MOD declines to detail Ajax crew improvements

The Ministry of Defence has declined to say what improvements it plans to make to crew compartment heating on the Ajax armoured vehicle, two months after identifying heating as one of the priority fixes to follow the problems experienced on Exercise Titan Storm.

Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative MP for Huntingdon, asked what improvements to crew compartment heating are planned on the platform, following up an earlier answer on the subject from 19 June. Responding on 3 July, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard gave no specifics. “There are a series of upgrades identified to address issues on Ajax and work is underway to action those,” the minister said, adding that the department continues to work closely with General Dynamics to ensure the programme proceeds safely, responsibly and transparently, delivering an improved user experience for soldiers, and that he would continue to keep the House informed via written ministerial statement, as he has done since Exercise Titan Storm.

Crew heating became a focus of the programme after Titan Storm in November 2025, the exercise during which more than 30 soldiers fell ill while operating Ajax, just weeks after the vehicle had been declared at initial operating capability. The Army Safety Investigation Team found no single cause for the symptoms, with noise and vibration below legal exposure limits, and instead pointed to a combination of factors including technical issues with the condition of the vehicles at the time, such as incorrect track tension and loose or missing engine deck bolts, alongside cold exposure, air quality inside the vehicle, and variability in crew training and experience.

When Pollard announced the restart of vehicle acceptance in April, he set out a two-phase recovery plan, with trials resuming on the current version of Ajax using a limited number of vehicles under controlled conditions, followed by a second phase delivering improvements to air filtration, crew compartment heating and the electrical power generation system, which he described as “key themes identified and prioritised following Exercise Titan Storm.” Those enhancements were promised within months, with the 23 vehicles used on the exercise held separately and not returned to soldiers until judged appropriate.

The latest answer does not indicate what form the heating improvement will take, whether it involves modification of the existing system or new equipment, or when it will be delivered to the fleet.