British military returns to CFB Suffield for drone training this spring
CBC
The British military will return to test high-tech drones at a southern Alberta base this spring, five years after it moved major tank training out of the Medicine Hat region.
That departure impacted businesses — bars and hotels serving soldiers on weekend leave — and also raised major questions about the future use of the sprawling live-fire range at CFB Suffield.
This new direction aligns with a local strategy to draw in defence and aerospace spending to diversify the economy.
“When [armour training] battlegroups left, we noticed a decline in the number of soldiers that were in Medicine Hat,” said Selena McLean-Moore, the director of Medicine Hat’s economic development office.
“Hopefully this is going to bring back some of that activity to Medicine Hat. And, hopefully, we’ll be able to capitalize.”
British Army Training Unit Suffield, known as BATUS, has existed since 1971 at the base about 40 kilometres northwest of Medicine Hat.
CBC News has confirmed that an undisclosed number of troops from the United Kingdom and defence contractors will train at the facility in June and July.
“BATUS remains a viable and unique strategic asset,” reads a statement from the U.K. Ministry of Defence.
The current year’s plan is to create a “centre of excellence for trials and experimentation in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), counter-UAS, swarming UAS, and electronic warfare testing.”
The U.K.'s secretary of state for defence briefly noted the plan in Parliament in late January, but also stated future use depends on a large review of investment priorities due this spring.
Since 2020, Britain has maintained a smaller presence at the base, which is jointly operated with the Canadian Forces under a series of long-standing agreements.
From 1971 until 2019, the British used it annually for large-scale, open range heavy tank training. Battlegroups of 5,000 to 10,000 troops would take part in weeks-long manoeuvres on the 2,900-square-kilometre range of prairie grassland.
Those were halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then cancelled and eventually shifted to eastern Europe as a signal of NATO strength in the region.
A recent modernization plan meant to prepare the U.K. military for evolving battlefield tactics prioritizes drone technology in light of emerging trends seen in Ukraine.
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