Troubled £6bn Ajax armoured vehicle may never be fit for combat, MPs warned

MPs have raised serious questions about whether the Army’s £6.3bn Ajax armored vehicle will be deemed combat-worthy.

The project has been continually disrupted by concerns about the impact of noise and vibration on the crew.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has warned of “unrealistic expectations” about how soldiers can safely operate armored vehicles in a war zone. The Commons spending watchdog also criticized Sir Keir Starmer’s government’s delays in publishing its defense investment plan (DIP), which was originally planned for last year but may not appear until July.

The Ajax system was initially expected to enter service in 2017 but has experienced repeated disruptions due to crew safety concerns. Although the vehicle was finally available for operations last November, the exercise had to be stopped within weeks because soldiers were experiencing symptoms related to noise and vibration.

In its report, the PAC noted that the Ministry of Defense (MoD) suggested that “there are no safety concerns with Ajax provided it is operated and maintained correctly within its design parameters.”

It was stated that soldiers were instructed to carry out maintenance checks every time they stopped the vehicle, but the Ministry of Defense “did not explain the applicability of this to soldiers operating the Ajax for extended periods of time in combat”.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “Our thoughts are with all those soldiers who reported symptoms of noise and vibration after operating these vehicles, and we were frankly stunned to hear officials explain that the proper use of Ajax requires maintenance checks every time it is stopped.

“This is frankly an affront to intelligence and this advice will be of great benefit to our fighting men and women when they are called upon to use Ajax in combat. The Ministry of Defense must now explain how it will make Ajax fit for purpose and how much it will cost.”

The committee said: “Whether the Ajax armored vehicle is fit for purpose remains a matter of concern.

“Armored vehicles that harm soldiers when used outside strict parameters will be of little use on the modern battlefield.

“The Ministry has discussed a potential ‘Ajax 2’ recovery package, but there is a risk of having to spend more than planned in the hope of salvaging something from the Ajax programme.”

The vehicle was built by General Dynamics, based in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, and MPs wanted to know how much the firm was prepared to pay for “delays in the delivery of a fit-for-purpose vehicle”.

MPs also slammed the impact of delays in publishing the defense investment plan.

Sir Geoffrey said: “Those responsible may argue there are good reasons for Dip’s ongoing absence, but our report makes clear that excuses to the effect of ‘taking time to get the details right’ just don’t cut it.

“Whatever the content of the Dip when it is finally revealed, the damage caused by its absence has been to the credibility, security, armed forces of the country and the certainty of its entire defense industrial base.

“Any government minister who tries to explain this delay to the Dip should instead ask himself what message the bureaucratic drift of the past months has sent to the public, as well as the UK’s allies and enemies, and simply apologize.”

The Ministry of Defense “has not yet decided what capabilities, infrastructure and people it needs to make the armed forces combat-ready within the available budget” and “nor has it secured the intergovernmental agreement the plan requires”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir insisted the plan, first promised in autumn 2025, would be published before the NATO summit in Türkiye, which starts on July 7.

A Ministry of Defense spokesman said the Government had delivered a “generational increase” in defense spending, providing an extra £270bn to this Parliament.

The spokesman said: “The defense investment plan will fix the outdated, overburdened and underfunded program we inherited.

“We are working hard to finalize this. As the Defense Minister told Parliament this week, the Prime Minister is determined to publish it before the NATO Summit.”