Vital training for military units is being axed to pay for a salary hike for troops.

Ministers have told defence chiefs to save £400 million for the pay rises.

Exercises which provide crucial opportunities for troops to practise battlefield skills are being cancelled or scaled back. The move will force soldiers to pretend they are firing weapons rather than using live ammunition. A senior military figure told the Mail: ‘Troops will literally be going “bang bang”.’

The shocking cutbacks were ordered after Defence Secretary John Healey said a long-overdue pay rise for troops must come out of existing budgets.

Despite the UK facing possible conflict with Russia and the world growing ever more dangerous, the Government has refused to follow the Tories‘ lead and commit to a deadline for increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.

But it has signed off more than £1 billion of pay rises for junior doctors and train drivers.

Tory leadership hopeful and former Army officer Tom Tugendhat said: ‘This Government has so far delivered nothing but broken promises.

‘We must stand up to the hostile actions of our enemies, including the threats posed by Russia, China and Iran, and provide our front line with the resources, training and equipment they need to defend our great nation. Labour say they’re forging a path to 2.5 per cent defence spending, but in reality the only path they’re forging is the unions’ path to the bank.’

Writing in today’s Mail, former foreign secretary James Cleverly accused Sir Keir Starmer of ‘ducking the tough decisions’.

Last month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves awarded a 6 per cent pay rise for Armed Forces personnel, the biggest for 22 years.

With the money to come from existing budgets, rather than extra cash, the Ministry of Defence has dressed up the cutbacks as ‘reprioritisations’ and insisted its priority is to reduce expenditure on external consultants.

However, the Mail has learned that training budgets are also being stripped back. Well-placed sources told how overseas exercises face the axe and top brass have been told to expend fewer rounds and rockets.

The UK provides Ukraine with about £2.5 billion of ordnance and military training a year, which has significantly reduced stocks.

Last night, a senior military figure said: ‘Troops will literally be going “bang bang”. That’s if they even get to go on a large-scale exercise in the next 12 months.

‘Money is very, very tight. Military personnel like to be active too – if they’re doing less, morale suffers. That’s bad for retention.’

Former head of the Army Lord Dannatt said: ‘Cutting cash for training will harm operational readiness and lower troop morale when key exercises are cut back.

‘With the serious threat from Russia, the defence budget should be increased to 2.5 per cent of GDP now to increase our deterrent levels and fully fund this pay rise.’

Moira Watson-Pickering, whose son Jethro was killed on Salisbury Plain in 2021, added: ‘I fear more troops could die if there is even less funding for exercises.

‘The success of the Armed Forces comes down to their experience, they have to have as much realistic training as possible. So this is not a good move at all.’

The Mail has called for significant increases in Armed Forces investment, to meet the threat posed by Russia, as part of its Don’t Leave Britain Defenceless campaign.

Last night, the MoD said: ‘Armed Forces personnel are receiving their largest pay rise in 22 years. The increase will be funded through reprioritisation and saving measures. We would never compromise on the safety of our personnel.’