It has risen... https://www.overtdefense.com/2022/10/26/delays-to-uks-puma-replacement-tender-but-ajax-trials-restart/

The UK’s troubled AJAX armored fighting vehicle program has restarted after safety concerns for personnel halted the trials phase back in March. The safety issues included noise and vibration issues which left soldiers with permanent injuries. In May the In June, the Public Accounts Committee found that delays had been caused by a “litany of failures” and advised that the Ministry of Defence needed to resolve the issues or scrap the project.

In a statement to Parliament Minister of State For Defence Procurement, Alec Shelbrooke explained that the government’s concern is “the safety of our personnel, which has been at the forefront of the work that has been ongoing over the summer,” he continued “I am pleased to be able to inform the House that, following agreement from the AJAX Safety Panel, this work has led to resuming the User Validation Trials paused earlier this year and since Monday 10th October there have been eight days of trials.”

Further progress reported: https://www.overtdefense.com/2022/12/06/uks-trouble-ajax-afv-enters-next-trials-stage/

“Analysis of the data and crew feedback from the user validation trials has concluded. The trials successfully met their objectives to establish the effectiveness of the modifications proposed by General Dynamics to address the noise and vibration concerns on Ajax. The trials ensured vehicle crews remained safely within noise and vibration levels, allowing progression to the Reliability Growth Trials that we intend to commence in January 2023.”

Despite this step forward the program is severely delayed with the UK National Audit Office sayingback in March that AJAX is a year behind the program’s revised schedule. In June the Public Accounts Committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier said: “Enough is enough – the MoD must fix or fail this programme, before more risk to our national security and more billions of taxpayers’ money wasted.”

Back in October, the UK government announced that while User Validation Trials had paused earlier in the year, they had restarted on 10th October. January will see Reliability Growth Trials begin, the Tests are made up of a combination of qualification and verification activities including tests known as Battlefield Missions which replicate operational scenarios.