Axe falls on US military but the Seals get a boost

In the face of swingeing federal budget cuts, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta announced a major drop in troop numbers, the decommissioning of ships and closing of bases.

But he vowed the £310billion savings would not compromise US security at home or abroad.

Sources confirmed the Pentagon is moving ahead with plans to increase special operations and will position smaller, more mobile, teams of soldiers closer to potential threats and targets.

The recent success of the Navy Seal raid on Osama bin Laden's hideout and this week's rescue of two hostages kidnapped by Somali pirates has helped convince the White House of the proposals.

Admiral Bill McRaven wants to spend some of the remaining budget on manpower and equipment for what he calls "theatre special operation commands". His men are highly-trained troops who specialise in surprise assaults and undercover missions.

But opponents of the cuts accused Mr Panetta of disguising the impact of losing 100,000 troops. Senator John Cornyn said: "Taking us back to a pre-9/11 military force structure places our country in grave danger."

Senator John McCain said the Panetta plan "ignores the lessons of history". He said it provides for a military that is "too small to respond effectively to events that may unfold over the next few years".

But Mr Panetta claimed that as the US military's focus shifted from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to future challenges in Asia, the Middle East and in cyberspace a different approach was necessary.

Other measures include:

The Air Force retiring dozens of older cargo planes.

The Navy will keep its fleet of 11 aircraft carriers but retire seven cruisers earlier than planned.

The purchase of F-35 stealth fighter jets will be slowed.

Building a new generation of submarines armed with long-range nuclear missiles will be delayed by two years.