Main article: UK Foreign Policy
Participation in military organizations
2023:73% of the population supports NATO
Number of troops
2024: Thousands of US military remain stationed in the country
2021: Number of troops: 156 thousand people
Military budget
2024: 35-year defence spending cut by 51%
2023: Defence spending - 2.3% of GDP
Nuclear arsenal
2024
Britain fails Trident ballistic missile test again
On February 20, 2024, it became known that Britain conducted an unsuccessful test launch of the Trident II D5 ballistic missile from the HMS Vanguard nuclear submarine. This is the second disastrous start since 2016, when during testing the rocket deviated from the course and self-destructed. Read more here.
Deployment of US nuclear weapons for the first time in 15 years
In January 2024 , it was announced that the United States would deploy nuclear weapons in Britain. The warheads will be deployed at RAF Lakenheath for the first time in 15 years, Pentagon documents say .
The US had already used Lakenheath Air Base to store nuclear weapons from 1952 to 2008. In 2008, the US military removed B-61 bombs from British territory due to their obsolescence and, in part, as part of a disarmament program.
2023: Among the countries with the largest reserves of raw materials for nuclear weapons
For China, data on traces of the presence of highly enriched uranium and plutonium in the country
As of
March 2023
2021
Combat Command and Control System
2023: Criticism of Morpheus system developers
In August 2023, British House of Commons deputy Mark Francois announced that the projected combat control system (SBU) of the Morpheus tactical link could become another fiasco of the national military-industrial complex. The new development should ensure effective interaction between the species and genera of the armed forces, as well as timely collection of data on the situation during operations.
General Dynamics back in 2016 ,# contents signed a contract with the military to upgrade the outdated SBU Bowman for about 3.2 billion pounds. The process has not moved much since then, with the British army spending around £690m but only seeing a bundle of reports and presentations at Power Point.
Morpheus was due to enter service in 2025, but MPs and military analysts warn the system is unlikely to be operational until 2030. The blame for the failure was once again blamed on an ineffective system of public procurement.
Recently, the British decided to reform the process of interaction with enterprises of the military-industrial complex. The government plans to set the maximum delivery times for new weapons: five years for equipment and three years for software.
AIR FORCE
2024
Defense pact with Germany
On October 23, 2024, British Defense Minister John Healy and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius signed a defense pact. The document implies the following joint initiatives:
Starting next year, the aircraft of the basic patrol aviation of the German Navy will begin tracking Russian submarines off the coast of Scotland - back in 2023, Britain was concerned about the lack of forces and means to carry out these tasks.
German defense company Rheinmetall will open an artillery barrel factory in Britain, which, according to plans, will create more than 400 jobs.
The specialists of the two countries will work together to create new long-range cruise missiles, the tactical and technical characteristics of which should exceed the Storm Shadow of Anglo-French production.
Berlin London The and also plan to implement a joint project to monitor underwater threats in order to protect critical infrastructure at the bottom of the North Sea.
Britain has just four fighter jets ready for immediate deployment in case of military attack
At the end of June 2024, it became known that Britain has only four fighters ready for immediate deployment in the event of a military attack. In fact, this air fleet is not able to protect the country in a full-scale conflict.
Air Marshal Greg Bagwell, former commander of the Royal British Air Force, spoke about the problem in an interview with The Sun. Multipurpose fourth-generation Eurofighter Typhoon fighters ready to take to the air immediately as part of a rapid response procedure are at air bases in Lossiemouth (Scotland) and Coningsby (Lincolnshire, Britain), he said. Bagwell says that the country's air force can "comparatively quickly" prepare other combat aircraft in response to an enemy threat, however, "the resources necessary for this may soon run out."
 | The aircraft we have will not be able to defend against a serious attack. We can respond to a relatively limited strike, but aircraft and weapons stocks will end quite quickly during the protracted conflict, Bagwell notes. |  |
Two decades of relative peace in the post-Cold War era saw Britain, like most European members, stop NATO investing in the military. And this turned into an acute shortage of fighters in combat readiness, based throughout the country. According to the marshal, Britain needs to strengthen its armed forces, otherwise the enemy can take advantage of weakness and deliver a crushing blow.
