Defense Secretary Liam Fox said he envisions a total force of around 120,000 service members, made up of about 70 percent full-time soldiers and 30 percent reservists.

The army currently is more than 100,000 strong, with only about 14 percent of the soldiers reservists.

Fox told lawmakers that investing in and training up more reservists will bring the U.K. into line with comparable countries such as the US, Canada and Australia.

Britain's defense ministry already faces sharp spending cuts under the country's austerity measures.

The defense secretary on Monday also detailed changes to where forces will be based, saying that some air force installations will be taken over by army units returning from Germany, where they have been stationed since the end of World War II. The first units are to come back to Britain next year.

AP