Defence Chief warns pay up or ‘we will have to dial back our activities and our exercise’

Britain’s armed forces may be forced to scale back training exercises and military operations unless ministers provide additional funding, the country’s most senior military officer has warned.

The Chief of the Defence Staff issued the stark assessment amid growing concern over the state of Britain’s armed forces at a time of mounting international instability.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton told the Lords International Relations and Defence Committee: “The thing that I’m most concerned about is the level of day-to-day activity funding, the resource departmental expenditure limit, because that funds operational activity and drives exercises and training.

“Those are the things that make sure the men and women of our armed forces are as ready as they can be with the equipment that they have got today, and without changes to the settlement, as John Healey set out, then those areas will come under pressure.”

Sir Richard added: “We will have to dial back our activities and our exercise and operational activity if the level of resource funding that’s available to us does not increase. Now that’s still to be debated and decided.”

The warning raises fresh questions about whether defence spending is keeping pace with the demands being placed on the military, particularly as tensions with Russia remain high and Nato allies accelerate rearmament programmes.

Military chiefs have repeatedly argued that years of budget pressures have left the armed forces attempting to do more with fewer resources.

The latest intervention suggests difficult choices may now be unavoidable.

Without additional funding, commanders could be forced to reduce training activity, limit operational commitments and delay elements of military preparedness.

The comments come as Britain seeks to strengthen its role within Nato and increase support for Ukraine, while also responding to growing threats across Europe and the Middle East.

Defence officials have long argued that realistic training is essential to maintaining combat readiness, particularly as armed forces prepare for the possibility of high-intensity warfare.

The warning is likely to intensify pressure on ministers ahead of future spending decisions, with military leaders insisting that ambitions for national security must be matched by the resources required to deliver them.

As geopolitical tensions continue to rise, the message from the top of Britain’s military is clear: readiness comes at a price.