Britain has about 130 Eurofighter Typhoon fighters as of mid-2024, according to a former Royal Air Force commander. However, already in 2025, their number may be reduced to 100. Moreover, of them "not everyone will be ready for flight."[1]
Pilot training in Italy and the United States due to a lack of own training aircraft
In March 2024, the media wrote that Britain spends millions of pounds on training pilots abroad, since the Royal Air Force lacks jet training aircraft.
To train officers in Italy and the United States, the British taxpayer will have to fork out 55 million pounds (approximately two million per pilot) over the next three years.
2023
Former British pilots trained China pilots for generous salary
In September 2023, the new British Secretary of Defense Grant Shapps said that former British army personnel training colleagues from competing countries would be brought to justice.
The warning comes after it emerged a number of former British military pilots have trained pilots in China's People's Liberation Army for a generous salary of around £240,000.
In October 2022, 30 retired British pilots went to train members of the Chinese army. After the release of this information, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said that the training and recruitment of pilots did not violate the current legislation, but the authorities would make attempts to contain such activities.
Such statements are made against the background of difficulties in organizing the process of combat training of British pilots. One of the most important factors influencing training is the lack of qualified instructors as pilots seek to leave for higher-paying jobs instead of training their mates.
Against this background, the gender scandal that occurred in the air force looks comical. In August, the department suspended the recruitment of white men in order to fulfill the goals of gender and ethnic diversity in the troops.
Problems with transport aircraft
Even the increase in military spending in 2023 has not yet eliminated the problems that have accumulated in the British armed forces over the years.
Back in 2021, the British defense department, under pressure from the Ministry of Finance, decided to decommission all 14 C-130 Hercules transport aircraft from Lockheed Martin by 2023. In exchange, it planned to bet on Airbus' more modern A400M Atlas .
According to media reports, only 7 of the 21 A400Ms in the Air Force are in service. Of the remaining, 6 are on scheduled maintenance, 3 aircraft have serious technical malfunctions, and 5 are undergoing modernization in Spain.
Unlike the A400M, older C-130s can use shorter runways, which is a very important factor in many operations.
Hotel nuance concerns reliability: during the recent evacuation of the embassy Sudan Britain in attracted four A400M, three of which had malfunctions. At the same time, none of the three S-130 involved had any problems.
Against this background, the British armed forces suddenly realized that the withdrawal of all C-130s would significantly reduce the ability of the Air Force to provide air transportation.
Military personnel hope that the Department of Defense will reconsider the decision to decommission the C-130.
British servicemen learn to operate UAV MQ-9B Protector in the United States
In May 2023, British Air Force personnel began a 12-week training course for the Protector MQ-9B on May 10. The training is organized on the basis of the American Flight Test Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. While the command of the British Air Force creates the necessary training and material base on its territory, personnel training will take place in the United States.
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron announced in October 2015 the start of the Protector program, under which it was planned to replace 10 Reaper MQ-9A unmanned aerial vehicles with 26 modernized BpLAs MQ-9B Protector by 2024.
To implement these measures, the British Ministry of Defense in 2021 signed a contract with the American company General Dynamics for the construction of the first three Protector UAVs with the ability to increase the order to 16 units. The first sample successfully passed flight tests in 2022.
The most important differences in MQ-9B from its predecessor are a significant increase in flight duration from 27 to 48 hours and payload mass by almost half. It is stated that the UAV will be armed with Brimstone air-to-surface missiles and Paveway IV precision bombs.
2022: Sixth Generation Fighter Plan
As of the end of 2022, it is planned to sign an agreement with Japan and Italy on the development of a sixth-generation Tempest fighter, which will be armed with hypersonic missiles.
2019:88 fighter planes
1990
Navy
2024
Permanent repair of aircraft carriers does not allow them to be used
In January 2024, it was announced that the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier would again be repaired due to a certain "mechanical malfunction" identified a few hours before going to sea to participate in the Steadfast Defender 2024 exercise.
According to British media, the problem on the aircraft carrier will not allow it to be used in the near future. Emergency training is underway for the second ship of this class - the Prince of Wales, which has been under repair for almost nine months.
Every second or third entry into the sea of British aircraft carriers ends ahead of schedule, and now - without even starting.
