British Army ‘will leave Canada for new base in the Middle East’
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is expected to make the announcement this week
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The British Army will leave Canada and set up a new training base in the Middle East as part of plans to modernise the armed forces, according to reports.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is expected to announce later this week that a new facility is being developed in Oman.
At the moment the British Army Training Unit Suffield (Batus) is located in Alberta, western Canada and is home to more than 1,000 vehicles, including tanks and helicopters.
The 2,700 kilometre-square base currently trains British soldiers in live firing exercises and is used by multiple different regiments, as reported by The Telegraph.
It is understood the move to the Omani desert is part of plans to modernise the army but also a strategic element in that core British hardware will be closer to partner nations such as Ukraine.
A defence source close to the plans told The Telegraph: “If you only have 148 tanks and 22 of them are stuck in Canada, that’s 22 tanks that are not at readiness and not available to do anything operational.
“If they are training in Poland or Duqm, the logic is that they are having a more operational and deterrent effect.”
A further motivating factor for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is thought to be that it will take less time to respond to a crisis.
An MOD spokesperson told the newspaper that Batus would not close before 2023 as a number of big tank exercises are scheduled to take place.
The base is expected to be set up in Omani desert near Duqm airbase and port, however a small number of British military personnel would still be located in Canada.
The Batus base - which currently has 400 staff - and the nearby Wainwright training facility would both close.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments