UK pauses trials of Ajax in new setback for army fighting vehicle

LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Britain said it was pausing all trials of the Ajax fighting vehicle, the ​latest setback for the army's troubled 6 billion pound ($8 *billion) programme after years of technical faults and delays.

Luke Pollard, minister for *defence readiness, announced the pause on Thursday "out of an abundance of caution". It comes after he decided to pause the use of the vehicle in training and exercising in November ⁠to allow a safety *investigation to take place

The development of the vehicles, made by General Dynamics in south Wales, has ‍been beset by difficulties since Britain ordered them in 2014.

During army trials last month, 30 troops reported feeling unwell from noise and ​vibration, which reports said included shaking and vomiting.

Pollard said *the outcome of the safety review would be published shortly and he will assess whether to restart trials in the new year.

"Findings from the investigations into Ajax will be closely aligned to decisions in the Defence Investment Plan," Pollard said ⁠in a written ministerial statement.

The ​589 Ajax vehicles were slated to ​enter service around 2020, but this was pushed back to 2025. The contract was the single biggest ‍for a British ⁠armoured vehicle in 20 years.

Britain's independent spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, has raised a string of issues ⁠with military procurement, highlighting budget overruns, poor financial planning and a failure *to make cost savings.

Defence Secretary John Healey has not ruled out scrapping the multibillion pound program led by General Dynamics, which was originally scheduled to launch in 2014.

Pollard confirmed that the MoD's Defense Investment Plan (DIP) will take into account the latest information regarding the Ajax initiative, which is worth £6.3 billion overall.

The department is currently at loggerheads with the Treasury over DIP, which was originally due to be published in the fall but is now delayed to 2026.