In February 2024, the British thought about preserving or selling the aircraft carrier "Prince of Wales" at a reduced price to a friendly country. This issue is being discussed against the background of news that the spring draft budget does not provide for any significant increase in defense spending.
The main reason is that the ship was under repair for 9 months, after which it was never able to go to sea.
If we want to solve budgetary problems, we can get rid of the aircraft carrier or transfer it, say, to an ally from AUKUS, - quotes the source as The Daily Mail.
Shortage of personnel for manning ships
In January 2024, The Telegraph reported that the British Navy had to decommission two warships HMS Westminster and HMS Argyll due to a lack of personnel to man the new frigates of the Type 26 project. Both vessels have recently returned from major repairs.
The reason for the implementation of these measures is the personnel shortage. Recruitment in the Navy and Royal Marines was down 22.1 per cent on the previous year, with the Air Force down almost 17 per cent and the Ground Force down 15 per cent.
At the same time, a member of the British Royal Navy was fired for keeping a page on the OnlyFans service. The publication of candid photographs from the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales brought him about £20,000 a month (the salary in the navy was £1,500).
2023: Training Ukrainian divers
In July 2023, it became known that divers and mine specialists of the British naval forces began training Ukrainian servicemen to neutralize Russian explosive devices. The combat training process is organized in Scotland and allegedly aimed at "ensuring the safety of Ukrainian citizens and commercial shipping after the end of the conflict."
The event is hosted by sailors from Delta Diving Unit 1 in conjunction with instructors from other countries, NATO including,,, and USA France. Belgium Georgia The training modules cover a wide range of operations, from clearing deep-sea shipping lanes to securing shallow waters and beaches for amphibious raids. Special attention is paid to neutralizing threats in ports, berths and other infrastructure facilities.
To train Ukrainian servicemen, unmanned underwater vehicles equipped with special sensors are used, which allow operators to more accurately identify the threat. After the discovery of a dangerous object, divers begin to neutralize it.
These measures are not the first attempt to train Ukrainian divers. In August 2022, representatives of the British Navy and servicemen of the 6th US Fleet also trained Ukrainians in the operation of underwater unmanned aerial vehicles. After completing the training course, the British promised to transfer six units of these military equipment. Then the former commander of the British Navy, Alan West, assured that this would significantly change the situation in the Odessa region, allow the removal of food from Ukraine and prevent world famine. It's been almost a full year since, but no change has happened.
2022: Intensification of fleet modernization after the outbreak of conflict in Ukraine
In the second half of 2022, Britain intensified the process of modernizing the country's armed forces. It was influenced by both the general need for rearmament and hostilities in Ukraine with a partial exhaustion of reserves caused by large supplies of military products to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On November 15, 2022, the Ministry of Defense agreed with BAE Systems to expand the agreement on the construction of three frigates of the Type 26 project ordered by the military department earlier. Now by 2030, eight new ships will appear in the ranks of the royal naval forces.
1982: Falklands War
The Falklands War began on 2 April 1982 with Argentina's invasion and capture of the Falkland Islands (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands the following day) in an attempt to establish the sovereignty it claimed.
On April 5, the British government sent a naval operational unit to attack the Argentine Navy and Air Force before landing on the islands.
The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with the defeat of Argentina on June 14, 1982 and the return of control of the islands of Great Britain.
A total of 649 Argentine and 255 British troops were killed during the fighting, as well as three Falkland Islanders.
1900
1805: Death of the Spanish-French fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar with Britain
The result of the war with Britain was the death of the Spanish-French fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805 and the actual submission of Spain to Napoleon.
1791: England arm large maritime forces to attack Russia in the Baltic
In the spring of 1791, relations between Russia and England once again deteriorated greatly. The reason for this was the successes of the Russian troops in the second Turkish war. The English wished the Swedish king to attack Russia again, but after recent crushing defeats, he did not violate the Verel peace. Then England armed a large naval force to send to the Baltic Sea. 36 battleships, 12 frigates and the same number of small ships were equipped [2]
William Pitt the Younger, the youngest prime minister in British history, was preparing to speak in Parliament explaining the need for such a move. Among the speakers who spoke ardently against another aggression was Charles James Fox (1749-1806), a famous politician, a friend of the Prince of Wales (later King George IV). As a result, it was decided to send envoys to Russia to put forward the terms of the agreement.
