THE British army’s latest armoured vehicle is performing so badly that inspectors think a “successful delivery” is “unachievable.” 

But the US firm behind the failing armoured vehicle did hire one of the army’s top generals. So not everyone is doing badly from the flawed £3.5 billion vehicle.

US defence giant General Dynamics is selling the Ajax armoured fighting vehicles to the British army. 

Many Ajax variants have tracks and a turret, so look like a tank, but it is really a lighter vehicle designed more for reconnaissance, carrying troops and other roles.

Except it isn’t any good at any of them, according to a leaked report from the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA). 

The Ministry of Defence ordered 589 Ajax vehicles from General Dynamics in 2014, for £3.5bn. 

The army calls Ajax a “core capability,” a key part of their fighting strength. 

But the IPA, a Treasury unit supposed to stop huge wasteful government projects, doesn’t think they will help the army fight. 

The IPA report, leaked to the BBC, said: “Successful delivery of the programme to time, cost and quality appears to be unachievable.”  

So far General Dynamics has only delivered 14 vehicles for tests, which they are failing. 

Noise and rattle inside the Ajax are so bad that crew suffered nausea, swollen joints and tinnitus. 

The only way to run Ajax is either “limiting time in the platform to one hour 30 before a crew change or speed restrictions of 20mph” — less than half its top speed. 

Slow tanks or frequent crew changes mean Ajax isn’t really battle-worthy. 

Amazingly, tests also found the “vehicle cannot reverse over an obstacle more than 20cm high.” 

The IPA says that there is a “real risk” that exposing soldiers to Ajax now would permanently undermine their confidence in the vehicle.

General Dynamics might be failing with Ajax, but it was very successful at hiring British “top brass” to maintain good relations with the MoD.  

General Sir Peter Wall was the chief of the general staff — the head of the British army — until January 2015.  

In August 2016 Sir Peter joined the General Dynamics board as a “non-executive” or part-time director. 

The squaddies get an unusable rattling tracked vehicle, but Sir Peter gets around $300,000 a year working for the firm that makes it.

The advisory committee on business appointments (ACoBA), the committee which approves former officials’ new business jobs, seemed nervous about Sir Peter joining General Dynamics.

In 2015 ACoBA said it: “Took into account that MoD has a large number of live and closed contracts with General Dynamics worth about £5.8bn,” including the £3.5bn deal for what were then called the “scout specialist vehicles.” 

Scouts are the malfunctioning Ajax vehicles, under a former name.

The committee also noted that “Sir Peter has had official dealings with General Dynamics and its competitors during his last two years of service.”  

The committee even “considered whether it should advise that the appointment was unsuitable,” but it decided to OK the move, with conditions. 

The committee ruled “given the extent of the contractual relationship between General Dynamics and the MoD and Sir Peter’s senior positions” he would have to wait 18 months before starting work at General Dynamics. 

They slowed the “revolving door” between top army jobs and top arms supplier jobs, but it still turned.

Officially, ACoBA worries that former officials getting cushy jobs with government suppliers may mean those suppliers will get a big advantage: current top officials may be soft on suppliers, in the knowledge they will get a well-paid job with them after they retire. 

Alternatively, suppliers will use the inside information and contacts they get from former officials to help them win advantages with the government.

In practice, it is a toothless regulator that worries about this problem, approving most of these “revolving door” moves anyway, with ineffective conditions.

ACoBA’s latest annual report says that “the highest proportion of applications” made to them “came from the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence. These two departments have been responsible for the largest proportion of the committee’s work for a number of years.” 

So the MoD is one of the two departments with the largest number of top officials leaving through a revolving door into industry positions. 

The arms firms are top recruiters of government “insiders” and top brass. At the same time the MoD is notorious for buying military kit that doesn’t work, arrives late, or at inflated costs.  

The wonky Ajax vehicles are just the latest in a long line of purchasing disasters, while Sir Peter Wall’s job on the General Dynamics board is just one more former general getting a top job with military suppliers.