TheBritish Army has announced the delivery of Ajax armored

Junior Defense Minister Luke Pollard said the first 50 vehicles, costing around £10 million, are ready to deploy to NATO's eastern flank, although he acknowledged previous problems that led to missed delivery deadlines in 2017, 2020, and 2021.

"We can learn a lot," Pollard said at an Ajax construction site in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. He added, "The Ajax contract took years... and we have to reduce it to a matter of months."

"Our mission as a country is to support our NATO allies, and in particular to secure the eastern border," the minister said. However, no specific announcements were made about the vehicle's intended use, leading to long delays that embarrassed the army.

When the Ajax Armed Reconnaissance Vehicle was first commissioned in 2010, deliveries were expected to begin in early 2017. However, by the time a fixed-price contract worth £5.5 billion was awarded to the American firm General Dynamics, deliveries had slipped to July 2020.

Initial demonstrations in 2020 and 2021 revealed that the Ajax suffered from excessive vibration and noise. Testing was halted after 11 soldiers were placed under prolonged medical observation amid reports of tinnitus and hearing loss.

The British Army has announced the delivery of the first Ajax armored vehicles, which are eight years behind schedule and their relevance is being questioned due to the dominance of cheap drones on Ukrainian battlefields.

Junior Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the first 50 vehicles, costing around £10 million, are ready to deploy on NATO's east coast. However, he acknowledged past problems, including missed delivery deadlines in 2017, 2020, and 2021.

"We can learn a lot," Pollard said at the Ajax manufacturing site in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. He added, "It took years to get the Ajax contract... and we have to complete it in just a few months."

The minister said, "Our mission as a country is to support our NATO allies, and in particular to defend the east coast." However, no specific announcements were made regarding the vehicle's use, as its long delays had caused embarrassment to the Army.

When the Ajax armoured reconnaissance vehicle was first commissioned in 2010, deliveries were expected to begin in early 2017. However, by the time the US company General Dynamics was awarded a fixed-price contract worth £5.5 billion, deliveries had already slipped to July 2020.

Initial demonstrations in 2020 and 2021 revealed excessive vibration and noise in the Ajax. Testing was halted after 11 soldiers were placed under prolonged medical observation amid reports of tinnitus and hearing loss.

The British Army has announced the first delivery of Ajax armored vehicles, eight years behind schedule and raising questions about their relevance amid the dominance of cheap drones on Ukrainian battlefields.

Junior Defense Minister Luke Pollard said the first 50 vehicles, each costing around £10 million, are ready to deploy to NATO's eastern flank. However, he acknowledged previous problems that led to missed delivery deadlines in 2017, 2020, and 2021.

"We can learn a lot," Pollard said at the Ajax manufacturing site in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. He added, "It took years to get the Ajax contract... and we have to complete it in just a few months."

The minister said, "Our mission as a country is to support our NATO allies, and in particular to defend the East Coast." However, no specific announcements were made regarding the vehicle's use, as the vehicle's long delays had caused military embarrassment.

When the Ajax Armed Reconnaissance Vehicle was first commissioned in 2010, deliveries were expected to begin as early as 2017, but by that time, the US company General Dynamics had already been awarded a fixed-price contract worth £5.5 billion, which was delayed until July 2020.

Initial demonstrations in 2020 and 2021 revealed that the Ajax had excessive vibration and noise. The trials were halted after 11 soldiers were placed under prolonged medical observation amid reports of tinnitus and hearing loss.

The British Army has announced the first delivery of Ajax armored vehicles, eight years behind schedule.

The first 50 vehicles, costing approximately £10 million each, are finally ready to deploy to NATO's eastern flank, where drones now dominate.

Dan Sabbagh

The British Army has announced the first delivery of Ajax armored vehicles, eight years behind schedule and raising questions about their relevance amid the dominance of cheap drones on Ukrainian battlefields.

Junior Defense Minister Luke Pollard said that approximately £10 millioneach, were ready to deploy on Nato’s eastern flank, though he acknowledged the problems of the past when delivery deadlines of 2017, 2020 and 2021 were all missed.

“There a lot of lessons we can learn,” Pollard said at an Ajax manufacturing site in Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales. The Ajax took “many, many years to contract … and we need to cut that hugely [to] only a few months”, he added.

“Our mission as a country is to support our Nato allies, and in particular to secure the eastern flank,” the minister said, although there were no specific announcements about the use of a vehicle whose long delays had become a military embarrassment.

When Ajax, an armed reconnaissance vehicle, was first commissioned in 2010, it was anticipated deliveries would begin in early 2017, though by the time a fixed-price £5.5bn contract was awarded to US firm General Dynamics, that had slipped to July 2020.

Initial demonstrations in 2020 and 2021 then revealed that the Ajax was plagued by excessive vibration and noise. Testing was halted after 11 soldiers had to be placed under long-term medical monitoring amid reports of tinnitus and hearing loss.

Pollard said he could not say how many soldiers were still affected by hearing problems, citing patient confidentiality, but “those issues are firmly in the past” and “if it were not safe, we would not be putting it in the hands of our armed forces”.

Demonstrations of the Ajax, on a short drive at the manufacturing site, revealed that it was still noisy, though not obviously excessively so. A dual layer of protection, ear plugs and defenders, had been particularly helpful in improving safety, military sources said.

Though there are a number of variants, the core Ajax vehicle is designed for forward reconnaissance – operating in the “grey zone” or even behind enemy lines – scouting positions from 5 miles away. Using a range of cameras and sensors, it is designed so its crew of three do not have to exit, remaining inside for a week if necessary.

The long delays have led to the Ajax emerging in the fourth year of the Ukraine war, where tanks and armoured vehicles have failed to achieve significant victories for either side. The conflict has become dominated by cheap one-way drones that have become increasingly effective in knocking out armour – which is easily detected near the frontline.