A new artillery regiment, the King’s Gurkha Artillery (KGA), has been formally announced by the Ministry of Defence, marking the first time Gurkha soldiers will serve in artillery roles within the British Army.
The move will see 400 Gurkha personnel join the Royal Regiment of Artillery over the next four years, significantly expanding the capabilities of the Brigade of Gurkhas and strengthening the UK’s military readiness.
The KGA, a new unit within the Brigade of Gurkhas, will be based at Larkhill Garrison in Wiltshire and will be equipped with modern artillery systems including the Light Gun and ARCHER, and in time, the remote-controlled Howitzer 155. A new cap badge—the first in 14 years for Gurkha forces—has also been created to reflect the regiment’s establishment and evolving roles.
Minister for Veterans and People, Alistair Carns MP, said: “The Brigade of Gurkhas has rightly earned a reputation as being amongst the finest soldiers in the world, and the formation of The King’s Gurkha Artillery recognises the outstanding contribution that they have made, through their years of dedicated service.” He added: “This latest development will support retention efforts amongst Gurkhas while protecting and defending UK interests at home and abroad.”
In response to a written parliamentary question on 1 May, Minister Carns confirmed that no financial incentives have been offered to encourage serving Gurkhas to transfer to the new unit. However, he emphasised that the KGA “will offer career and development opportunities for Gurkha soldiers in recognition of their service to the UK.”
The formation of the KGA forms part of the Government’s broader ‘Plan for Change’ defence reform and follows the Prime Minister’s recent commitment to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.
The first recruits to the KGA are expected to complete initial training in November 2025. Currently, around 4,000 Gurkhas serve across a range of roles in the British Army, all recruited from Nepal through a highly competitive annual selection process.
Interestingly, according to a letter to the RA from the Corps Colonel, the Gurkhas will be trained to man Fire Batteries
It was speculated previously that they’d only form Tac Batteries.
It won’t be a stand alone deployable Regiment, which is a similar set up to some of the other Gurkha CS CSS formations, and will take many years to form. It will initially be within 14 RA, the Larkhill based training Regiment, and in time will have Batteries within some of the other RA Gun Regiments –
1 RHA, 4 RA, 19 RA.
Two of those are certain to get RCH155, and 4 RA may, it’s not known yet outside of the Army.
Hi Daniele, so this is an opportunity for Gurkhas to move outside of the strictly Gurkha Regiments into other parts of the army? Sounds like that matches up with the quoted reasoning in the article, which between the lines seems to imply that Gurkhas are leaving the army because they don’t want to simply sit in infantry roles for their careers.
Is this just a way of filling gaps though, rather than an expansion of the number of artillery batteries? We’re not going to end up with extra guns, if I understand you correctly?
Hi Joe.
Correct. The headline seems misleading.
Existing guns will be used.
If anything, having Gurkha manned Batteries replace the manpower in existing Batteries in those other Regiments “theoretically” allows those personnel to be directed into other parts of the RA that are due to expand.
For example, the extra 2 regular MLRS Batteries, the reported expansion in GBAD ( which is already happening in 16 RA ) and there are rumours of a third GBAD Regiment that will form.
Regards “strictly Gurkha Regiments” most are already of this set up, Gurkha manned Signals Squadrons,, Engineer Squadrons, and some Gurkha RLC Squadrons already sit in other Regiments.
From memory, of Regimental sized formations, only 1 RGR, 2RGR, ARRC Support Battalion, and 10 Transport Regiment RLC ( which is in effect the KOGLR, are predominantly Gurkha formations.
There are several other independent Gurkha Companies as well.
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Another point I forgot to add. While this internal shuffling of unit ORBATS, of which we’ve been waiting for years to fully access as Project Wavell still hasn’t reported fully, is needed, it’ll only go so far.
HMG still won’t commit to increasing the Army strength beyond 73K, so if the much needed extra CS CSS formations we talk of here so often are to form something has to give elsewhere.
It’s not doing the army any favours with the treasury when it can’t event recruit the 73k its authorised for. If I was a cynical man I might believe the army was expanding Gurkhas into new areas as a way to make up for its own failing recruitment.
The Gurkhas are some of the finest fighters in the world but we should not loose sight that they remain a foreign mercenary force and their use in operations opens up many legal headaches.
I can’t see how the army can be arguing for a headcount increase in future when it can’t meet its current reduced allocation and from what we know recruitment is still getting worse for the Army.
A case of ‘best endeavours’ I think. A pragmatic and creative to solution to keep a plan on track. Not a problem for me.
Jim, I don’t think the army is responsible for poor recruiting. This was outsourced to a civvy company decades ago.
Well, it is partially HMG fault.
With previous Army cuts endorsed by HMG going back to around 2007 many were to the CS CSS areas, as I think that was easier politically than cutting named county Infantry Battalions. And yes, they cut some of those as well.
That has left the Army unbalanced with Infantry Battalions that cannot be formed into all arms Brigades as the enablers for them do not exist.
We have Brigades that are Brigades in name only, that are not deployable.
Some would say, cynically speaking, that “Disposing” of 8 of these Battalions was a useful and effective way to find uses for them with ASOB and 11 SFAB, but it can also be said that Grey Zone and SFA are important areas.
If recruitment can be stabilized and a couple of k added, that would be a good start.
The Recruitment contract is the wild west, the Army loves Capita and Serco for being the whipping boys but the reality is the Army can’t afford to spin up fully manned recruiting.
Capita knew they were going to lose the contract in 2022 before at the time a well publicised hack happened and after the hack happened it was all hands on deck to cook the books for a HOTO.
The same people employed by Capita at Upavon are for the most part now employed by Serco. If it wasn’t Capita, Serco, Bob down the pubs dodgy PLC it would be someone because the Army simply don’t want too and can’t do it anymore.
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Just to add to Danieles point. No they can’t go to wider parts of the army. For starters enlisting into RGR does not give you the right to transfer to KGA, KOGLRs etc, it’s something you have to apply for. Secondly part of the deal when you apply as a Gurkha is thar you can only be put into Gurkha pids. This means that only KGA pids are open. Joined KGA and want to go 26 Artillery but 26 Artillery doesn’t have a KGA battery? Too bad.
(Equally non Gurkhas can’t go into Gurkha pids, this causes administrative headaches in units where you have an independent gurkha coy/sqn/btry within a different unit.)
I’ll note that RGR has an issue with Gurkhas not leaving, rather than the opposite, and for the vast majority of infantry soldiers, their entire career is “sitting in infantry jobs” as changing capbadges is very much the exception not the rule (a few special cases like SAS, SRR, Rangers, and SASC which recruit from within the army aside).
richard
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It’s gotten very hit and miss recently for some reason with comments
I actually gave up, It seemed like all the spam was being ignored yet all my comments were deleted, hopefully all is restored now ?
Hi RAS.
There are still a few spam posts creeping in, but most were eradicated. Up to a few days ago every poster had their posts held in moderation until cleared to try and deal with the spam. I assume George has put another system in place now as that is no longer happening.
Oh that’s good, I literally gave up, started to think it was just me. I see the Spam is still happening though.
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And as usual it is a regiment fitted for but not fitted with capability.
Given the Ghurka’s record over the decades with the British, it remains a mystery to me why the U.S. doesn’t investigate this source of recruitment. They speak English, have served with our troops overseas, as we have with the Indian military. I’ve read that the India navy serves closely and well our navy in particular. My understanding is that Ghurka regiments have continued to be cut. The late Queen’s regiment must have been a blow.
“Continued to be cut” when was the last Gurkha unit to be cut?