Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department was first informed of vibration issues identified during Ajax Armoured Vehicle programme trials.

As preparation activity for the Capability Drop 1 vehicles at the end of 2019, some soldiers were invited to do pre-trials training on prototype variants. Whilst the on-board sensors did not register any issues subsequently there were anecdotal reports of vibration.

A small number of soldiers engaged in Entry Qualification Trials reported noise and vibration characteristics in July 2020 and in September 2020 a medical staff report raised possibility of noise injuries. As a result, the Authority commissioned in-ear assessments through the Army environmental health team. Evidence from this led to the immediate stop of all dynamic vehicle training on 6 November 2020.

The Authority has subsequently commissioned independent trials with Millbrook Proving Ground to provide an independent assessment of the vibration data provided by General Dynamics which we expect to report in late July 2021.