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An incident that left more than 30 soldiers unwell while operating the Army’s Ajax armoured vehicle was caused by it not being used or maintained in line with its specifications, a senior officer has claimed.
The Ministry of Defence paused testing after 35 service personnel across 23 vehicles became ill, with reports of troops vomiting and shaking following a military exercise on Salisbury Plain last year.
The issues emerged just weeks after the MoD had declared the long-delayed vehicles ready for deployment, saying it was “confident” Nato allies would be interested in buying them.
Ajax, a £6.3bn programme involving 589 vehicles, was originally due to enter service in 2017 but has been plagued by delays and technical problems.
The vehicles are built in Merthyr Tydfil by General Dynamics, which employs around 700 people and said it remains confident in the platform, adding that soldier safety is its “highest priority”.
Lieutenant General Anna-Lee Reilly told MPs that an Army safety investigation found no inherent fault with Ajax when it is operated correctly.
“The platform wasn’t operated and maintained within the specification it should have been, and that led to the incident,” she said.
She added that the findings show the vehicle is safe when used as designed, but acknowledged the need for stricter operating procedures going forward.
To resolve the issues, she suggested troops may have to carry out track checks every time they stop the vehicle a new requirement which soldiers seemed to be unaware of.
But, a senior defence source told LBC: “It’s absurd to claim that simply driving an armoured vehicle off-road for a prolonged period can damage it due to track tension. Let’s hope the next war doesn’t last more than a few hours, or we’ll be pulling over to check the tracks mid-battle.”
Speaking to the Public Accounts Committee, Lt Gen Reilly rejected suggestions that commanders had ignored guidance, instead pointing to the realities of prolonged exercises.
“As you’re travelling cross-country, factors like track tension change over time,” she said. “It was a very long exercise, and the soldiers were on the platforms for extended periods. This wasn’t wilful ignorance, it’s part of operating armoured vehicles.”
She said updated guidance will require more frequent checks during operations.
Despite the setback, Reilly warned that keeping soldiers off the platform for too long risks eroding key armoured warfare skills.
“These are perishable skills,” she said. “We need to keep them current, and that means getting soldiers back on the platform as quickly as possible.”
But MPs remain sceptical, with Public Accounts Committee chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown warning that safety concerns must be fully resolved.
“What we can’t afford to do is put any more of our soldiers at risk with hearing and vibration problems,” he said.
