British defence secretary Geoff Hoon during a visit to HMS Ark Royal near Portsmouth. (Reuters)

London, July 21: Four infantry battalions are to be cut from the army as part of a major shake-up of the armed forces announced by Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary.

Outlining the reforms in a Commons statement, Hoon said the British military needed to be restructured to face the threats of the 21st century.

The changes will see the armed forces become more reliant on technology so that they can react to “international terrorism and the forces of instability in the modern world”.

His statement came after Tony Blair reassured MPs at Prime Minister’s question time that the number of frontline troops would not be cut.

But he said: “What is important is to make sure that we use the money we are spending, record amounts of money on defence, in the most sensible way.”

As part of reforms, 7,500 jobs will be lost from the RAF and 1,500 from the Navy. An additional 10,000 civilian posts will also be cut from across the military. Of the four battalions to be abolished, three will come from England and one from Scotland.

Hoon also announced that three type-42 destroyers and three type-23 frigates would be taken out of service by the Navy by March 2006. An RAF Tornado F-3 air defence squadron will also be cut and the withdrawal of two Jaguar squadrons will be brought forward to 2006, with the final Jaguar squadron to be disbanded in 2007.