The Ajax Programme
Summary
At December 2021, the Department had paid GDLS-UK £3.167 billion and, at this point, GDLS-UK had designed the vehicles, built 324 hulls and assembled and completed factory acceptance testing of 143 vehicles. The Department had received 26 Ajax vehicles, as well as associated training systems and support.
The programme has encountered significant problems. In 2014, the Department extended its expected in-service date by three years when it set an initial operating capability (IOC) of July 2020. The programme subsequently missed a revised target date of June 2021. In 2021, the Department publicly acknowledged concerns about excessive levels of noise and vibration on the Ajax vehicles, leading the minister for defence procurement to make regular statements to Parliament on the programme’s progress and the possible impact on the health of its crews who had been testing the vehicles. These issues remain unresolved, and the Department has not yet set a new target date for IOC.