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.
Crew overheating a problem on Salisbury Plain in November? I’d like to hear anyone put a positive spin on that one…
Yet another teething problem. Not sure I’m surprised. I suspect it will be sorted out.
dwight, ?? Improvements MoD plan to make to crew heating usually means the crew are too cold as the heater doesn’t work very well
I wonder why? Surely GDUK used the ASCOD2 heater?
Heaters work well. Crew training not so well.
Details withheld because it’s a cock up.
Sounds like utter bollox to me.
If the vomiting related to temperature then the only mechanism is heat stroke and that only happens in exposure to prolonged temperature over 32degrees and high humidity..on a November day on Salisbury plain… ha.
Or cold to the level of hypothermia.. assuming the soldiers had appropriate clothes and were not doused in water.. they are not going to get hypothermia in a sheltered environment on a November day on Salisbury plain..
Now these two conditions are or are not active.. you cannot have a bit of hypothermia that added to noise and vibration tips you over the edge… that’s so much bollox.. I never did have any come in with combined a bit cold and a bit vibrated… you have hypothermia ( your body can no longer maintain a safe core temperature) or you don’t…. The environment being loud or vibrating literally does fuck all to that..
Now if only the other hand you have created a hideous vibration and noise box that caused Vestibular Imbalance.. we can be made a bit more susceptible to vestibular imbalance if we are very cold or dehydrated or hot.. but that’s a bit…. It’s like saying it was ok to drink 10 pints before getting in the car if your well hydrated first.
My word how did all those Chieftain crews etc survive on a very cold,wet and often snowing Soltou in a German autumn or winter?
TBH I would say the heating is the least of Ajax’s problems!
Did Elf and Safety exist in the 70s 80s BAOR?
Yes, heating seems to be a convenient deflection.
Apart from calling someone a prat or worse for doing something stupid NO😂
Way of topic mate but reference our discussion on Armoured Engineers here is a bit of light relief,
BAOR Germany 32 Armoured Engineer Regt Munsterlager 1986 on you tube and see them in action👌😂
Hello mate.
Apologies for late reply, you ended up in the Spam folder!
I will. Are you on film?
Nope good old Spt troop in the background as usual😂
35 RE gone over to CS from EOD too BTW, assume for 4 Bde in 1 Div.
👍
👍
A nice thick parka and gloves bought in the naafi.
Agreed, Muirhill A5000 was Baltic despite a wracking great Perkins engine, and i think most of us old buggers remember stuffing the heater hose from a series3 landy up yer parker!!
What would be interesting would be to see a schedule for the current trials (are they doing Reliability Growth Trials or User Acceptance Trials??), together with the latest IOC and FOC dates projected. As ever, info remains sketchy.
Cameron’s 5.5 billion fixed price Ajax contract now at 6.3 billion, likely due to the small losses GD UK made for two years, was there any money to complete the remaining vehicles. Seems no one has raised this issue.
That list of issues sounds like normal operating conditions for a cvr(t) in the early 2000’s