The revelation comes after Luke Pollard, the defence procurement minister, insisted that the platform - which was this week finally declared ready for operations, eight years behind schedule - is safe to use and historical concerns about hearing being harmed were "firmly in the past". "I've been reassured from the top of the army down to the folks that work on the platform that it is safe, and those lessons have been learned," he said. While a big, tracked vehicle like Ajax - which is as heavy as a Russian tank - is bound to generate noise and vibrations, the army has been criticised in the past for failing to alert ministers to concerns about the impact on troops of exposure to such sounds and jolts.
Author: Deborah Haynes
Published at: 2025-11-07 14:50:00
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