise causing hearing loss during training.
In December, Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens emphasized to the BBC the importance of ensuring “that equipment that’s being supplied is safe.”
Trials on Ajax are scheduled to resume soon, preceding a final decision on its future.
The British Army has ordered 589 Ajax armoured vehicles at a cost exceeding £5bn.
The programme is currently eight years behind schedule.
Conservative shadow defence minister Mark Francois asserted that “as the safety of our soldiers remains paramount, ministers must now, finally, absolutely, fix Ajax or fail it – once and for all.”
He described Pollard’s ministerial statement as “one of the most extraordinary” he had witnessed.
“In it, Luke Pollard, rightfully admits his anger that submissions did not reflect the full breadth of the known aggregated safety risk.”
He further noted that the Ajax senior responsible officer “has now, effectively, been sacked from his up to £160k a year job and that trials will now tentatively restart.”
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