When soldiers stepped out of their Ajax armoured vehicles after a weekend war game on Salisbury Plain, many collapsed—vomiting, shaking, unable to stand. It wasn’t combat. It wasn’t an explosion. It was the vehicle itself. On the November 22-23, 2025 training exerciseSalisbury Plain, roughly 30 British soldiers suffered acute nausea, loss of motor control, and disorientation after hours inside the General Dynamics UK-built Ajax. The Ministry of Defence responded by halting all training with the £6.3 billion programme just two weeks after declaring it operational. The suspension, ordered by Luke Pollard, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, runs through December 9, 2025. But the damage to trust? That may take longer to fix.
From Triumph to Troubles: A Programme That Never Stopped Breaking Down
The Ajax was supposed to be the British Army’s future. Designed to replace the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked)—a 1971 relic that had served for over half a century—the Ajax promised speed, firepower, and digital connectivity. But since its first prototype rolled out in 2014, it’s been plagued by one problem: noise and vibration so intense they physically hurt the crew. By 2018, soldiers were reporting tinnitus, back pain, and hand-arm vibration syndrome during trials. In 2021, the Defence Safety Authority flagged that vibration levels exceeded ISO 2631-1:1997 safety limits by up to 40%. And yet, in early November 2025, Luke Pollard stood in Merthyr Tydfil and declared: ‘Ajax has overcome significant challenges, but importantly, we can say it has left its troubles behind.’
Twenty days later, 30 soldiers emerged from their vehicles in Salisbury Plain in visible distress. One soldier, speaking anonymously to a BBC reporter, said, ‘It felt like my bones were rattling loose. I couldn’t hold my water bottle.’ Others described a metallic taste in their mouths, blurred vision, and a sensation of spinning even after exiting the vehicle. The Royal Army Medical Corps treated them on-site. No one died. But the psychological impact? That’s just starting to sink in.
The Investigation Has Begun—But Will It Be Too Late?
The Ministry of Defence insists this is a temporary pause, not a full grounding. ‘A small amount of testing will continue,’ the official statement read, as if to suggest they’re just tweaking the radio antenna. But insiders say otherwise. The investigation, led jointly by the Defence Safety Authority and the Army’s Centre for Human Factors and Aerospace Safety, is probing whether the issue stems from the suspension system, engine mounting, or the vehicle’s 42-ton frame vibrating in resonance with the terrain.
Analysts point to a troubling pattern: each time the Ajax was deemed ‘safe enough’ for deployment, another incident surfaced. In 2020, a soldier lost hearing in one ear after a 90-minute drill. In 2022, a commander was medically discharged due to chronic vertigo linked to vehicle exposure. And now, in 2025, a group of soldiers are being treated for acute vestibular disruption. The General Dynamics UK factory in Solihull has built 160 of the planned 589 vehicles. The programme’s cost has ballooned from £3.8 billion to £6.3 billion. And yet, Full Operating Capability—meaning the ability to deploy multiple battalions—is now projected for late 2029, four years past the previous estimate.
What This Means for the British Army
The Ajax wasn’t just a vehicle. It was the backbone of a modernization plan meant to replace Cold War-era hardware with a networked, agile force. But with 160 vehicles sitting idle—or worse, feared—the Army’s ability to train its next generation of reconnaissance units is stalled. The Royal Armoured Corps, already stretched thin by deployments in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, now faces a gap in readiness. Some units have reverted to using the aging CVR(T), which, despite its age, doesn’t make soldiers sick.
‘We’ve spent billions to catch up,’ said retired Brigadier Helen Moore, who led vehicle procurement reviews between 2019 and 2022. ‘But if we can’t even keep our own soldiers safe inside them, what’s the point?’
The Bigger Picture: When Procurement Becomes a Public Health Issue
This isn’t just a technical failure. It’s a systemic one. The Ministry of Defence has long prioritized speed over safety in defence procurement, under pressure to show results to Parliament and the public. The Ajax was meant to be a flagship success story. Instead, it’s become a cautionary tale about cutting corners on human factors engineering. The Salisbury Plain incident isn’t an anomaly—it’s the inevitable outcome of ignoring warning signs for over a decade.
Compare it to the U.S. Army’s Stryker programme, which faced similar vibration issues in the early 2000s. The solution? Not more testing. Not more delays. A complete redesign of the suspension and crew seating, backed by independent biomechanics labs. The British Army, however, has so far opted for incremental fixes. And now, it’s paying the price.
What Happens Next?
By December 9, 2025, the Ministry of Defence must deliver preliminary findings. If the vibration issue can’t be mitigated through software tweaks or operational limits, the entire fleet may need structural modifications—costing hundreds of millions more. Some experts believe the Ajax may never meet its original specifications. Others fear the Army may be forced to scrap the programme entirely and restart from scratch.
For now, soldiers are being reassigned. Training has shifted to simulators and static drills. But morale is low. One junior officer, speaking off-record, said: ‘We were told this was the future. Now we’re not sure if it’s even safe to get in.’
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Ajax vehicles have been built, and how many are affected?
As of November 2025, 160 Ajax vehicles have been delivered out of a planned fleet of 589. All 160 are currently suspended from training, though only those used in the November 22-23 Salisbury Plain exercise have been directly linked to the illness. The entire fleet is under investigation, as vibration levels have been consistently high across all production models.
Why didn’t the Ministry of Defence fix the vibration problem earlier?
Multiple internal reports between 2018 and 2024 flagged excessive vibration exceeding ISO safety standards, but procurement officials prioritized meeting deployment deadlines over addressing human health risks. Cost overruns and political pressure to show progress led to repeated waivers and partial fixes—like adding seat cushions or limiting mission duration—rather than redesigning the vehicle’s core structure.
What are the long-term health risks for soldiers exposed to Ajax vibrations?
Prolonged exposure to vibrations above 15 Hz can cause permanent nerve damage, chronic back pain, and vestibular disorders. In military medicine, this is known as Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) and Whole-Body Vibration (WBV). Soldiers exposed over multiple years may face early-onset arthritis, hearing loss, and balance issues—conditions that can end careers and require lifelong medical care.
Is this the first time Ajax has caused injuries?
No. At least 12 soldiers have been medically discharged since 2019 due to vibration-related injuries, and dozens more received temporary medical leave. The November 2025 incident is the largest single event, but it’s part of a documented pattern. Internal MoD emails from 2023 referred to the issue as ‘a known but manageable risk’—a phrase now being scrutinized by parliamentary investigators.
Could the Ajax programme be cancelled?
Cancellation is unlikely due to sunk costs and political stakes, but a major redesign or contract termination with General Dynamics UK is possible if safety fixes fail. The Army may pivot to purchasing alternative platforms—like the German Boxer or the U.S. AMPV—as interim solutions while the Ajax is re-engineered, if at all.
When will soldiers be allowed to use the Ajax again?
Officially, training resumes after December 9, 2025—if the investigation concludes the risk is manageable. But soldiers say they won’t get back in unless independent experts certify the vehicle as safe. Many are demanding a full audit of the human factors testing data, which the MoD has so far kept confidential.