Major design flaws in Army’s £5.5bn armoured vehicles make delivery ‘unachievable’

A leaked government report on the Army’s Ajax Armoured Vehicle Programme identified major design flaws in vehicles. It says delivering the programme on time and to budget is “unachievable”.

Problems identified by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority in the report include excessive vibrations and noise. Trials of vehicles were previously paused for four months following temporary hearing loss and aching joints in crews.

The £5.5bn Ajax programme was established in 2014, with the Ministry of Defence contracting US-based defence contractor General Dynamics for deployment of vehicles in 2023/24. 14 of the 589 contracted vehicles have been delivered for trial so far.

Both the MoD and Army said they are committed to the programme that has already seen £3.5bn of spending. The vehicle’s initial operating capacity is expected to be reached by summer 2021.

The report, first reported in the Sun, notes crews are limited to “one hour 30 before a crew change” and “speed restrictions of 20mph”. Vehicles “cannot reverse over an obstacle more than 20cm high”.

MPs previously criticised the state of the British Army’s vehicle programme. The Defence Select Committee published a report noted high costs with few outcomes.