Jerusalem, May 29 (IANS) Cash-strapped Israeli military announced Wednesday that it was halting air force training flights and cancelling a large-scale aerial drill due to budget constraints.

Weekly training flights for reservist pilots serving in fighter squadrons will be halted beginning next Sunday, while flight hours allotted to career pilots and drone squadrons will be gradually scaled down in the coming months, Xinhua reported citing local media Wednesday.

It, however, noted that routine operational flights to secure the skies over Israel and the air force academy’s training flights would continue as usual.

The army’s top brass Monday also decided to call off a five- day air force exercise, scheduled to take place soon and simulate war on multiple fronts as well as in scenarios such as rockets hitting air bases, the Israel Hayom daily said.

Other large-scale aerial drills, including the planned participation of 10 Israeli jets in the US-hosted “Red Flag” multinational event later this year, had also been scrapped.