Dr Fox is expected to confirm that the Army will be cut by a fifth from its current size of 102,000 to around 82,000 by 2020. This reduction in the regular Army will only happen when the Government invests more in reserve forces and Britain had withdrawn from Afghanistan, he will say today.
The aim will be to provide 30 per cent of troops deployed in future military operations from reservists.
Dr Fox said: "We need to look at international comparisons where you generally see the reserves slightly bigger in relation to the regular forces that we have in Britain.
"One of the problems in the UK has been the rundown of the reserves and I have, in opposition and during our time in government, been very concerned to see that we are going to put the correct resources into the reserves, to make sure they're properly trained and equipped.
"We cannot simply see the reserves as a group of people from whom we draw a six-month tour of Afghanistan and let the rest wither on the vine."
The Daily Telegraph disclosed on Saturday that Dr Fox will say the TA is to retain its current strength of 36,000, with an estimated 5,000 reservists trained for front-line operations. This is despite concerns that only one in 20 TA soldiers has sufficient training to be deployed.
Defence sources said that Britain would have a total force of 120,000 soldiers by 2020, divided 70-30 between regular service personnel and reserves.
Dr Fox is also due to say that further funding to pay for more defence equipment from 2014 has been agreed. The money will pay for additional Chinook helicopters and surveillance aircraft.
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