After Fox delivered a fiery speech in the English parliament objecting to plans to attack Russia, Empress Catherine II was delighted by the speaker.
The Chancellor of the Russian Empire, Count Bezborodko, acquired a marble bust of Fox by personal order of the Empress, and for the Cameron Gallery in Tsarskoye Selo, the bust was cast in bronze.
This episode had a response in England in the form of a rather evil caricature called "The Rise of the Patriot," in which Empress Catherine II hoists a bust of Fox, and the philosophers Cicero and Demosthenes run away from the pedestals from their niches in horror. For more details see Tsarskoye Selo.
Ground forces
2024: DragonFire Laser Weapon Combat Test
In January 2024, the British Ministry of Defense announced combat tests of DragonFire laser weapons that took place in the Hebrides in Scotland. The system successfully hit several aerial targets in the line-of-sight area, according to the statement.
2023: Suspension of participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe
In November 2023, the British authorities decided to suspend participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe ( CFE) in response to Russian actions . In London, they threaten, together with their allies, to develop and implement a number of stabilizing measures.
The agreement was signed by representatives of NATO countries and the Warsaw Pact Organization in 1990. The document is a system of quantitative restrictions on five categories of military equipment: tanks, armored fighting vehicles, artillery systems of 100 mm caliber and above, combat aircraft, attack helicopters.
The amount of military equipment that the British had at the time of signing the treaty and which they have in 2023 is incomparable. Thus, the document allows you to keep 1015 battle tanks at the disposal, while, according to official data, [1] 224 Challenger-2 are now in stock, of which 14 are in Ukraine.
The other categories have a similar picture. Against this background, it is comical to observe such statements from the Foreign Office, the Rybar channel wrote. The CFE did not prevent the British from building up the combat capabilities of the armed forces.
2022: Contract with Saab to manufacture several thousand NLAW anti-tank missile systems
On December 8, 2022, a contract was signed with the Swedish company Saab for the production of several thousand NLAW anti-tank missile systems in 2024-2026, in addition to 500 already contracted for delivery in 2023. They were ordered to compensate for the shortage caused by the transfer of large batches of these ATGMs to Ukraine. The deal amounted to about 229 million pounds.
1935
Military bases and foreign operations
2024
Deliveries of missiles, including long-range missiles to Ukraine for 500 million pounds
Britain will send more Storm Shadow long-range missiles to Ukraine as part of the country's largest military aid package, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in April 2024.
As well as Storm Shadow, which are precision-guided cruise missiles with a range of more than 250 kilometres, Britain will also send more than 1,600 strike and anti-aircraft missiles. The amount of the new package is 500 million pounds sterling ($620 million).
Challenger 2 tanks performed poorly in Ukraine
British Challenger 2 tanks delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine have repeatedly become a reason for criticism from observers. In March 2024, Forbes once again "drove" through these machines based on the experience of their operation in Ukraine.
The authors pointed to the long-known shortcomings of the Challengers - an insufficiently powerful engine, due to which they got stuck in the mud and did not give in to towing, as well as a unique rifled gun, which hampered logistics in the conditions of an already large zoo of technology.
As a result, journalists conclude: Challenger 2 is not suitable for fighting in Ukraine. Be that as it may, after losing one car in the summer of 2023, they really no longer glowed on the battlefield and periodically flicker only at the rear training grounds, Rybar wrote.
Forbes also notes that Britain sent Ukraine only 14 of its tanks with the possible goal of encouraging other NATO countries to transfer their own advanced armored vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Delivery of 10 thousand drones to Ukraine for $159 million
Britain will supply Ukraine with another 10,000 drones as part of a new $159 million military aid package. This was announced on March 7, 2024 by British Defense Minister Grant Shapps during a visit to Kyiv.
Most of that will be spent on FPV drones, but several strike, reconnaissance and maritime drones will also be delivered.
Earlier in January, representatives of the British Defense Ministry reported on the supply of a batch of drones with a total value of $255 million.
In total, Britain's costs for the supply of drones for Ukraine by this time amount to $414 million.
