Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what project milestone was achieved by General Dynamics on 23 July 2025.

All criteria for Ajax Initial Operating Capability (IOC) were met on 23 July 2025 and following a period of review, IOC was declared by the Army on 15 September 2025.

I have put in place a Ministerial led review into the Ajax programme, which will assess how effective the Department has been at implementing the actions of previous reviews, and seeking anything further that is required regarding safety.

It will be conducted by experts who are not part of the AJAX programme, including Malcolm Chalmers, to provide a more independent view. It will be overseen by me and report to the Defence Secretary. It will be conducted at pace, but it will not be rushed.