British Army’s £5,500,000,000 armoured fleet Ajax still ‘too loud’ for soldiers

Troops needed treatment for headaches and hearing problems after using a new British tank that has just been cleared for deployment, according to reports.

The revelations come days after a minister promised the Ajax combat vehicle had ‘left its troubles behind’.

Ajax tanks have been in development for years, but faced delays after soldiers suffered injuries from its loud noise and strong vibrations.

It was meant to enter service in 2017, but has only now declared initial operating capability (IOC), a milestone that means it can be deployed on operations.

Despite this vote of confidence, ‘soldiers are still being hurt’, a defence source told Sky News.

Around half a dozen troops had to be checked for hearing and motion sickness problems after a training exercise on Salisbury Plain this summer, the broadcaster reported.

They had been using the main Ajax model designed for reconnaissance and strikes, as well as the Ares type for carrying troops, and Athena which is used as a command hub.

It led to another investigation into the tank’s safety, but as this found no ‘systemic issues’, this week’s launch went ahead as planned.

The General Dynamics factory making them in South Wales, is now gearing up for a major production run in the £6.3 billion Ministry of Defence project to build 589 of the advanced vehicles.

More than 165 of the vehicles have now been delivered, but full operating capability (FOC) may not be reached for another four years.

Speaking from Merthyr Tydfil on Wednesday, Luke Pollard, minister for defence readiness and industry, said: ‘Ajax has overcome significant challenges, but importantly, we can say it has left its troubles behind.

‘Ajax has proved itself in the field to be the most advanced medium-weight armoured fighting vehicle on the planet, and we have more than a full squadron ready to go, ready to fight, ready to win, with more in the pipeline.’

The UK hopes to export the 40-tonne tanks, which cost around £10 million each and come in three variants, to other Nato countries, so any concerns around their suitabiltity could be a major blow.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: ‘Safety of our personnel is a top priority. Ajax has been through rigorous trials and an assured safety process, and the evidence shows it is safe to operate.

‘Where concerns were raised over the summer, these were investigated by a safety team and no systemic issues were found.

‘All armoured vehicles produce noise and vibration – we continue to ensure these do not exceed statutory limits.’

‘We would not be putting in the hands of our frontline forces if it were not safe’

Mr Pollard also hit back at claims the vehicle may still not be ready for use, saying: ‘This is a programme that did have significant problems, it was right that under the last government the trials were paused so the lessons could be learned around the vibration and noise issues.

‘Those issues are firmly in the past. We would not be declaring IOC if it were not safe, we would not be putting it in the hands of our frontline forces if it were not safe, and I’ve been reassured from the top of the army down to the folks that work on the platform that it is safe.

‘There are lots of lessons that we can learn from this. We want to see huge improvements in the value for money for defence procurement, we want to see speeding up of those procurements, and we want to see more of an increased defence budget being directed at companies in Britain.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.