Former navy chief Lord West slams five year overdue £5.5bn defence project as an 'utter disaster'

Delivery of the Ajax light tank has been a ‘rocky road’, a defence minister also acknowledged at Westminster. The government was tackled over the progress of the problematic £5.5bn programme in the House of Lords.

The Ajax project, intended to provide a state-of-the-art fighting vehicle for the Army, has been running for 12 years and cost £3.2bn but has failed to deliver a single deployable vehicle. Originally intended to enter service in 2017, it has been repeatedly delayed, with problems including noise and vibration issues which injured soldiers during testing.

The Ministry of Defence agreed a fixed-price contract with General Dynamics for 589 Ajax armoured vehicles, but just 26 have been delivered and can only be used for training.

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Speaking in Parliament, former First Sea Lord, Lord West of Spithead said: ‘Ajax programme, no matter how much one dresses it up, has been a complete and utter disaster. It has been a real shambles.’

Earlier, highlighting the litany of difficulties which have dogged the programme, Labour frontbencher Lord Coaker said: ‘Can the minister tell the House when all these vehicles will be delivered to the front line and at what cost? Do the Government still have full confidence in the programme or are they examining alternatives?’

Responding, defence minister Baroness Goldie said: ‘This has been a rocky road.’ She added: ‘We remain in close contact with General Dynamics and I think we can now see a way forward.’