Britain’s notorious Ajax armored vehicles are being accepted back from the manufacturer after investigations found no single cause for the symptoms plaguing crews, meaning soldiers will need to grin and bear it.
The tracked reconnaissance vehicle was effectively grounded in February, after repeated instances of crew members reporting ill after training. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) took the unusual step of withdrawing its initial operating capability (IOC) status pending closer inspection.
The results are in and they’re less than satisfying. In a written statement to Parliament, Luke Pollard MP, the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, said the Army Safety Investigation Team (ASIT) found no single causal mechanism, just a combination of minor-sounding factors, some of which implicate the troops themselves.
Noise and vibration levels were reportedly below legal limits and the analysis blames multiple factors: incorrect track tension, loose or missing engine deck bolts, and “environmental and human factors, including variability in training and experience, cold exposure, and air quality within the Ajax vehicle itself.”
In other words, the vehicles are fine and the soldiers are the problem.
This was telegraphed last month when senior Army office Lieutenant General Anna-Lee Reilly told the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee the issues stemmed from vehicles being operated and maintained improperly.
However, she conceded soldiers weren’t being willfully negligent, just tired after long stints on the platforms.
Perhaps the MOD expects soldiers to dismount the vehicle in the midst of an operation and check the track tension and any loose bolts in future, to avoid suffering vibration symptoms or having their hearing damaged?
Pollard’s statement confirms an Independent Expert Panel Review remains ongoing, with a final report due soon. A further independent review is being commissioned to examine the quality of advice that Ministers, senior officials and military leadership in the MoD received regarding Ajax.
If wars were won by inquiries, Britain would be undefeatable.
All personnel have now returned to normal duties following Exercise Titan Storm last year, when the problems came to the fore once more. The majority of soldiers who felt ill during this exercise suffered only temporary symptoms, according to Pollard.
Strict controls are being applied to the reintroduction of existing Ajax vehicles, we’re told, meaning the 23 vehicles on the exercise “will be treated separately and will not be put back in the hands of soldiers until we have confirmed that it is appropriate to do so.”
The issues are not new: soldiers reported adverse symptoms during trials as far back as 2020. A 2021 Noise and Vibration Review highlighted “both electrical and mechanical origins” from the track, suspension and running gear, plus the engine and its mounting into the vehicle.
The review concluded General Dynamics “has designed and built what MoD maintains is thus far a vehicle which is not fit for purpose and does not meet the contracted specification.”
All those complications were supposedly addressed in the intervening years, yet personnel ended up with the same symptoms after the British Army declared IOC last year.
The uncomfortable reality is that the £6.3 billion budget for Ajax has been spent. There is no money to scrap it and start over, despite hints from Defence Secretary John Healey earlier this year that cancellation was on the table. So the Army will adapt to the vehicle’s shortcomings, and crews will carry on.
“The safety of our people is non-negotiable,” Pollard said. “That is the standard our Armed Forces deserve, and it is the standard this government will uphold.” ®
