- British Army Training Unit Suffield
The British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) is a unit located at the vast training area of Canadian Forces Base Suffield in
Alberta ,Canada . BATUS is generally regarded as the British Army's largest armoured training field in the world and it can accommodate live-firing exercises up to thebrigade level. Fact|date=February 2008The Suffield area was first utilised by the British forces during the
Second World War Fact|date=February 2008. A British chemical weapons testing facility was located in French-controlledAlgeria , however, upon the conquest ofFrance byGermany , the facility was lost. The British could find no suitable location in the UK and thus an agreement was signed between Canada and the UK to allow the Suffield area to become available to British scientists for testing. Consequently, British and Canadian forces employed the area for a variety of experiments. Upon the end of WWII, the British departed the Suffield area and it was formally taken over by the CanadianDefence Research Board .In 1969, Colonel Gaddafi orchestrated a coup in
Libya , and duly took control of the country and proceeded to, after negotiations, close down British military installations located atEl Adem andTobruk , and additionally American installations located nearTripoli . This presented the UK with quite a dilemma as there were no suitably expansive areas to allow theBritish Army to undertake armoured warfare exercises on a suitably large scale inEurope . Thus, in 1971, a 10-year lease was signed between the British and Canadian Governments that authorised battle group training to take place in the Suffield area by the British Army. In January 1972 the British Army Training Unit Suffield was formally established. In July the first live rounds were fired by the 4th Royal Tank Regiment Battle Group. In 1981 the lease for Suffield was extended and in 1991, the lease was again extended. In 2006, on the expiration of this lease, the British and Canadian governments concluded an agreement that will allow British forces to maintain their training practices in Canada indefinitely. [ [http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=1994] ]Just over 30
Challenger 2 tanks, 60Warrior tracked armoured vehicle s, numerous Bulldog armoured personnel carriers (APC) and29 (BATUS) Flight Army Air Corps are allocated to BATUS. A single regiment is dispatched to Canada on a six-month deployment to perform the role of 'enemy' for the six battle groups that annually take part in a variety of exercises that last for approximately 24 days. It provides invaluable training for the British Army.ee also
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CFB Suffield
*CFB Wainwright
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