Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
The British Army has suspended the use of its controversial new Ajax armored fighting vehicles after dozens of soldiers became ill after riding in them. The U.K. Ministry of Defense confirmed that “around 30 personnel presented noise and vibration symptoms” following an exercise involving the tracked vehicles.
An Ajax vehicle being tested at the Armored Trials and Development Unit (ATDU) facility at Bovington in southwest England. Crown Copyright
The Ministry of Defense said that the Army immediately put a two-week pause on using Ajax, following Exercise Iron Fist conducted on Salisbury Plain over the weekend. The ministry added that the “vast majority” of the soldiers affected “have now been medically cleared and are continuing on duty.” Others, however, “continue to receive expert medical care.” The statements were provided to Sky News by a Ministry of Defense spokesperson. Reportedly, the affected soldiers spent between 10 and 15 hours in the vehicles.
The decision was made by Luke Pollard, the defense procurement minister, and will now see a safety investigation carried out on the armored fighting vehicles. In the meantime, the Ministry of Defense said that “a small amount of testing of the vehicle will continue, in order to ensure that any issues can be identified and resolved.”
Speaking at Rusi, Luke Pollard said that safety was a “top priority” for the MoD and that’s why he ordered training be paused on Ajax until the military can establish the cause of the issues. He said he declared the vehicles safe earlier this month based on written evidence…
Perhaps most troubling is the fact that these kinds of issues are by no means new for the vehicle.
In the summer, soldiers were hospitalized after suffering hearing and other injuries caused by loud noise and vibrations inside the vehicles.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Defense confirmed that a “small number” of soldiers had reported noise and vibration issues after trials that involved three variants of the tracked vehicle.
#1 Another wave of Ajax noise & vibration (N&V) chatter has followed IOC. I’m not going to weigh in on either side, but here’s how we might spot if N&V issues are real or rumour – an off-the-cuff thread. pic.twitter.com/OIqEy22Vkt
However, a ministry spokesperson also told Deborah Haynes of Sky News that, following an investigation, “no systemic issues were found.”
Also in November, defense procurement minister Pollard said that “After all the problems [Ajax] may have had in the past, we have put those to bed now.”
Pollard was speaking as the Ministry of Defense announced the initial operating capability (IOC) for Ajax. This milestone required a squadron of 27 vehicles ready to deploy on operations from a pool of 50. By this point, 165 of the vehicles had been delivered from a total of 589 on order, in six different versions (Atlas armored recovery vehicle, Apollo armored repair vehicle, Ares armored personnel carrier, Ajax reconnaissance vehicle, Athena command post vehicle, and Argus engineering vehicle).
Ajax is a disaster.
It’s incredible that the platform was signed off for Initial Operating Capability given the ongoing issues with injuries to vehicle crews.
Coupled with the lack of clarity about how Ares and Athena will be used by the Infantry, our armoured capability is in… pic.twitter.com/7jJYr6bYiT
The nature of the noise and vibration problem was already well known by that point.
In 2021, the Ministry of Defense published a review that revealed that, for almost two years, senior officers and ministry officials were aware of problems with the vehicles that put troops at risk.
The same review noted that, although the potential for hearing damage had been identified in December 2018, it wasn’t until November 2020 that trials were suspended for the first time. A year later, more than 300 soldiers had been offered hearing tests, and 17 of them were still receiving specialist treatment.
An Ajax vehicle test-firing its main armament, the 40mm Cased Cannon. Crown Copyright
As well as these problems, the Ajax program has seen serious delays.
At one point, IOC was expected in 2017. In June 2021, the Ministry of Defense said that, although IOC had been delayed by another year, it had “90 percent confidence” that it would be declared in September 2021. Ultimately, the Army would have to wait until November 2025 for that milestone.
The summer of 2021 also saw a damning report into Ajax from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British defense and security think tank.
That report described it as a program in crisis, highlighting the vehicle’s excessive noise and vibration and asking what it said were the two fundamental questions about Ajax: “Whether the vehicle can be fixed, and whether it is worth saving.”
Crown Copyright
The RUSI report also provided more details on how the noise and vibration issues manifest themselves.
Taking noise first, RUSI reported that the main problem was due to the integration of the Bowman headsets for the crew radios. These headsets picked up the engine noise from what “has long been recognized as a noisy vehicle” and put the sound directly into the crews’ ears. While that problem can clearly be fixed with different headsets, it does raise alarming questions about how these noise tests were carried out.
Second and more worrying is the vibration issue, which is at least partly derived from problems with quality control in the fabrication of the vehicle hulls by General Dynamics Land Systems UK (GDLUK). The vibration not only leads to significant crew discomfort but also has other effects: “Preventing the main armament from stabilizing on the move, damaging the electronic systems that make Ajax a step-change in capability, and leading to a high rate of component failure, with the idler and rear road wheels shearing off with concerning regularity.”
