The Ministry of Defence is working towards starting the British Army Training Unit Suffield commitment in April 2027, and funding is still being allocated through the department’s planning cycle, according to an answer given in Parliament.
Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative member for Huntingdon, asked when the annual funding profile would be determined, following an answer of 7 September.
Louise Sandher-Jones, Parliamentary Under-Secretary and Minister for the Armed Forces, said: “Funding is currently being allocated through the ongoing Strategic Planning Cycle as part of the Department’s routine planning and budgeting processes, with the ambition to start the BATUS commitment in April 2027.”
April 2027 is given as an ambition, not a firm date, and the question about when the annual funding profile will be settled was not answered.
The British Army Training Unit Suffield has been the Army’s armoured manoeuvre training base since 1972, occupying part of a Canadian Forces training area in southern Alberta that runs to around 2,700 square kilometres.
The space allows a battlegroup to manoeuvre and fire live at distances that cannot be reproduced on Salisbury Plain or at Otterburn, and tank and infantry fighting vehicle crews have traditionally completed their collective training there before being declared ready.
