Bad vibrations
Can the Ajax programme be saved? You have to wonder with the latest issues. Since the prototype stage the Ajax, developed by General Dynamics UK, has been plagued by noise and vibration issues. This was so bad that some crew suffered permanent hearing impairment. The fact that anyone using the vehicle has to double up with earplugs and ear defenders points to a problem that doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. Back in November the vehicle achieved initial operating capability (IOC), within a matter of days the army promptly suspended the use of the vehicles completely as around 30 personnel became ill on an exercise held on Salisbury Plain, the vehicles made them vomit, caused tremors and ringing in the ears.
General Dynamics still boldly hail the vehicles as ‘the future of armoured fighting vehicles’ on their website, but after all the delays, budget over runs and mechanical snafu’s a question mark must be hanging over the entire programme. The vibration issue isn’t just something that affected a few vehicles as it’s across the fleet, likewise it doesn’t appear to be something that can be identified and rectified. The ongoing issues point to fundamental flaws in the platforms design that can’t easily be fixed.
On top of the damage caused to the crew of the vehicles you have to wonder how long they can operate with that level of vibration going on? Likely they haven’t been tested any where near long enough as the crew wouldn’t survive it, but one can only wonder how long can they run for before they shake themselves to pieces. None of this adds up to particularly positive battlefield survivability.
What is the cause of the Ajax problems?
The line we hear constantly is that ‘testing will proceed to identify and rectify the issues’, and then the issues are neither identified or rectified, so it can’t be as simple as adjustments or component replacements. There must be an over-arching design flaw that inconveniently means the project should go back to the drawing board – the source of the vibrations probably comes from a combination of mechanical, material and hull dynamics that are creating resonances within the very fabric of the vehicle – something that can’t be solved by tightening a few things up or adding sound proofing.
Underpinning the Ajax is a proven platform, the ASCOD, designed back in the 1990’s by Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG (Austria) and General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas (Spain) to replace the older light armoured fighting vehicles of the Austrian and Spanish armies. In the early 2000’s General Dynamics acquired both companies and were awarded the UK contract for the Ajax in 2010. The original vehicles have not suffered the vibration issues, so what went wrong? The Ajax has a more powerful engine, uprated transmission and tracks than those used in the ASCOD vehicles, plus a whole host of armour enhancements, maybe it has pushed the underlying platform too far.
Is it worth saving?
The UK Government has paid General Dynamics just over £4 billion so far, which is a vote losing amount to write off if the project were to be cancelled. The inevitable questions of oversight and fiscal responsibility would open a can of worms that any administration would rather avoid. Saying that, there is an awareness in Government that this programme has exemplified everything that is wrong with our defence procurement and project management and its lessons are already being digested.
You do have to wonder how on earth the vehicle was passed for operational use in the first place. The Ajax was going to be at the heart of an all new digitised range of armoured vehicles (see our quick guide to the Ajax), so abandoning it now would set the programme back a decade. The solution (assuming one can be found) to its problems won’t be a quick and easy fix, so all existing vehicles will need modification. Then there is the fact that even if the flaws can be rectified, with the projects history, all ensuing servicing costs will be through the roof.
Late, flawed and over budget
It’s time for a sober assessment of whether the Ajax project could be saved or simply scrapped, could the costs of rectifying it be better spent on an off the shelf solution? The army needs a range of AFV’s that can be deployed now, not in another decade.
