Hundreds of vehicles including tanks and drones will be deployed back to Germany in a government U-turn as the army builds one of its three big overseas hubs in the country.
As part of the biggest transformation of the service in two decades, the army wants a brigade-sized force of some 250 positioned closer to eastern Europe in the event of war with Russia.
A Nato forward holding base in Sennelager will become a site for one of the army’s new land regional hubs, along with sites in Kenya and Oman.
Lieutenant General Ralph Wooddisse, commander field army, said that the sites would enable the army to “spread more rapidly” and “be ready to deploy from those should it be required”. “I particularly emphasise Germany, where we are putting a substantial number of our armoured vehicles forward.” The move to boost the number of armoured vehicles in the country comes after the government announced in 2010 that it would move troops back from Germany to the UK.
However, army sources said that “instead of having everything based in the UK and having to get across the Channel, they will be more forward-deployed so we don’t have to put them all on boats”.
The brigade-sized force will include hundreds of vehicles including the upgraded Challenger 3 tanks, Boxer armoured fighting vehicles and the controversial Ajax vehicle which is subject to a review. It will also comprise artillery vehicles, guns, de-mining vehicles, drones and tankers, according to army sources.
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They said the fleet would be, at any point, operating across Europe, including in Estonia, Poland, as well as being based in Germany.
Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, said that the UK could not be a “slave to sentiment” as he confirmed the army would be shrunk from 82,000 to 73,000, with soldiers moved into restructured regiments.
A total of 33 army bases will be axed, including Alanbrooke Barracks at Topcliffe, North Yorkshire. Many are small sites, such as reserve centres and cadet training centres. The infantry, the biggest part of the army, will be organised into four new divisions of about 4,000 troops, one of which will be the Union Division. Each of them will include a new Ranger battalion of about 250 troops. Four battalions will be scrapped altogether, with their soldiers moved into the Ranger regiment which will deploy to dangerous territory to help train and fight with local forces.
