Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks, during a visit to BAE Systems at Warton Aerodrome in Lancashire, England, Monday, March 22, 2021 to mark the publication of the Integrated Review and the Defence White Paper.
(Christopher Furlong/Pool Photo via AP)LONDON – Britain plans to cut the size of its army and boost spending on drones, robots and a new “cyber force” under defense plans announced by the government on Monday.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the British Army would shrink from 76,500 soldiers to 72,500 by 2025.
He said the army hadn't been at its “established strength” of 82,500 for several years.
In November the government announced a 16.5 billion-pound ($23 billion) increase in defense spending over the next four years, focusing on the future battlefields of space and cyber rather than traditional resources such as army troops.