2023
British special forces operate near the front line in Ukraine, helping to attack Russia
Officers from the elite SAS and SRR regiments, as well as Navy SBS units, operate near the front line and serve as key intermediaries between NATO and APU intelligence services, the WSJ wrote in May 2023.
The British do not fight, but their leadership role in the activities of the Ukrainian special forces is manifested in the sabotage operations of Ukraine against Russian railways, airfields, fuel depots.
Britain's military in 40 countries in Africa
Apart from various PMCs controlled by British companies, military personnel of the United Kingdom for May 2023 are located in 40 states. Africa The Government of the United Kingdom justifies its presence by training African personnel, peacekeeping missions (Libya in and), South Sudan as well as the fight against terrorism, which has become especially relevant after the massive spread of IS activities since 2011 and throughout the Al-Qaeda continent.
Special attention in Britain is paid to increasing the mobility of the armed forces. As it became known in December 2022, for these purposes, London plans to create or expand regional hubs in Kenya, Oman and Germany, which will allow concentrating stocks of logistics. The latter was recently used during the largest exercise of the British ground forces in Europe Cerberus-22.
2022: Participation in the conflict in Ukraine
On the pages of the British The Times in December 2022, for the first time, the fact of the participation of the royal marines in hostilities in Ukraine was publicly recognized. Lieutenant General Robert Magovan said that the Marines supported some "secret operations" in "extremely delicate conditions," since all this was associated with "a high level of military-political risk."
Prior to that, Britain recognized only the fact of attracting specialists from the Special Airborne Service (SAS) in operations in Ukraine.
Thus, 350 marines from the 45th Commando battalion (3rd Commando brigade) were seconded to Ukraine to protect diplomats back in early 2022. They were transferred from Norway, where the 45th battalion took part in the exercises, to Poland, and from there sent to Ukraine.
After the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kyiv in April, the marines moved from Lviv to the Ukrainian capital.
Lieutenant General Magovan admits that in addition to guarding diplomatic institutions, the Marines were engaged in other tasks, participating in "secret operations."
In April, the Times pages admitted that the servicemen of the Special Airborne Service returned to Kyiv to train Ukrainian ATGM calculations.
In May, they wrote about British military advisers surrounded by Alexander the Old Woman, the governor of the territories of Zaporozhye under the control of Ukraine.
In addition, they mentioned the preparation of Ukrainian DRGs in the Kharkiv region under the guidance of British specialists for sabotage in Russia.
2003: Attack on Iraq and hanging of President Saddam Hussein
On March 20, 2003, US troops, with the support of Britain and several other countries, attacked Iraq. On April 9, Baghdad fell, and President Saddam Hussein was overthrown. The Iraqi president was subsequently executed by hanging.
The pretext for the invasion was the statements of the Americans about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which were subsequently never found.
The country plunged into chaos and a series of feuds for a long time, turning into a bleeding ulcer on the body of the Middle East. After 10 years in 2013, it was from Iraq that the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant began.
1967: Operations in Yemen
1986: Bombing of Libya by the US and British military
On April 15, 1986, the US Armed Forces conducted the Eldorado Canyon air operation, the purpose of which was to launch a massive air strike on Libyan territory.
24 F-111F bombers, as well as electronic warfare aircraft and tankers, flew from Britain in full radio silence.
A few minutes before the bombing, US Navy fighters attacked Libyan air defense facilities, destroying most of them, while the rest chose not to take any action against enemy aircraft.
The operation itself lasted about 20 minutes, after which the bombers went towards the sea.
The US officially stated that the physical liquidation of Muammar Gaddafi was not the goal of the operation, and the task was to destroy military facilities, but many questioned this statement, since the colonel's residence in Tripoli was also hit.
1939: Participation in World War II
Main article: World War II
1914: World War I involvement
Main article: World War I
1899: Outbreak of the Boer War
1897
1855: Participation in the attack on Russia. Crimean War
1704: British and Dutch forces seize Gibraltar
Gibraltar is an overseas possession of Britain, which borders Spain to the north and has access to the Mediterranean Sea. British and Dutch forces captured the peninsula in 1704. London's legal right to own the territory is enshrined in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht (the treaty that ended the War of the Spanish Succession). At the same time, for 2022, Spain does not recognize the sovereignty of Britain over the peninsula.
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