"Britain's military has announced the first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles, eight years behind schedule and amid questions about their relevance as cheap drones dominate the battlefields of Ukraine. The junior defence minister Luke Pollard said the first 50 vehicles, costing nearly 10m each, were ready to deploy on Nato's eastern flank, though he acknowledged the problems of the past when delivery deadlines of 2017, 2020 and 2021 were all missed."
"Initial demonstrations in 2020 and 2021 then revealed that the Ajax was plagued by excessive vibration and noise. Testing was halted after 11 soldiers had to be placed under long-term medical monitoring amid reports of tinnitus and hearing loss. Pollard said he could not say how many soldiers were still affected by hearing problems, citing patient confidentiality, but those issues are firmly in the past and if it were not safe, we would not be putting it in the hands of our armed forces."
Britain has received the first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles, with an initial 50 declared ready for deployment to NATO's eastern flank. The vehicles cost nearly 10m each under a fixed-price £5.5bn contract awarded to General Dynamics. The programme was commissioned in 2010 and missed original delivery targets set for 2017, 2020 and 2021. Early demonstrations in 2020–21 showed excessive vibration and noise, leading to halted testing after 11 soldiers required long-term medical monitoring for tinnitus and hearing loss. The defence minister acknowledged procurement delays, asserted past safety issues are resolved, and noted dual-layer hearing protection improved safety during demonstrations.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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