The British Army has been ordered to suspend major training exercises, a move expected to save approximately £30 million, as the government faces pressure to increase defense spending. The directive affects around 600 troops who are being stood down, with large-scale exercises involving 90 or more personnel canceled for the remainder of the financial year.
Chancellor John Healey recently abandoned a commitment to increase defense spending to three percent of GDP by 2030. This decision has led to the cancellation of significant training events, including a six-week war game planned for Wales that was set to involve Challenger 2 tanks and Apache helicopter gunships. Instead, training will be confined to smaller groups, though exercises utilizing drones will continue.
Sources indicate that commanding officers have troops with "nothing to do," drawing parallels to a 1973 fuel crisis that also led to military consumption cutbacks. The current situation has drawn criticism from former military officials, with ex-SAS commander Richard Williams branding Healey a "lizard" for dropping the spending pledge. Former Army chief General Sir Patrick Sanders described the decision as "unbelievably short-sighted."
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has not outlined how or when his government intends to meet the three percent GDP defense spending target. Current government projections suggest defense spending will peak at 2.7 percent of GDP by 2030, falling short of both the previous pledge and NATO's target of three percent for member states by 2035. Germany, for comparison, expects to reach 3.5 percent of GDP by 2030.
The suspension of training exercises follows warnings from Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Richard Knighton, who stated that without a substantial increase in the Ministry of Defence's operational budget, military operations could also be curtailed. Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon called the order "bonkers" and "an incredible piece of self-harm," warning that it would signal to adversaries like Russia that the British Army is untrained.
This is not the first time defense readiness has been impacted by budget constraints. In 2024, pay raises for troops introduced by the Labour government led to exercises being scrapped after no additional Treasury revenue was secured to cover the increased wages. This resulted in the cancellation of training, restrictions on vehicle hires, and the withdrawal of ammunition from regiments.
Estimates suggest that increasing UK defense spending to three percent of GDP would cost the government an additional £10 billion annually. Reaching NATO's 3.5 percent target by 2035 is projected to cost £25 billion beyond current expenditure.
The cancellations come at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, with Russian President Vladimir Putin issuing a veiled threat regarding potential strikes on the UK.
An Army spokesperson stated that training continues and priorities are being placed on activities that directly contribute to readiness and operational effectiveness, adding that the Army is investing £2 billion over the next 15 years to transform its training programs.