The British Ministry of Defense may abandon the use of the new Ajax armored vehicles, whose development and production costs have already exceeded 5 billion pounds ($6.65 billion), due to concerns about the health of personnel, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing experts.
These infantry fighting vehicles, which were delivered to the armed forces eight years late and were intended to become the backbone of the army's combat forces in the future, are currently temporarily out of service.
The decision was made by Deputy Defense Secretary Luke Pollard "as a precautionary measure" following a training exercise at Salisbury Plain in southern England while security at Ajax was reviewed.
The Ministry of Defense reported that about 30 servicemen complained of hearing problems after training with armored vehicles. Some of them needed medical attention.
