Government confirms it will make decision on troubled Ajax programme by end of year
The Government has confirmed it will make a decision on the troubled Ajax programme by the end of the year.
In a response to a written question for the MOD, Minister for Defence Procurement Alec Shelbrooke said the department is working with manufacturer General Dynamics to "resolve the challenges" on Ajax.
He added that work is being done to "validate the effectiveness of proposed modifications" to address the issues with noise and vibration "in line with the contract".
"We expect to be in a position to consider the way forward for the programme by the end of the year. The Ministry of Defence will not accept a vehicle until it can be used safely for its intended purpose," he added.
It comes after a minister said the MOD "cannot determine a realistic timescale" for the introduction of the Ajax armoured vehicle into operational service.
Watch: Timeline of the troubled Ajax programme so far.
General Dynamics UK was contracted to supply the British Army with 589 Ajax vehicles – they were originally due to enter service in 2017 but the troubled programme is now more than four years behind schedule.
General Dynamics UK has received more than £3bn and, as of June this year, only 26 vehicles had been delivered.
In 2021, ministers publicly acknowledged that the programme was in trouble and have been making regular updates to Parliament on the situation.
Issues with the programme have included excessive noise and vibration problems, which have left dozens of troops needing urgent hearing assessments after taking part in trials on the vehicles.
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