London, Mar 23 (IANS): UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said that the country is going to significantly reduce the number of its soldiers.

Addressing MPs on Monday, Wallace said he had decided to reduce the size of the army from 76,500 to 72,500 by 2025, reports dpa news agency.

The army's "increased deployability" and "technological advantage" means a "greater effect can be delivered by fewer people", he said.

"The army has not been at its established strength of 82,000 since the middle of last decade," he told lawmakers.

"These changes will not require redundancies and we wish to build on the work already done on utilising our reserves to make sure the whole force is better integrated and more productive," the Defence Secretary added.

The move is part of a larger repositioning of Britain's defence strategy after leaving the European Union.

Last week, the government presented a plan it described as the "most radical reassessment of Britain's place in the world since the end of the Cold War".

Among other changes, the limit for nuclear warheads is to be increased from the current 225 to 260, instead of being reduced to 180 as planned.