President Trump's Military Parade Delayed Until At Least 2019

President Trump looks on as CH-47 Chinook helicopters carry in artillery during a demonstration at Fort Drum, New York (Image: US Dept of Defense).

The Veterans Day military parade ordered by US President Donald Trump will not happen in 2018, the US Department of Defense has said.

Colonel Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, said the military and the White House "have now agreed to explore opportunities in 2019".

Mr Trump said on Twitter he cancelled a celebratory military parade in Washington DC due to cost:

"When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I cancelled it.

"I will instead attend the big parade already scheduled at Andrews Air Force Base on a different date, & go to the Paris parade, celebrating the end of the War, on November 11th.

"Maybe we will do something next year in D.C. when the cost comes WAY DOWN.

Now we can buy some more jet fighters!"

Mr Trump decided he wanted a military parade in Washington after he attended France's Bastille Day celebration in the centre of Paris last year.

Several months after watching the French military showcase, Mr Trump praised the parade, saying, "We're going to have to try and top it."

Last month during a visit to the UK, the US President and Prime Minister Theresa May watched a counter-terrorism exercise involving UK and US Special Forces at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

The US parade's cost has become a politically charged issue, particularly after the Pentagon cancelled a major military exercise planned for August with South Korea, in the wake of Mr Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Mr Trump said the drills were provocative and that dumping them would save the US "a tremendous amount of money".

The Pentagon later said the Korea drills would have cost $14m (£11m).

Video: US President Donald Trump decided he wanted a military parade after watching France's Bastille Day celebration last year.

The announcement that the parade will not happen in 2018 came several hours after reports that the parade would cost about $92 million (£72m), according to US officials citing preliminary estimates more than three times the price first suggested by the White House.

According to the officials, roughly $50m (£39.3m) would cover Pentagon costs for aircraft, equipment, personnel and other support for the November parade in Washington.

The rest would be funded by other agencies and largely involve security costs. The estimate was first reported by CNBC.

US Defense Secretary, James Mattis, said late on Thursday that he had seen no such estimate.

The Pentagon chief told reporters that whoever leaked the number to the press was "probably smoking something that is legal in my state but not in most" - a reference to his home state of Washington, where marijuana use is legal.

He added: "I'm not dignifying that number ($92 million) with a reply.

"I would discount that, and anybody who said [that number], I'll almost guarantee you one thing: They probably said, 'I need to stay anonymous'. No kidding, because you look like an idiot.

"And number two, whoever wrote it needs to get better sources. I'll just leave it at that."

Lt Col Jamie Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said earlier on Thursday that Defence Department planning for the parade "continues and final details are still being developed. Any cost estimates are pre-decisional".

Earlier this year, the White House budget director told Congress that the cost to taxpayers could be $10m to $30m (£7m-£23m).

Estimates that were likely based on the cost of previous military parades, such as the one in the nation's capital in 1991 celebrating the end of the first Gulf War.

One veterans group weighed in on Thursday against the parade.

National Commander Denise Rohan said: "The American Legion appreciates that our President wants to show in a dramatic fashion our nation's support for our troops.

"However, until such time as we can celebrate victory in the War on Terrorism and bring our military home, we think the parade money would be better spent fully funding the Department of Veteran Affairs and giving our troops and their families the best care possible."

The parade was expected to include troops from all five armed services - the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard - as well as units in period uniforms representing the nation's history. It also was expected to involve a number of military aircraft flyovers.

A Pentagon planning memo released in March said the parade would feature a "heavy air component".

It also said there would be "wheeled vehicles only, no tanks - consideration must be given to minimise damage to local infrastructure".