FURY OVER ROYAL AIR FARCE

RAF pilots to be trained in the USA

- Marco Giannangeli

ALL RAF pilots must be sent to America for training because Britain is short of jets, defence chiefs have been warned.

Our Armed Forces are so depleted ministers plan to rely on Nato allies to prop them up.

Last night furious MPs and military experts blasted the "reckless" move - and warned it will leave us having to "hold out the begging bowl" in times of conflict.

Plans for offshore pilot training are among a package of measures being drawn up in a root-and-branch review to deliver defence savings.

Current proposals will see many Army bases closed at a time when troops are quitting in droves. Top brass have also been warned of "radical changes" to all Armed Forces and a "complete recalibration" of the Army.

They include a new partnership with our allies to determine the shape of our fighting forces.

It could mean special operations brigades such as the Paras and the Rangers being merged into Nato's Very High Readiness Task Force.

But last night former Defence Secretary Sir Gavin Williamson warned: "Our allies will think we are giving up." He declared: "You cannot surrender our capability to decide who we will train and in what quantity.