The Ministry of Defence has released its annual UK Armed Forces Equipment and Formations report, providing an overview of the military’s current assets across land, maritime, and air domains as of 1 April 2024.
The report details the composition of the UK’s military hardware and formations, as well as trends in force structure and equipment modernisation.
Maritime Forces
As of April 2024, the UK’s maritime forces consisted of:
- 10 submarines, including six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) and four ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).
- 70 vessels in total, with 57 ships in the Royal Navy Surface Fleet and 13 vessels in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
The report also highlights a continued shift in naval capability, with investments in future platforms such as the Type 26 and Type 31 frigates, alongside the Royal Navy’s increasing emphasis on autonomous systems.
Land Forces
The British Army maintains a substantial fleet of combat vehicles:
- 3,316 armoured vehicles, including 843 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), 1,513 Protected Mobility Vehicles, and 960 Armoured Fighting Vehicles.
- 32 Regular Army infantry battalions and 16 Army Reserve battalions.
The increase in combat equipment numbers is attributed to the introduction of new platforms such as the Ajax armoured reconnaissance vehicle and additional Jackal patrol vehicles.
Air Forces
The Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm collectively operate a diverse fleet of aircraft:
- 556 fixed-wing aircraft, including 137 Typhoons, the most numerous fast jet in service. The retirement of the Hercules C-130J transport aircraft was noted as a major change.
- 268 rotary-wing aircraft, with 54 Chinooks remaining the most common type. The introduction of Apache AH-64Es continues, while older Gazelle helicopters have been retired.
- 183 Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), supporting intelligence and surveillance operations.
The RAF’s fleet modernisation is evident with the transition towards next-generation platforms, including the F-35B Lightning II and investments in unmanned systems.
The report also references militarily useful British-registered vessels, which could be requisitioned if needed. The total number of such vessels decreased from 495 in 2022 to 475 in 2023, with declines in product and chemical tankers.
These figures highlight the UK’s ongoing defence transformation, with sustained investment in modernisation programmes such as the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) and further integration of autonomous and digital warfare capabilities.
The full report, including data methodology and breakdowns of equipment formations, is available on the UK Government website.
I don’t think the AH64s included in the RAF/RN stats will go down well with the AAC😀
True. No staff check done on this, clearly.
I’m also seeing a lot of UAS in the RAF. That includes 45 Watchkeepers, which I had thought to be Army. Almost all the rest are hand-thrown Pumas (including those of other services) and 39 Wasps. Are these Wasps the same type that were developed for Ukraine? I thought they were maritime.
Watchkeeper was army. 47 RA.
with 57 ships in the Royal Navy Surface Fleet The report says vessels not ships, because a lot of those, like the 18 vessels of the Archer and Cutlass classes, are better described as boats. I’m not sure if the two “survey ships” are Scott and Magpie, but I wouldn’t call Magpie a ship either (sorry to the crew, but it’s a deffo a boat). The report numbers are from April last year. Next month we cancel six more ships: two LPDs, two tankers and two frigates. By April this year the Royal Navy will be down to 32 ships… Read more »
Victory is to be up-armed and towed into the Thames Estuary. Three sailors with surplus Stingers will provide air defence for London and the Home Counties.
What is the status of the JTLV procurement? cancelled or still on hold?
Well in 2008 the UK had over 500 helicopters & that was said to be too few.
There was about that (without the RN obviously) based in Germany when I was in!
Vessels don’t make me laugh. They deliberately left out the word warship to make it sound better
Interesting the 32 Battalion count. I keep counting 31.
Gib Reg.
Ya. makes sense.
I believe your figure mate.
BTW the army website says that the term for the Boxer battalions is to be ‘Heavy Mechanised Battalions’.
Makes sense. It is a heavy vehicle. The Foxhound Bns were light Mechanized at one point.
Yes, MoDs figures are often confusing. Adding Gibraltar Regiment is a tidy way of boosting the total.
So they are formally getting rid of the the AI battalions, such a big mistake.
Whoever in MoD put this report together does not know what an AFV is, or at least does not know that an APC is an AFV. An AFV is a wheeled or tracked armoured vehicle (the design used to have a 3 or 4 digit FV number, not sure if that is the case still). An AFV can have any role (they are not just the fighty wagons), thus a CRARRV is an AFV, as is a CR2, as is a Warrior, as is a Trojan AVRE. All APCs are AFVs thus you cannot say that the BA has x… Read more »
Not that big, but how small are the British armed forces.
Plot twist. After all the media hype, most of europe just tell the leaders to fight their own war. 😮 Result. War is over in minutes, life carries on, no one gets hurt, no recovery is needed, the corrupt politicians of Europe get traded for other corrupt politicians, Just like in any and every election. But wait… theres more! All the infrastructure both physical and economic is untouched and intact. Business as usual. REMEMBER FOLKS All wars end when politicans are forced to fight it themselves. I kind of wonder if we just let the enemy have the ones who… Read more »
Okay. I suggest you start by telling Putin to go fight his war himself then. After all he started it.
Little detail you forgot I’m guessing.