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The Army has received instructions to halt “non-essential” training exercises in order to reduce costs, according to information from a defence insider. Training efforts will still focus on soldiers preparing for deployment or actively deployed units, such as those stationed in Estonia, the Falklands, and Cyprus. However, units based in the UK that are not gearing up for specific missions have been directed to scale back their collective training activities due to financial constraints.
This move arrives amid mounting pressure on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to boost defence expenditure. Although the government plans to increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income by next year, there is growing demand to elevate this figure to 3% by the end of the decade. A defence source described the cuts as eliminating “nice to have training”—which includes large-scale live fire drills and practice platoon attacks at UK training sites such as Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire and Sennybridge in Wales. Notable exercises that are now cancelled reportedly include live fire drills planned by the Royal Tank Regiment in Wales and a combined tank and Apache helicopter exercise.
The decision to pause these training sessions is not from the Army itself, but rather from budgetary directives, with the suspension expected to remain throughout most of this year. Nonetheless, specific training programs aimed at modernising capabilities, such as drone and counter-drone warfare, will proceed. The Army is concentrating on training priorities shaped by lessons learned from the conflict in Ukraine and is evaluating training requests individually. Despite the increase in defence funding, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) continues to face challenges in financing all its planned investments. Much of the additional funding is allocated to capital projects, including new weapons development, leaving training budgets under significant pressure.
An Army spokesperson emphasized that training remains ongoing with a focus on activities that directly enhance readiness, deployability, and operational effectiveness. The spokesperson also highlighted a £2 billion investment intended to transform Army training over the next 15 years. During Prime Minister’s Questions, the chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, Labour’s Tan Singh Dhesi, urged Burnham to commit to reaching 3% of GDP for defence spending by 2030. The prime minister responded by asserting, “I’ve made that commitment very clear, and I have done for a considerable period of time.” The uncertainty over defence budgets also contributed to the resignation of former Defence Secretary John Healey during the tenure of Burnham’s predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer. The Defence Investment Plan outlines an increase to 2.7% of GDP by 2027/28 but lacks firm plans for further rises beyond that point. The Treasury has indicated that spending review plans aiming for 3% and 3.5% of GDP will be detailed next year. Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for cuts in welfare spending to redirect funds towards defence, aligning with her party’s pledge to reach 3% of GDP on defence by 2030. Tory shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately criticized Labour’s spending choices, stating, “Faced with a choice between spending on military training and spending on benefits… Labour chooses more benefits.
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