07 January 2023 , 17:41
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A tank that has never seen service is set to become the biggest waste of cash in our military history.
Nearly 600 Ajax armoured vehicles have been ordered, but defence chiefs admit they may never enter service.
So far, the tanks have cost taxpayers £3.2billion without a single machine being deployed.
A programme to design the fully-digitised vehicles – dubbed mini-tanks – has been running for 12 years
The Ajax was meant to give soldiers unparalleled protection and deliver a lethal punch from its 40mm cannon.
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But the vehicles left hundreds of troops injured from vibrations and noise during trials.
The Government’s Defence Equipment Plan now says there is no “realistic timescale” for when they could enter service.
Many senior officials and military officers believe the project is a disaster and should be scrapped. The Ministry of Defence agreed a £5.5billion contract with General Dynamics UK for 589 Ajax armoured vehicles.
They were intended to replace the Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicle, which entered service in 1971.
The Ajax was originally meant to be rolled out in 2017 but when one arrived for trials in 2019, it shook so violently and made so much noise that over 300 troops involved in the testing were advised to seek medical help.
Just 26 have since been delivered and can only be used for training.
The tanks have cost taxpayers £3.2billion to date (MoD/Crown copyright 2016)The Defence Equipment Plan reported: “Testing is now underway to verify the effectiveness of modifications to mitigate noise and vibration issues to a safe and acceptable level.
“Until a suitable suite of design modifications has been identified, tested and demonstrated, it is not possible to determine a realistic timescale for the introduction of Ajax vehicles into operational service with the Army.”
Col Phil Ingram, a former military intelligence officer, said Ajax should be replaced with a proven design such as the Combat Vehicle 90.
He said: “The programme has been a fiasco and it should now be scrapped.
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“Many of the programme decision makers have remained deaf to bad news that would have exposed the fiasco the programme has become.
“The fault lies squarely with defence equipment and support mismanagement, Army meddling and MoD avoidance of independent scrutiny.”
Last month, Lord West, the former head of the Navy, said: “The Ajax programme, no matter how much one dresses it up, has been a complete and utter disaster. It has been a real shambles.” And Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, branded the project a “complete mess”.
The MoD says the Ajax, assembled in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, supports about 4,000 jobs across more than 230 UK suppliers.
An MoD spokesman said: “We are investing £41billion in equipment and support over the next 10 years.
“We continue to work closely with General Dynamics for the successful delivery of Ajax.
“We are preparing to move to the next phase of testing the vehicle under simulated battlefield conditions, while working to agree a new timetable for Ajax’s introduction into service.”
General Dynamics declined to comment.