If the future of the Ajax program was questionable in 2021, it is even more precarious now.
An Ajax vehicle passes a water obstacle during testing at Bovington. Crown Copyright
What is clear is that the British Army badly needs modern armored fighting vehicles.
The Ajax is the first new tracked armored fighting vehicle for the Army in almost 30 years. Some of the equipment it’s replacing, like the FV432 armored personnel carrier dates back to the 1960s.
Armed with a 40mm main gun, the Ajax is based on the ASCOD 2 armored fighting vehicles used by Spain and Austria and was selected by the United Kingdom in 2010 as the winner of the Future Rapid Effect System contract.
Ajax was never based on a “proven design” – it was based on Pizarro II which had been cancelled in Spain a couple of years before UK selection as a result of the Global Finacial Crisis. In effect, it wasn’t even based on a paper design. And then saw over 1400 design changes… https://t.co/RzmGQmdZ9K
The GDLUK proposal fought off competition from the rival CV90 offered by BAE Systems.
That saddest thing about this is that in a sane world the CV90 in UK service would be getting its major mid-life upgrade about now and we’d be planning for its replacement. https://t.co/wMlEF42WkM
The service’s most modern tracked infantry fighting vehicle, the Warrior, entered service in 1988. In 2021, the Ministry of Defense announced its intention to replace the Warrior with the Boxer, an 8×8 wheeled armored personnel carrier, which would appear to make the introduction of a new tracked IFV all the more urgent.
On the other hand, the decision to give up the Warrior shows that armored infantry is no longer a core capability within the British Army.
As the RUSI report states:
“If grouped within the Heavy Brigade Combat Teams alongside Challenger 3, Ajax cannot deliver infantry to the objective and cannot perform the divisional reconnaissance function. Alternatively, if made part of the Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team, Ajax will struggle to be sustained operating independently. Ajax’s inability to peer-to-peer recover also makes it a poor independent unit, while its weight, complexity, and size make it hard to deploy with lighter forces, despite the British Army seeking to operate further afield with greater frequency.”
With a total program cost of £5.5 billion (around $7.3 billion), this is a huge investment for a vehicle the importance of which within the British Army is somewhat unclear, and which still has unresolved issues that can threaten the health of soldiers. That price tag also doesn’t consider the costs of any future technical fixes to the vehicle.
As it stands, the British Army will use Ajax primarily as a reconnaissance vehicle, a mission that it doesn’t appear immediately suited to, based on its considerable size and weight. The situation would have been different if the Army had planned to retain the Warrior IFV. After all, when Ajax was first drafted, it was expected to work in support of Warrior.
Since the Ajax program was launched, drones have also significantly reshaped the battlefield. Not only do drones offer a cheaper, more survivable, and more flexible way of conducting reconnaissance, including from standoff distances, but the presence of attack drones adds a new dimension of threat to vehicles like Ajax.
⚙️ There will be a huge amount of pressure to move from Ajax to a raft of pet-favourite IFV’s for Armoured Infantry.
We must resist knee-jerk reactions. A series of entirely sensible short term decision making is part of the reason the Army is where it is. We need a longer term,… https://t.co/f596X0A4qSpic.twitter.com/WX8F8yc8S3
Although the Ministry of Defense says that Ajax’s armor is designed to protect against at least some kinds of kamikaze drones, it also admits that the vehicles have yet to be fitted with electronic countermeasures to defeat such threats.
This would seem to be a prerequisite for any kind of operational capability, which makes it all the more puzzling that the Ministry of Defense is already talking about deploying Ajax as part of a future British Army presence in Ukraine, provided there is a ceasefire and an agreement covering such a force.
“When we have the ability to deploy incredibly capable platforms like Ajax and the brilliant men and women trained to use it to its fullest effect,” Pollard told Sky News, “there’s a clear opportunity for us to be able to enhance NATO’s capabilities on the eastern flank and any coalition of the willing deployment potentially in the future.”
U.K. Minister of State for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard and the Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.K. General Valerie Zaluzhnyi follow Ukrainian soldiers as they clear a trench during training. Crown Copyright
Before that happens, the longstanding problems related to vehicle noise and vibration will have to be resolved, and a comprehensive counter-drone system will need to be installed. But with the latest pause on its use, it’s increasingly questionable if the Ajax program will survive long enough for that to happen.
