Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
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UK halts Ajax vehicle trials due to safety concerns and technical faults, delaying the £6 billion program further.
LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Britain said it was pausing all trials of the Ajax fighting vehicle, the latest setback for the army's troubled 6 billion pound ($8 billion) programme after years of technical faults and delays.
Luke Pollard, minister for defence readiness, announced the pause on Thursday "out of an abundance of caution". It comes after he decided to pause the use of the vehicle in training and exercising in November to allow a safety investigation to take place.
The development of the vehicles, made by General Dynamics in south Wales, has been beset by difficulties since Britain ordered them in 2014.
During army trials last month, 30 troops reported feeling unwell from noise and vibration, which reports said included shaking and vomiting.
Pollard said the outcome of the safety review would be published shortly and he will assess whether to restart trials in the new year.
"Findings from the investigations into Ajax will be closely aligned to decisions in the Defence Investment Plan," Pollard said in a written ministerial statement.
The 589 Ajax vehicles were slated to enter service around 2020, but this was pushed back to 2025. The contract was the single biggest for a British armoured vehicle in 20 years.
Britain's independent spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, has raised a string of issues with military procurement, highlighting budget overruns, poor financial planning and a failure to make cost savings.
($1 = 0.7454 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle)
A fighting vehicle is a military vehicle designed for combat operations, often equipped with weapons and armor to protect its crew and enhance its operational capabilities.
Technical faults refer to issues or malfunctions in equipment or systems that prevent them from operating as intended, often requiring repairs or adjustments to resolve.
A safety investigation is a systematic examination of an incident or potential hazard to identify causes and recommend measures to prevent future occurrences.
A safety review is an assessment conducted to evaluate the safety measures and protocols in place, often aimed at identifying risks and ensuring compliance with safety standards.
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