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British Army cancels tank and helicopter drills as funding crisis grounds troops
Published 13:01 4 Sept 2026 BST
Updated 13:02 4 Sept 2026 BST
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Major Army training exercises have been scrapped
The British Army has suspended a large chunk of its training programme as it looks to cut costs, with non-essential exercises involving more than 90 personnel being halted for most of the year. The move is expected to save around £30m, with all affected exercises ordered to stop immediately. Among those cancelled are major training operations involving tanks and Apache helicopters, according to reports from The Times and the BBC.
The scale of the cuts means some troops are losing training opportunities at very short notice.
The Times reported that the Royal Tank Regiment was due to begin a six-week combat exercise in Wales next week, only for the exercise to be cancelled days before it was scheduled to start.
Not every unit will be affected. Personnel preparing for deployment, already serving overseas or assigned to standby and quick-reaction roles will continue training as usual.
This includes troops deployed or preparing to deploy to locations such as Estonia, the Falkland Islands and Cyprus.
Russia’s latest warning comes at a difficult time for the UK
The cuts come at a particularly difficult time for the UK military, with Russia warning that British military targets could be attacked over the UK's continued support for Ukraine. At the same time, Prime Minister Andy Burnham is facing growing pressure to increase defence spending more quickly. Current plans will take spending to 2.5% of national income by next year, but there are calls for that figure to reach 3% by the end of the decade, with some arguing that cuts to welfare could help pay for the increase. The Army has not denied that exercises have been cancelled, but insists that the decision does not mean training has stopped altogether. With the war in Ukraine changing the way modern conflicts are fought, priority is being given to training that can have the biggest impact on readiness and combat effectiveness, including lessons around drone warfare and military modernisation. An Army spokesperson said: “Our training continues and we are prioritising activity that contributes most directly to readiness, deployability and operational effectiveness.” The Army also highlighted its longer-term plans, saying it is investing £2bn over the next 15 years to transform training across the British Army.Explore more on these topics:
