British Armed Forces

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	HM Naval Service  Royal Navy  Royal Marines  British Army  Royal Air Force
Headquarters	Ministry of Defence, London
Leadership
Head of the Armed Forces	King Charles III
Prime Minister	Sir Keir Starmer
Secretary of State for Defence	John Healey
Chief of the Defence Staff	Admiral Sir Tony Radakin
Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff	General Dame Sharon Nesmith
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	136,525 regular forces personnel (July 2024)[2] 4,244 Gurkhas (July 2024)[2]
Reserve personnel	32,145 volunteer reserve personnel (July 2024)[2]
Expenditure
Budget	£57.1 billion (2024/25)[3] (US$73.9 billion)
Percent of GDP	2.33% (2024)[4]
Industry
Domestic suppliers	Babcock International BAE Systems MBDA Qinetiq Rolls-Royce Holdings Serco
Foreign suppliers	United States  Israel  South Korea  Germany  France  Netherlands  Sweden  Spain  Finland  Brazil  Canada  Norway
Annual imports	$568.1 million (2014–2022)[5]
Annual exports	$1.074 billion (2014–2022)[5]
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	Officer ranks Navy Army Air Force Other ranks Navy Army Air Force

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.^[6]

Since the formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 (later succeeded by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and finally by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland),^[7] 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.^[8] The British Armed Forces consist of: the Royal Navy, a blue-water navy with a fleet of 66 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,^[9][10] 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.^[11][12] 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.^[13]

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