The British Army will cautiously resume trials of the Ajax armoured vehicle, which were paused in November 2023 when about 30 soldiers fell ill during Exercise Titan Storm, a defence official said, citing possible carbon monoxide exposure from missing air filters.
According to Defence Minister Luke Pollard, the decision to resume trials is based on findings from the Army Safety Investigation Team. The ASIT did not identify a single causal mechanism for the soldiers' symptoms but pointed to a combination of factors, with Pollard describing carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide warnings as 'air quality' issues. The Ministry of Defence said a batch of 23 vehicles crewed by troops who suffered illness are being held back.
The safety of soldiers is, and has always been, our highest priority.
The Ajax programme, which according to the Ministry of Defence aims to deliver 589 vehicles to form the backbone of armoured strike brigades for the next 30 years, has faced years of problems since the first vehicles were due in 2017. Pollard announced that the second phase of delivery will include improvements to air filtration, crew compartment heating, and electrical power generation, and he has implemented strict new controls on the reintroduction of the vehicles.
BAE Systems confirmed it has offered its CV-90 vehicle as an alternative to Ajax, after losing the £6bn contract to General Dynamics. Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, managing director of BAE Hagglunds, said the CV-90 is in use in Ukraine and has an order backlog of over 600 vehicles. He suggested the Ministry of Defence made impossible demands in the Ajax specification, adding that the CV-90's rubber track reduces vibrations by 30 per cent compared to Ajax.
GD UK has confidence in the performance and protection Ajax is designed to provide. It is the world's most advanced, fully digitised, armoured fighting vehicle and ensures soldiers see and understand the battlefield faster than any adversary.
General Dynamics UK welcomed the ASIT conclusions and the Ministry of Defence's decision to resume under a phased approach, the company said. Pollard confirmed he had agreed to restart acceptance of vehicles from General Dynamics. The Ajax vehicles are manufactured in Merthyr Tydfil by General Dynamics, employing around 700 people, according to the company.
Despite the resumption, uncertainties remain. In February 2024, Pollard declined to set a timeline for the Ajax investigation, the Ministry of Defence confirmed. The exact cause of the soldiers' illnesses has not been identified, and it is unclear whether the UK government will consider BAE Systems' CV-90 alternative. The total cost overruns of the Ajax programme, originally valued at £6bn, have not been disclosed.