Analysis: British Army Ajax in service after problematic delivery – but what now?
The Ajax programme has struggled. (Photo: UK MoD/Crown Copyright)
The Ajax has finally rolled into place and achieved what the UK Ministry of Defence describes as Initial Operating Capability. With the production line for UK contracts only going to the end of the decade, what’s next?
The UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) British Army Ajax tracked reconnaissance vehicle has finally been declared as having achieved Initial Operating Capability (IOC) after a tortured journey that included damning reports and fears for soldier welfare.
A 2022 National Audit Office report summed up the problems with a platform based on the mature Austrian Spanish Cooperative Development (ASCOD) infantry/combat fighting vehicle.
“In 2014, the MoD extended its expected in-service date by three years when it set an IOC of July 2020,” the report noted.
“The programme subsequently missed a revised target date of June 2021. In 2021, the
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