Global InformationBritish Armed Forces information
| British Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the Ministry of Defence | |
 Flag of the Ministry of Defence | |
| Founded | 1546 (Royal Navy) 1660 (British Army) 1918 (Royal Air Force) |
| Service branches |
|
| Headquarters | Ministry of Defence, London |
| Leadership | |
| Head of the Armed Forces |  King Charles III |
| Prime Minister |  Rishi Sunak |
| Secretary of State for Defence |  Grant Shapps |
| Chief of the Defence Staff |  Admiral Sir Tony Radakin
|
| Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff | General Gwyn Jenkins |
| Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chiefs of Staff Committee | Warrant Officer Class 1 Richard Angove |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 16–17 (with parental consent) 18 (without and to serve in combat) |
| Conscription | No[a][1] |
| Active personnel |
|
| Reserve personnel | 32,580 volunteer reserve personnel (January 2024)[2] |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | £48.4 billion (2023) (ranked 6th) |
| Percent of GDP | 1.9% (2021/22)[3] |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers |
|
| Foreign suppliers |  United States Israel South Korea Germany France Netherlands Sweden Spain Finland Brazil Canada Norway |
| Annual imports | $568.1 million (2014-2022)[4] |
| Annual exports | $1.074 billion (2014-2022)[4] |
| Related articles | |
| History | Military history of the United Kingdom Warfare directory of the United Kingdom Conflicts involving the United Kingdom Battles involving the United Kingdom |
| Ranks |
|
The British Armed Forces are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.[5]
Since the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 (later succeeded by the United Kingdom),[6] the British Armed Forces have seen action in most major wars involving the world's great powers, including the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, the First World War and the Second World War. Britain's victories in most of these wars allowed it to influence world events and establish itself as one of the world's leading military and economic powers.[7] The British Armed Forces consist of: the Royal Navy, a blue-water navy with a fleet of 70 commissioned ships, together with the Royal Marines, a highly specialised amphibious light infantry force; the British Army, the UK's principal land warfare branch; and the Royal Air Force, a technologically sophisticated air force with a diverse operational fleet consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. The British Armed Forces include standing forces, Regular Reserve, Volunteer Reserves and Sponsored Reserves.
King Charles III, sovereign of the United Kingdom, is the Head of the Armed Forces,[8][9] with officers and personnel swearing allegiance to him. Long-standing constitutional convention, however, has vested de facto executive authority, by the exercise of royal prerogative, in the Prime Minister and the secretary of state for defence. The Prime Minister (acting with the Cabinet) makes the key decisions on the use of the armed forces.[10][11] The UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the British Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, as required by the Bill of Rights 1689. Only a "standing army" requires reapproval by Parliament; the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the Royal Marines and any other forces are not included in the requirement. The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council.
The United Kingdom is one of five recognised nuclear powers, a permanent member on the United Nations Security Council, a founding and leading member of NATO and party to the AUKUS security pact and the Five Power Defence Arrangements. Overseas garrisons and training facilities are maintained at Ascension Island, Bahrain, Belize, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kenya, Montserrat, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore and the United States.[12]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "National Service". UK Parliament. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "Quarterly service personnel statistics 1 January 2024". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "UK defence expenditure" (PDF). UK Parliament. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ a b "TIV of arms imports/exports data for United Kingdom, 2010-2021". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 7 February 2022.
- ^ The Mission of the Armed Forces Archived 2 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine, armedforces.co.uk
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Union1707was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Johnstonwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Forces Queen and Armed Forces Archived 22 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine, royal.uk.
- ^ [1], May 2023. Retrieved on 24 November 2023.
- ^ Governance of Britain, July 2007. Retrieved on 12 May 2013.
- ^ Review of the Royal Prerogative Powers: Final Report, Ministry of Justice, October 2009. Retrieved on 12 May 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
europarlwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).