British Worker Anonymously Leaks Video Exposing Hidden Ajax Flaws

In the United Kingdom, some of the problems discovered in the AJAX infantry fighting vehicles have been made public, including issues experienced by the military units equipped with them.

The British defence observer released the Fill Your Boots report detailing the deficiencies of the AJAX.

According to the report, the vehicles’ batteries cannot sustain normal operating conditions, and the auxiliary power unit is so unreliable that units have effectively prohibited its use due to frequent breakdowns.

Camouflage is another problem. The AJAX has no standard-issue camouflage nets or thermal covers. Units are forced to use nets from the AS90 self-propelled howitzer, which they must cut down to fit in the storage compartment, as the nets are too large to meet the requirements. As a result, crews are unable to effectively conceal the vehicle’s thermal signature.

Reports of failures in the fuel tanks are also being received. Due to these malfunctions, crews have to manually transfer fuel between vehicles using a separate fuel pump. Soldiers note, ironically, that they used to criticize the Russians for having fuel tanks on the rear doors – yet now they are repeating similar mistakes.

Another serious issue concerns the documentation. The technical manual for the AJAX exceeds 20,000 pages, and fully mastering it essentially requires a dedicated training course. The situation is made worse by the quality of the instructions used during training. According to the soldiers, it is a chaotic collection of fragments taken from the documentation for other vehicles, which regularly leads to dangerous confusion during exercises.

Particularly worrying are the delays in the 40 mm cannon’s operation. In the event of a malfunction, the system forces the crew to wait 30 minutes, effectively paralysing the entire vehicle. This also disables the coaxial machine gun, as it lacks a mechanical firing mode.

Crews also emphasize the vehicle’s excessive fuel consumption: roughly 16 liters per hour. With a 795-liter fuel tank, the vehicle can operate for only about 50 hours, which is considered insufficient for equipment designed for deep reconnaissance.

The Armoured Trials and Development Unit was recently tasked with demonstrating that an AJAX could drive from the factory to the training range and open fire. Problems emerged already during preparation: the standard track-lubrication gun did not work, so crews had to use equipment from the Warrior IFV.

During the communications check, crews discovered incorrect internal wiring and that some equipment was missing or damaged. It had to be taken from other vehicles. A General Dynamics specialist was brought in to align the cannon, but only one of the four vehicles fired 10 rounds.

Additional issues include excessive vibration when driving off-road. Soldiers report that cables twist themselves loose, and the solution proposed by General Dynamics and the Ministry of Defence was to use rubber tracks. At the same time, the three-person crew is expected to replace a rubber track on its own, without outside assistance, to avoid revealing its position.

In November, it was announced that the use of the Ajax IFV in the British Army had been suspended, and that the Defence Secretary had been misled about the vehicle’s “safety.”