The Spanish island of La Graciosa has no roads or cars, boasts the largest marine reserve in Europe, and is perfect for hiking. Best of all, it’s basking in balmy 22C temperatures this week
View of the beach and harbour of Caleta del Sebo, only village on the island of la Graciosa
If you’re looking for a holiday destination that will let you escape the winter chill, traffic noise and festive stress, then Spanish island La Graciosa, is your ideal getaway. With no cars, Europe’s largest marine reserve, and perfect hiking conditions, it’s a paradise.
Even as we brace ourselves against frosty mornings, La Graciosa enjoys a balmy 22C this week, with its coldest days rarely falling below 16C. Rain is also a rarity, making any time of year perfect for a visit.
One of the unique features of La Graciosa is its lack of traffic, owing to the absence of paved roads. In fact, it’s the only European island without a road, making it the most untouched of all the Canary Islands.
With just a few hundred permanent residents and no mass tourism, the locals travel by bicycle along sandy paths.
From atop the Risco de Famara, La Graciosa appears like a golden mirage amidst the Atlantic: a strip of golden sand, silent and luminous. Its sandy paths and tranquil atmosphere make it the most secluded and serene of the Canary Islands.
In line with its minimalistic approach to tourism, the island offers a small but well-maintained range of accommodation options. These are mainly located in Caleta de Sebo, where guesthouses, apartments and a fully-equipped camping area can be found.
With the limited availability of holiday accommodation, it’s recommended to book well ahead, particularly for summer, Easter, Christmas or during July’s Carmen festivities when the island is buzzing with an unusual festive spirit.
La Graciosa is conveniently located near Europe’s largest marine reserve. Excursions from La Graciosa take you to the islets of the Chinijo Archipelago Marine Reserve, a 70,700-hectare natural sanctuary.
Here, the crystal-clear waters offer a glimpse of the seabed and remote beaches where you can escape from reality. The Marine Reserve is a biological treasure chest, home to a variety of seabirds nesting in its cliffs.
On the nearby islets, a small population of monk seals, largely hunted to extinction elsewhere in the world, still clings on.
Roque del Este houses the Integral Reserve, an area accessible only to scientists where nature continues undisturbed by human interference.
To reach the stunning island of La Graciosa, Brits will need to fly to Lanzarote first, with flights from London as cheap as £39 in December. From there, a 45-minute taxi ride will take you to the port of Orzola, where a short 25-minute ferry ride will transport you to this secluded paradise.
The changes are part of a broader plan to reduce the number of vehicles in central London
Next year’s changes were confirmed on the Transport for London website(Image: Gonzalo Azumendi via Getty Images)
Mayor Sadiq Khan has warned that electric vehicles (EVs) will no longer be exempt from London’s Congestion Charge in 2026. Previously, EVs benefited from the Cleaner Vehicle Discount, but they will now incur charges as part of a broader scheme to reduce the number of vehicles in the city centre.
Transport for London has revealed that January 2 is the exact date that many changes will come into effect. From then, drivers of electric vans and lorries will receive a 50% discount when entering the zone, while those driving electric cars will get a 25% discount.
This means that electric vehicle drivers will have to cough up a £13.50 charge to enter the zone, whilst electric van owners will be hit with a £9 fee. The BBC’s Top Gear has put the number of vehicles that have been registered for the discount at 112,000.
However, by March 2030, these discounts will be further reduced to 25% for electric vans and lorries, and 12.5% for electric cars. Meanwhile, the standard Congestion Charge for non-electric vehicles will increase from £15 to £18 from January 2, marking the first rise since 2020.
Residents living within the zone can look forward to reductions of up to 90%. However, those relocating into the zone after March 1, 2027, won’t receive a discount unless they drive an electric vehicle.
Discounts of up to 100% will continue to support low-income and disabled Londoners. According to the Mirror, Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said previously: “Keeping London moving by reducing congestion is vital for our city and for our economy.
“While the congestion charge has been a huge success since its introduction, we must ensure it stays fit for purpose, and sticking to the status quo would see around 2,200 more vehicles using the congestion charging zone on an average weekday next year.
“We must support Londoners and businesses to use more sustainable travel, so I’m pleased that substantial incentives will remain in place for Londoners who switch to cleaner vehicles, as we work to build a greener and better London for everyone.”
Christina Calderato, TfL’s Director of Strategy, added: “If we want to ensure that London remains a thriving city for everyone to enjoy, then it’s vital that traffic and congestion is kept under control and managed effectively.
“The changes to the Congestion Charging scheme play a key role in allowing us to do that, while striking a careful balance that enables drivers, businesses and other organisations to continue transitioning to cleaner vehicles and more sustainable forms of transport.”
Within Transport for London’s press announcement, Izzy Romilly, Sustainable Transport Manager at climate charity Possible, also said: “Tying the Congestion Charge to public transport fares is welcome. It’s only right to make sure that public transport doesn’t get disproportionately more expensive than driving. We’re also pleased to see new support for electric car clubs.
