New Army vehicle finally 'ready to fight' after 8 years of delays

The British Army’s newest armoured fighting vehicle has finally been given the green light to deploy on operations after years of delays. The first 50 Ajax vehicles are now ready to be deployed on missions — eight years later than initially planned.

The £6.3 billion project has suffered serious setbacks, with problems including noise and vibration issues, which injured soldiers testing the vehicles. Defence Procurement Minister Luke Pollard said Ajax had “overcome” its difficulties and is “ready to fight” as he announced the tracked vehicles have achieved initial operating capability, meaning a squadron of 27 can be deployed on operations. Speaking at the General Dynamics factory in Merthyr Tydfil on Wednesday, Mr Pollard said: “Ajax has overcome significant challenges, but importantly, we can say it has left its troubles behind.

Fifty Ajax vehicles can now deploy on operations (Image: PA)

“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.

“Our Ajax fleet has a key role as we move our nation to war-fighting readiness… We now live in a new era of threat, we live in a more dangerous world, and to respond to that, we need to renew our armed forces, retiring old equipment, and investing in new technologies.”

Initial operating capability for Ajax was previously due to be achieved in 2017.

There are six Ajax variants, each offering different capabilities such as reconnaissance, command and control, and personnel carrier.

They are the first new armoured fighting vehicles to enter service with the British Army for nearly 30 years and replace the CVR(T) vehicles, which began to enter service in 1971.

More than 165 Ajax vehicles have now been delivered, with the fleet set to grow to 589 by 2030.

Mr Pollard suggested to reporters the vehicles could be used to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank or as part of a deployment of the Coalition of Willing to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.

The war in Ukraine has seen armoured vehicles and tanks become less effective on the battlefield due to drones which have come to define the conflict.

Trials of the 40-tonne Ajax have taken place in the UK and in hot and cold environments overseas, with the vehicles driven around 26,100 miles.