Military

The Type 45 destroyer, the Challenger 2 and the Eurofighter

Main article: British Armed Forces

The armed forces of the United Kingdom – also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces or the Armed Forces of the Crown. ^[187] – consist of three professional service branches: the Naval Service (including the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary), the British Army and the Royal Air Force.^[188] The forces are managed by the Ministry of Defence and controlled by the Defence Council, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The Commander-in-Chief is the British monarch,^[189] Elizabeth II, to whom members of the forces swear an oath of allegiance.

According to various sources, including the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and the Ministry of Defence, the United Kingdom has the fourth-highest military expenditure in the world. Total defence spending currently accounts for around 2.3 – 2.6% of total national GDP.^[190]

The Armed Forces are charged with protecting the UK and its overseas territories, promoting the UK's global security interests and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in NATO, including the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, as well as the Five Power Defence Arrangements, RIMPAC and other worldwide coalition operations. Overseas garrisons and facilities are maintained in Ascension Island, Belize, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Diego Garcia, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kenya and Qatar.^[191]

The Royal Navy is a prominent blue-water navy, currently one of only three world wide, with the French Navy and the United States Navy being the other two.^[192] As well as being responsible for delivering the UK's nuclear deterrent via the UK Trident programme and four Vanguard class submarines, the Royal Navy operates a large operational fleet of ships, including an aircraft carrier, a helicopter carrier, landing platform docks, nuclear fleet submarines, guided missile destroyers, frigates, mine-countermeasure vessels and patrol vessels. In the near future two new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will enter service in the Royal Navy. The United Kingdom Special Forces, such as the Special Air Service and Special Boat Service, provide troops trained for quick, mobile, military responses in counter-terrorism, land, maritime and amphibious operations, often where secrecy or covert tactics are required.

Historically, the British armed forces played a key role in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power in the 19th century. British forces have seen action in a number of major wars, such as the Seven Years' War, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, World War I and World War II—as well as many colonial conflicts. Through its military strength, Britain has often been able to decisively influence world events. Since the end of the British Empire, the UK has nonetheless remained a major military power. The British military is among the largest and most technologically sophisticated in the world. Recent defence policy has a stated assumption that "the most demanding operations" will be undertaken as part of a coalition.^[193] Setting aside the intervention in Sierra Leone, recent UK military operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and, most recently, Libya, have followed this approach. The last time the British military fought alone was the Falklands War of 1982.