Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2018 to Question 123120 on Armoured Fighting Vehicles, when his Department plans to take delivery of the AJAX vehicles; what the timetable is for the delivery of those vehicles to his Department; what the timetable is for the roll-out of those vehicles across the Armoured Infantry and new Strike Brigades; when that roll-out will be completed; how many of those vehicles have been (a) delivered and (b) rolled-out to date; and if he will make a statement.

The AJAX programme is currently in its low-rate initial production phase, with the Army expected to take formal delivery of the ARES variant later this year. Negotiations are ongoing to confirm the delivery and manufacture timelines, with the aim of achieving the Initial Operating Capability in 2020, and Full Operating Capability in 2025.