Fears for the future of the Parachute Regiment have emerged following moves by the Government to expand the size of the special forces and invest in cyber units.
Senior commanders are concerned the elite Paras could be sacrificed after the Prime Minister’s adviser Dominic Cummings questioned why the unit still existed – when they had not parachuted into battle for almost 70 years.
It is understood that the regiment, which is composed of two battalions plus the Special Forces Support Group, could be cut by one battalion – about 550 men.
The Paras have escaped the axe in recent defence reviews but now some senior military figures believe the time has come for the unit to “take its share of pain”.
It is understood that the MoD wants to increase the size of the special forces by up to 300 personnel and give more funding to cyber units, such as 13th Signal Regiment launched last month.
One senior source said: “There are some very worrying conversations at the highest levels about cuts.
“It looks like the Paras will be cut as the Government concentrates on expanding special forces and cyber units.
“Our best hope is that we still have one battalion and retain control of the Special Forces Group.
“There is a feeling within the regiment that we have been living on borrowed time despite what we achieved in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
The Paras hope to convince the Government that they should be left alone because they supply more than 50 per cent of troops to the SAS.
An MoD spokesman said: “We’re in an early stage of our Integrated Review and no final plans have been drawn up.”
