United Kingdom FactbookDraft
November 2026 Edition
United Kingdom Factbook · National chapter / GBR
Military and Security
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2021 Factbook flag mirror; image identity has not been individually audited. Source.
Last updated: November 5, 2026
Sections in Military and Security
Military and Security
Military and security forces:160
United Kingdom Armed Forces (aka British Armed Forces, aka His Majesty's Armed Forces): British Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force (2025)¶
Military expenditures:161
Military and security service personnel strengths:162
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions:163
the inventory of the British military is comprised mostly of domestically produced weapons and equipment, with a smaller mix of some imported Western weapons systems, particularly from the US; the UK defense industry is capable of producing a wide variety of air, land, and sea weapons systems and is one of the world's top weapons suppliers; it also cooperates with other European countries and the US in the research and development of weapons systems (2025)¶
Military service age and obligation:164
some variations by service, but generally 16-36 years of age for enlisted (with parental consent under 18) and 18-29 for officers; minimum length of service 4 years; women serve in all military services including combat roles; conscription abolished in 1963 (2024)¶
note 1:women made up 11.7% of the military's full-time personnel in 2024¶
note 2:the British military allows Commonwealth nationals who are current UK residents and have been in the country for at least 5 years to apply; it also accepts Irish citizens¶
note 3:the British Army has continued the historic practice of recruiting Gurkhas from Nepal to serve in the Brigade of Gurkhas; the British began to recruit Nepalese citizens (Gurkhas) into the East India Company Army during the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816); the Gurkhas subsequently were brought into the British Indian Army and by 1914, there were 10 Gurkha regiments, collectively known as the Gurkha Brigade; following the partition of India in 1947, an agreement between Nepal, India, and Great Britain allowed for the transfer of the 10 regiments from the British Indian Army to the separate British and Indian armies; four of the regiments were transferred to the British Army, where they have since served continuously as the Brigade of Gurkhas¶
Military deployments:165
the British military has more than 8,000 personnel on permanent or long-term rotational deployments around the globe in support of NATO, UN, or other commitments and agreements; key deployments include approximately 1,000 in Brunei, approximately 2,500 in Cyprus (includes 250 for UNFICYP), approximately 900-1,000 in Estonia (NATO), over 1,000 in the Falkland Islands, 500-600 in Gibraltar, and more than 1,000 in the Middle East; its air and naval forces conduct missions on a global basis; the British military also participates in large scale NATO exercises, including providing some 16,000 personnel for the 6-month 2024 Steadfast Defender exercise (2024)¶
Military - note:166
the British military has a long history, a global presence, and a wide range of missions and responsibilities, including protecting the UK, its dependencies and territories, national interests, and values, preventing conflict, providing humanitarian assistance, participating in international peacekeeping, building relationships, and fulfilling the UK’s alliance and treaty commitments; in addition to its role in the UN, the UK is a leading member of NATO¶
the UK is a member of the Five Power Defense Arrangements (FPDA), a series of mutual assistance agreements reached in 1971 embracing Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK; in 2014, the UK led the formation of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), a pool of high-readiness military forces from the Baltic and Scandinavian countries intended to respond to a wide range of contingencies both in peacetime and in times of crisis or conflict; the UK military also has strong bilateral ties with a variety of foreign militaries, particularly the US, with which it has a mutual defense treaty; British and US military forces have routinely operated side-by-side across a wide range of operations; other close military relationships include Australia, France, Germany, and the Netherlands; in 2010, for example, France and the UK signed a declaration on defense and security cooperation that included greater military interoperability and a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), a deployable, combined Anglo-French military force for use in a range of crisis scenarios (2025)¶
Notes & sources
- Military and security forces. Reference edition; observation: 2025. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Military expenditures. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Military and security service personnel strengths. Reference edition; observation: 2025. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Military equipment inventories and acquisitions. Reference edition; observation: 2025. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Military service age and obligation. Reference edition; observation: 2024. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Military deployments. Reference edition; observation: 2024. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Military - note. Reference edition; observation: 2025. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