“We need to cut traffic and invest in accessible and affordable public transport, and make sure Londoners can walk, wheel and cycle safely. This will put us on the path to a healthier, fairer London – reducing air pollution and making the city safer for everyone.”
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New attacks near Bethlehem and Hebron underscore intensifying Israeli violence in occupied Palestinian territory.
Israeli settlers have launched two major arson attacks on Palestinian villages near Bethlehem and Hebron amid a wave of rising violence by Israel in the occupied West Bank.
Dozens of settlers rampaged through the village of al-Jaba, located 10km (six miles) southwest of Bethlehem, on Monday, torching three Palestinian homes, one shack and three vehicles, according to Dhyab Masha‘la, the head of the local council.
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Masha‘la told Palestinian news agency Wafa that the attackers caused extensive damage to the village, but that locals had managed to extinguish the flames. No casualties were reported.
Earlier on Monday, Wafa said settlers set fire to a home and two vehicles, and physically assaulted several civilians in Sa’ir town, northeast of Hebron, under the protection of Israeli forces.
The Israeli settlers beat the Palestinians with batons and sharp instruments, resulting in injuries to a number of women, with Israeli forces blocking fire engines and ambulances from reaching the scene, the agency reported.
Violence in the West Bank has broken new records this year, with settlers carrying out almost-daily attacks on Palestinians that have involved killings, beatings and the destruction of property, often under the protection of the Israeli military.
Last wek, settlers set a mosque ablaze in the village of Deir Istiya in the north of the West Bank.
The Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission says that Israeli forces and settlers carried out 2,350 attacks across the West Bank last month alone in an “ongoing cycle of terror”, which has been taking place in the shadow of the war in Gaza.
The violence is rarely prosecuted.
Referring to the attack on al-Jaba, an Israeli military spokesperson said security forces were “searching for those involved” after being deployed to the village following reports of “dozens of Israeli citizens” torching and vandalising houses and vehicles.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has overseen the rapid expansion of settlements, denounced Monday’s attack, calling the assailants a “small, extremist group” and signalling that he would convene cabinet ministers to address the problem.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said on X that the government would “not tolerate the attempts of a small group of violent and criminal anarchists who break the law to take the law into their own hands and tarnish the settler community”.
But his statement backed the continued expansion of illegal settlements on Palestinian land.
The government, Katz said, would “continue to develop and foster the settlement enterprise throughout Judea and Samaria”.
Last year, the International Court of Justice – the top United Nations tribunal – ruled that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is illegal and called for removing Israeli settlements from the territory.
Settler violence has spiked as members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government push to formally annex the area, which has long operated under a system of apartheid, according to leading rights groups.
The United Nations’ human rights office warned in July that the settler violence was being carried out “with the acquiescence, support, and in some cases participation, of Israeli security forces”.
Last week, in a rare public rebuke, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and army chief Eyal Zamir condemned the burgeoning settler attacks.
The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in China has been officially opened and is now the highest bridge in the world – reducing the journey time for locals from two hours to just two minutes
The remarkable structure boasts a deck-to-surface measurement of 625 metres(Image: Getty)
China has unveiled a stunning new record-breaker after officially opening the world’s highest bridge in Guizhou province in the southwest of the country. The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge has slashed journey times from two hours down to just two minutes, according to local state media.
The remarkable structure boasts a deck-to-surface measurement of 625 metres – more than half a kilometre – making it tower above the previous record holder. It beats the Beipanjiang Bridge (Duge Bridge), also in China, which stands at 565.4 metres, by nearly 60 metres.
China’s rapid construction capabilities have recently drawn admiration from figures including Reform UK MP Zia Yusuf, who publicly expressed frustration on social media about the lengthy timescales for smaller infrastructure schemes in the United Kingdom.
Work on the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge commenced in January 2022 and was finished in under four years. The ambitious scheme resulted in a structure stretching almost 3km across a canyon dubbed the “Earth crack”.
The bridge measures 2,890 metres in total length and underwent rigorous testing before authorities gave the green light for public use.
As reported by ITV, before the bridge could be deemed safe for traffic, a dynamic load test was conducted, reports the Express.
This involved 96 lorries driving onto specific points of the structure in groups.
The new structure has now bagged the Guinness World Record for being the tallest bridge globally.
Now, globetrotters from all corners of the world are keen to witness the magnificent construction that officially opened its doors on 28 September 2025.
The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge boasts glass walkways for visitors to gaze down at the Beipan River, approximately 580 metres below.
It also features viewing platforms and a glass lift leading to its sky-high café, set to open in November this year.
For those seeking a thrill, they can bungee jump from the bridge.
State media have reported plans for professional BASE jumping events.
