Army to cut 19,000 as reservists trained for front line
UK reservists to receive £1.5bn training funding
(about 6 hours later)
The government is expected to confirm later a sizeable cut in the regular army, as part of a radical overhaul of the armed forces.
The government is to spend £1.5bn over the next 10 years to enhance the capability of the nation's military reserves.
It is thought Defence Secretary Liam Fox will tell the House of Commons that thousands more reservists will instead be trained for front-line operations.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox told the House of Commons that thousands more reservists would be trained for front-line operations.
The changes would see the Army reduced from its present strength of 101,000 regulars to some 82,000 by 2020.
This would result in the Territorial Army forming about 30% of a 120,000-strong army by 2020, he told MPs.
Several threatened Scottish military bases will also find out their future.
This would be more in line with the United States, Canada and Australia.
Dr Fox told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We want to have a look at the shape of the armed forces from 2020 and beyond."
He also told MPs that he had agreed with the Treasury that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) could plan on the defence equipment and equipment support budget being increased by 1% a year in real terms between 2015/16 and 2020/21.
He said that lack of investment over the years had meant the fighting strength of the reserve had fallen to around 14,000 and this had led to an "imbalance".
This increase in funding, he said, meant that the military could go ahead with several military projects, including:
Dr Fox admitted some senior officers were "wary" about the changes, adding: "They may be saying to themselves, 'This is all very well promising this, but will the investment actually happen, will the reservists get the uplift and training that is promised?' and that is up to us to deliver."
procurement of 14 additional Chinook helicopters
upgrade of the Army's Warrior vehicles
spending on the Joint Strike Fighter project
procurement of the Rivet Joint intelligence and surveillance aircraft
equipment for the Queen Elizabeth class carriers
development of the Global Combat Ship
RAF Leuchars, in Fife, could be transformed into an army barracks, while RAF Lossiemouth, in Moray, could be spared. RAF Marham in Norfolk is also expected to remain open, the BBC's defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said.
It had already been announced that RAF Kinloss, in Moray, was to close.
The proposed changes would mean that the regular army will be at its smallest size for a century.
Dr Fox is expected to endorse a review of reserve forces that says the UK should follow the US and Australia in making more use of volunteers, like the Territorial Army, to man the front lines.
The idea is to ensure reservists are "properly trained and equipped" so that more soldiers, sailors and air personnel are ready for front-line duties.
The idea is to ensure reservists are "properly trained and equipped" so that more soldiers, sailors and air personnel are ready for front-line duties.
Dr Fox said: "As we move out of Afghanistan and move to a more adaptive posture in our armed forces... we can almost certainly get a rebalancing. Countries like Australia, Canada and the United States have a very different level of balance between regulars and reserves.
"However, they are able to do that because they spend money and they have much greater capabilities, better equipment and training and that is what I want for the United Kingdom."
Dr Fox earlier told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that lack of investment over the years had meant the fighting strength of the reserve had fallen to about 14,000 and this had led to an "imbalance".
The BBC's defence correspondent said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) may also have won a guarantee of a slight increase in spending on equipment from 2015.
He said: "As the capability of the Territorial Army improves, this will allow a progressive adjustment of the regular [and] reserve balance of the Army, while maintaining the land forces capability set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review."
