Formation reconnaissance regiment The Formation Reconnaissance Regiment is one of two organisations currently provided by cavalry regiments of the British Army . Until recently , it was known as the Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment . Formation reconnaissance regiments , as the name would indicate , are intended to provide Armoured Reconnaissance for a higher - level formation , usually a division or a heavy brigade . In a large - scale defensive operation , they would delay attacking forces , whilst screening heavier units as they moved to engage the enemy . The regiments are , currently , almost entirely equipped with vehicles of the CVR ( T ) family . Current use . Currently , five regular army regiments are equipped for the formation reconnaissance role : The Queen ' s Own Yeomanry is the sole Territorial unit equipped for this role . Organisation . A regiment is organised into three reconnaissance squadrons , each with three reconnaissance troops of four Scimitars and a guided weapons troop of four Strikers . The squadrons also have a support troop with four Spartan APCs , a Mechanical Engineer section with a Spartan and a Samson recovery vehicle and a Squadron Headquarters troop with two Land Rover 110 medium utility trucks , two Sultan command vehicles and a Samaritan ambulance . The main combat strength is thus 12 Strikers and 36 Scimitars . Reconnaissance Squadron . In addition to these three squadrons , a regiment also contains a Regimental Headquarters squadron , with six Sultans , a Spartan , a Samaritan and two medium utility trucks , and a Light Aid Detachment of the REME with a Sultan , a Samson , a Spartan and a Foden recovery vehicle . In wartime , a regiment would be increased to four reconnaissance squadrons by the activation of reserve personnel and Territorial Army Yeomanry units . One of the formation reconnaissance regiments , the Household Cavalry Regiment , has a permanent fourth squadron ; this is on detachment with 16 Air Assault Brigade . History . During the early 1980s , there were four " Type A " armoured reconnaissance regiments as part of the British Army of the Rhine ( BAOR ) , known as Divisional Reconnaissance Regiments and each with three Sabre Squadrons ; two Medium Reconnaissance Squadrons comprising four troops of 4 x Scorpions together with a Surveillance Troop of 5 x Spartan equipped with ZB298 radar , plus a Close Reconnaissance squadron of five troops of 8 x Scimitars ( one for each battlegroup in the division ) . There were a further four " Type B " regiments based in the United Kingdom , earmarked for the reinforcement of BAOR ; these had two medium reconnaissance squadrons , of Scimitars and Scorpions , and a close reconnaissance squadron equipped with Fox armoured cars . Finally , four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army were intended for home defence ; these had four reconnaissance squadrons of Foxes , with a small number of Ferret armoured car s . By 1986 , two regular regiments were permanently stationed in Germany , and titled as Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment ( Tracked ) ( BAOR ) ; these had four medium reconnaissance squadrons with Scimitars , each also having an integral guided - weapons troop of Strikers . Each of these would operate with one of BAORs armoured divisions . The third armoured division had its reconnaissance regiment based in England , equipped as a Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment ( Tracked ) ( UK ) ; this formation had three medium reconnaissance squadrons of Scimitars and Scorpions , and a fourth guided - weapons squadron of Strikers . A fourth regiment was also equipped to this standard , and based in the UK to support NATO mobile forces . There was a third organisation for regular forces , the Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment ( UK ) , which had two tracked reconnaissance squadrons of Scorpions and one wheeled reconnaissance squadron of Foxes . In the Territorial Army , there were two organisations , two Yeomanry Reconnaissance Regiment ( BAOR ) and three Yeomanry Reconnaissance Regiment ( UK ) . The former were equipped with three or four reconnaissance squadrons of Foxes , and intended for reinforcing units based in West Germany ; the latter had three or four reconnaissance squadrons of unarmoured civilian Land Rovers , and was intended solely for home defence . The 1993 Options for Change review cut the number of regular armoured reconnaissance regiments to two , with a third being created in 1995 by converting the Royal Armoured Corps training regiment . At this point , the regiments were quoted as a combat strength of 48 Scimitars and 12 Strikers ; this is comparable to the current regimental structure , but for a four - squadron regiment . A fourth was created in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review by converting a conventional armoured regiment to the reconnaissance role . The 1998 conversion , however , saw the regiments reduced to three squadrons rather than four , with a single Yeomanry regiment for peacetime reinforcement , with the effect that the total number of operational squadrons remained the same . The force was increased to five regiments by the 2003 Defence White Paper , again by re - roling an armoured regiment ; it is about this time that the designation Formation Reconnaissance Regiment appeared .