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‘Serious failure’ in the British army’s Ajax tank program

A review of the UK’s struggling Ajax armored vehicle program has found “serious failures” and revealed “deep uncertainty” in the government’s defense procurement culture. .

Military and officials have also been heavily criticized for failing to protect soldiers who took part in vehicle testing, some of whom suffered hearing damage.

Jeremy Quin, defense procurement minister, told MPs on Wednesday he was “appalled” by the proxy government’s findings health and safety research, which he said exposed “serious errors” in the weapons system purchase process.

He promised to appoint a senior legal figure to look into the root causes of problems in the £5.5 billion Ajax program, which resulted in the 310 soldiers taking part in the test being exposed to high levels of alcohol. noise and vibration levels “above statutory limits”.

Quin said the Defense Department did not act when advisers and soldiers raised the issue. He promised that if a broader review uncovers evidence of serious misconduct, he will hold those involved to account.

The report’s findings are the latest turning point in the old Ajax program, intended to replace armored reconnaissance vehicles designed in the 1960s.

Tobias Ellwood, Conservative chairman of the defense select committee, called the project a “complete mess”. The former army officer and former defense minister added: “Our entire land warfare program is currently operating suboptimal.”

The MoD contracted US defense contractor General Dynamics in 2014 for 589 Ajax vehicles, in six different configurations, with £3.2 billion spent on the program to date.

“The Ajax program wins the competition, from a very long list, as the poster boy of defense procurement disasters,” said Andrew Murrison, an MP and former Tory defense minister.

Quin said General Dynamics is working on possible design fixes, which the contractor will report back next year, which will then be evaluated by the MoD.

The vehicles, equipped with the latest digital sensors that increase battlefield surveillance, are part of the military’s transition to an era of high-tech warfare. Ajax deliveries should have started four years ago, but not one of the two dozen that the contractor has delivered to the military has entered service.

Quin told MPs that 17 soldiers remained “in specialist outpatient care for the hearing, some of whom are expected to return to active duty with no impact on their health”.

He said the hearings of 11 other people were so severely damaged that it could “potentially” limit their ability to do their military service”, although he said four had problems. hearing before going to trial.

He added that while the MoD has yet to establish a clear cause-and-effect link, it is possible that Ajax “may have contributed to the current state of hearing loss in a small number of individuals”.

The report includes 20 recommendations, including for the military to review its health and safety reporting. It says the first official safety notice was issued by the MoD’s procurement department in December 2018 due to the crew reporting motion sickness during testing.

But there is no evidence that a series of recommendations to correct and monitor vibration problems have been implemented, according to the report.

Francis Tusa, editor of Defense Analysis, said it was clear from the findings that “we can’t continue to shop in the bad old ways”. But he also criticized Quin, accusing the minister of throwing the army and defense procurement division of the defense ministry into the “underbody of a bus”.

General Dynamics declined to comment.

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