The Government has confirmed that the British Army’s Ajax armoured vehicle programme is still expected to achieve Full Operating Capability by the end of 2029, provided the project survives an ongoing ministerial review.
In a written answer to Conservative MP Mark Francois on 19 February, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said that “Safety investigations and a Ministerial Review into the Armoured Cavalry Programme (commonly known as Ajax) remain ongoing.”
He added: “However, on current plans, Full Operating Capability for the Armoured Cavalry Programme is still expected to be achieved by the end of 2029.”
Ajax forms the centrepiece of the Army’s future armoured cavalry capability and is intended to replace ageing reconnaissance platforms. The programme comprises a family of six tracked vehicle variants, with a total of 589 vehicles on order.
Full Operating Capability would indicate that the Army has received, fielded and trained on the complete fleet required for operational deployment. The 2029 target has been referenced in previous parliamentary material and remains the planning assumption, subject to the outcome of current investigations.
The programme has been beset by delays and technical challenges, most notably persistent concerns over noise and vibration affecting crews during trials. Initial Operating Capability was declared in late 2025 but later withdrawn.
Ministers have made clear that a wider decision on the future of Ajax remains outstanding. Defence Secretary John Healey has framed the choice in stark terms as whether to “back it or scrap it”, pending the findings of the ministerial review and associated safety work.
For the moment, the Ministry of Defence maintains that, if the programme proceeds, Full Operating Capability by the end of 2029 remains achievable. The review’s conclusions will determine whether that timetable stands or the Army’s armoured cavalry plans are reshaped once again.
Turn It into an Unmanned Asset.
Well this is definitely a milestone that WILL NOT be met.
Pretty definite comment there,do you have any insider info or like the rest of us just a tad sceptical?
Having spent 23 yrs in the Army, then a further 23 working in the Defence Industry, some 5 years as a contractor embedded within DE&S, I can smell BS from miles away.
No insider info, and anyone who is only “a tad” sceptical, obviously is either delusional or doesn’t understand what a cluster MOD procurement has become since it all collocated in Abbeywood. It has inherited the worst of all 3 services errors and faults, and little to No best practices.
Perhaps the biggest failure is the constant moving of staff from not only 1 team to another, but from one domain to another.
Calm your skin mate!it was a tongue in cheek remark,obviously unlike the most of us you have some experience of DE&S and your observations carry some weight,of course we will believe the FOC when we see it!
Jacko, no offence taken.
Why do they persist with this money pit! Just buy something tgat works CV90….
The capacity of the Authority to cover-up cock-ups never ceases to amaze me. They have poured £billions of taxpayers money into Ajax over the duration of this project and many people accept that we should cut our losses and scrap it. Except Healey, who has organised yet another review
Wallace had the chance to do so in 2023. He could have saved a couple of £bn, recovered more by suing GD and ordered CV90 from BAEs. The hulls could have been sold to the Brazilians or donated to Ukraine
The MoD continues to pretend that the Ajax project is recoverable, when clearly it is not. They are all running around trying to cover up their part in it, hoping that their careers will not be affected.
If they were working in the private sector they would be negotiating with their benefits work coach, trying to avoid being sanctioned while they are actively seeking work
In the end almost all the money has been paid.. 5 billion pounds and the company is a loss making LTD company with only debt.. there is nothing to Sue.. it’s why they have not just binned it they are trying to see if there is anything they can salvage from this utter cockup… GD Corporation are not idiots they are completely isolated from risk by using a shell limited company… even general dynamics Europe land systems are isolated from risk.. Because although is was GDLSE who build the shite hulls that are causing most of the issues.. their contract was with GDLS UK not HMG, so only GDLS UK could take legal action on breach of contract on the hulls being shite and one GD subsidiary is not going to take another one to court.. and HMG can only take the entity to court it has the contract with and that is GDLS UK.. which is a limited company and has no capital value… basically HMG is screwed whenever it does, it’s just trying to figure the least worse.
Cannot blame the present administration for this one in any shape or form or whatever bad deal they get out of it.. because essentially that 5 billion is gone and all they can do if figure out what to do with the broken vehicles it purchased.
Too much time and money spent on it, buying some thing else will badly effect other projects, ideal thing would be fix it get it in to service still not sure why we need a 40 ton recce vehicle? we have enough wheel light vehicles for that,
If fixed we would need to add the types/variants of Ajax, IFV/Over watch, etc, but knowing the UK that will mess that up and drag that out at great cost. Hope not but MOD buying history repeats its self over and over again.
Shows what a farce the concepts of IOC and FOC are. This is the same MoD demanding £14 billion a year more in tax payer funds to fight a war that’s they now say is coming next Tuesday while they still fanny around with their never ending “programs”. The SDR was all about adding even more new programs and future capabilities because drones, drones, drones, hypersonics and AI and let’s be agile blah blah blah.
News flash for the service chiefs, if things are as bad as you say then why are you not ordering more planes, more men, more frigates and missile defences for the UK.
None of these things are even in your unfunded plans much less the plans you want £14 billion a year more for. Instead your pumping yet more money into special forces and power projection capabilities all designed to fit inside a US led coalition that no longer exists because the typical UK service chief doesn’t like thinking for themselves and likes the nice comfortable blanket and associated future consultancy gigs in the US MIC.
These same as*holes that gutted the MoD since 2010 (Defence Ministers as well) then have the brass neck to write a letter to the press calling for desperately needed funding for the armed forces while all shovelling even more tax payer cash into their mouths in “retirement” telling us it’s 1936. As if this statement washes them for any blame for all the damage they caused over 15 years.
I agree with you Jim, but why are you putting a line in the sand at 2010?
Governance of both colours have caused huge damage to the armed forces since 1991.
The Options for change review set the theme in 1990, instead of re-imagining the armed forces for the post Cold War period and the 21st Century, they simply started salami slicing capability, they have all simply carried on, diverting defence money and generally pissing what’s left against the wall on stupid ( tail wags the dog) programmes like Ajax until we get where we are today.
We have virtually disarmed…
This is just a case of when ‘Too big to fail’ fails.
Yep, again, another great jobs for the boys programme heads for the ‘tits up’ list.
Another 4 years 🤣🤣🤣🤣
It’s obsolete and would not survive, Ukraine has proven that. I’m afraid army thinking is very much wedded to the past.
For some reason, I can see it lasting another 3 years!
But then again, they are so deeply infatuated with sorting it out that they will continue to throw money at it within the remaining time
Thinking that it will be some miracle on the battlefield
So the nightmare goes on surely the Army can’t wait till 2029 .Who ever made this decision needs help Don’t wast more money on this Ajax go for CV90 and be done with it for for heavens sake . 🙄
Is this the bit where we wait until 2029 and then announce that the Ajax project needs to be cancelled and that an alternative must be sourced?
2029 you say, general election year, quite the coincidence that…
Shove it into the hands of the next administration to sort out.
To be honest this is one shiteshow they can if they wanted to wheel out and say look what the conservatives did for 10 years.. just spent 5 billion on a load of broken vehicles that cannot be used.. politically this is a no skin off labour political hatchet job if they wanted..
Just had a Quick Look and the people asking for CV90 may have a point!
600 Mk4 would cost approximately $5.5b
However we don’t want IFVs,some would need to be configured as Recce vehicles(Ajax) which would be the more expensive option of any order but looking at the variants on offer it seems most of our requirements could be met with the cost of those cheaper than a recce version!
The problem remains though WHEN would we be able to get them because as usual we go to the back of any queue!
Just a ramble I know but it would seem the option could be there.😀