Recommendation 1

HM Government Not Addressed

Introduction from the Committee Ajax is an armoured fighting vehicle which should provide the Army with its first fully digitised platform. It will be based on new technologically advanced sensors and communication systems which should transform the Army’s surveillance and reconnaissance capability. The vehicles form an integral part of the Ministry of Defence’s (the Department’s) vision for digital integration across land, air and sea domains, allowing real-time information-sharing and connectivity with other capabilities, such as Lightning II jets. Ajax represents the biggest single order for a UK armoured vehicle in more than 20 years. The programme began in 2010, and the Department has a £5.5 billion firm-priced contract with General Dynamics Land Systems UK for the design, manufacture, and initial in-service support of 589 vehicles. The programme is supposed to deliver six types of vehicle which will perform different roles. By December 2021, the Department had paid General Dynamics £3.2 billion, and General Dynamics had designed the vehicles, built 324 hulls and assembled and tested 143 vehicles. The Department had received 26 Ajax vehicles, together with training systems and some logistics support and spares. In 2014, the Department extended its expected in-service date by three years to July 2020, and the programme subsequently missed a revised target date of June 2021. In 2021, the Department acknowledged publicly concerns about excessive levels of noise and vibration on the Ajax vehicles. These issues remain unresolved, and the Department does not know when Ajax will enter service. Based on a report by the National Audit Office, the Committee took evidence on 30 March 2022 from the Ministry of Defence. The Committee published its report on 3 June 2022. This is the government’s response to the Committee’s report. Relevant reports • NAO report: The Ajax Programme – Session 2021-22 (HC 1142) • PAC report: Armoured Vehicles: Ajax Programme – Session 2022-23 (HC 259) • HS & EP Ajax Noise and Vibration Review (The King Review) – December 2021 • Ajax Update - Hansard - UK Parliament Volume 714 - 19 May 2022 • The Ajax Lessons Learned Review – Lead appointed – 23 May 2022