Recruits who join the British Army in September will be learning new techniques as part of their basic training in preparation for their service of Peace Support Operation in Ukraine.
The British Armed Forces will train with at least six “coalition of the willing” EU countries who will train Ukrainian forces in the West of Ukraine and will be a deterrence against Russia, with the aim being to help bring peace.
September is the main month for intake as part of the phase 1 training, this takes place at Army Training Centre Pirbright, formerly known as the Guards Depot and also at Catterick Garrison which is a major military town, near to Richmond, North Yorkshire.
The new recruits will learn trench warfare and will also be trained in drone warfare and medical training will include serious injuries, as casualty evacuation using helicopters is unlikely to be used amid fears of Russian forces downing them.
Chemical warfare training will be a priority as Ukraine has reported more than 10,000 cases of Russian using such agents in the battlefield.
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The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has documented more than 10,000 cases of chemical weapons use by Vladimir Putin’s forces and evidence has been sent to the Hague.
The SBU has warned that Russian troops are using aerosol grenades which contains irritant agents.
The training will no longer be taught in company attacks, but instead will operate in strike teams of six and will learn to operate drones and how to scan the ground.
There are currently 3,000 trained drone pilots and the Ministry of Defence is set to train a further 6,000.
The former SAS commander and Chief of the General Staff, Gen Sir Roly Walker has previously warned that the British Armed Force must be ready for war in Europe within a few years.
A senior source said, “The last time we saw this level of intense training was in 2006 before Afghanistan.
“This will be very different. Ukrainians deploy into forward trenches for months – a massive culture change for our people deployed as observers to monitor the ceasefire.”
Director of land warfare Maj Gen Chris Barry said, “The most important lesson from Ukraine is that you’ve got to train at scale. The 21st-century combined arms battle has more in common with the 20th century than it has differences.
“We want people skilled in first-person view drones; to understand the threat from the sky and counter-UAS. We want people to understand their noise, thermal, visual and electromagnetic signature.”
Gen Sir Richard Barrons, who led Joint Forces Command until 2016, said, “The Army is adjusting from counter-insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan back to state-on-state conflict. The entire training model is in transition.
“If you’re fighting over territory, as you see in Ukraine, and it’s rural, then you’re going to fight in a conventional way significantly augmented by new technology.”
Gen Barrons added: “It’s clearly not enough just to shoot down a missile or a drone that’s arrived over Ukraine. You have got to be prepared to shoot down the aircraft or the launcher that fired it in Russia.
“Otherwise, you’re not really deterring; you’re just dealing with the symptoms and you’re expressing your limitations of your will to fight.”
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