British Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force (2021)
note: in 2021 the UK formed a Space Command as a joint command staffed by Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel, as well as civilians and key members of the commercial sector to manage space operations, training, and capabilities; in 2019, the UK formed the Strategic Command (formerly Joint Forces Command) to develop and manage the British military's medical services, training and education, intelligence, and information systems across the land, sea, air, space, and cyber domains; it also manages joint overseas operations
Irish Defense Forces (Oglaigh na h-Eireannn): Army, Air Corps, Naval Service, Reserve Defense Forces (2021)
Military service age and obligation
slight 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 military services including ground combat roles; conscription abolished in 1963 (2021)
18-25 years of age for male and female voluntary military service recruits to the Defence Forces (18-27 years of age for the Naval Service); 18-26 for cadetship (officer) applicants; 12-year service (5 active, 7 reserves); Irish citizen, European Economic Area citizenship, or refugee status (2020)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
2.32% of GDP (2020 est.)
2.1% of GDP (2019)
2.11% of GDP (2018)
2.09% of GDP (2017)
2.08% of GDP (2016)
0.27% of GDP (2020)
0.29% of GDP (2019)
0.29% of GDP (2018)
0.31% of GDP (2017)
0.33% of GDP (2016)
Military and security service personnel strengths
the British military has approximately 150,000 total active duty troops (82,000 Army; 34,000 Navy, including 7,000 marines; 33,000 Air Force) (2021)
the Irish Defence Forces have approximately 8,700 active duty personnel (7,000 Army; 1,000 Navy; 700 Air Force) (2020)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the inventory of the British military is comprised of a mix of domestically-produced and imported Western weapons systems; the US is the leading supplier of armaments to the UK since 2010; 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 (2020)
the Irish Defense Forces have a small inventory of imported weapons systems from a variety of mostly European countries; the UK is the leading supplier of military hardware to Ireland since 2010 (2020)
Military deployments
approximately 1,000 Brunei; approximately 400 Canada (BATUS); approximately 2,200 Cyprus; 250 Cyprus (UNFICYP); 850 Estonia (NATO); approx. 1,200 Falkland Islands; est. 200 Germany (note - previously about 2,500, but the UK withdrew all but 200 troops by the end of 2020); 570 Gibraltar; approx. 1,400 Middle East (coalition against ISIS; NATO); up to 350 Kenya (BATUK); approx. 400 Mali (EUTM, MINUSMA, and Operation Barkhane); 150 Poland (NATO) (2021)
