National statistics

UK armed forces equipment and formations 2021

Published 9 September 2021

This is an annual publication which provides information on the numbers and types of equipment and formations of the UK armed forces. Equipment and formations statistics have been presented based on the UK armed forces areas: land, maritime and air.

Also provided are data sourced from the Department for Transport (DfT) on militarily-useful British-registered vessels.

Data is provided as at 1 April each year (except DfT data which is as at 31 December each year).

1. Main Points and Trends

Maritime

At 1 April 2021, there were 10 submarines and 64 vessels in the UK armed forces (51 vessels in the Royal Navy Surface Fleet; 13 vessels in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary).

Land

In the UK armed forces, there were 3,985 pieces of Combat Equipment at 1 April 2020, consisting of:

• 979 Armoured Personnel Carriers
• 1,814 Protected Mobility Vehicles
• 1,192 Armoured Fighting Vehicles.

At 1 April 2021, there were 32 Regular Army Battalions in the Infantry and 16 Army Reserves Battalions.

Air

At 1 April 2020, there were 529 Fixed-wing aircraft and 311 Rotary-wing aircraft in the UK armed forces.

In addition, there were 287 Unmanned Aircraft Systems as at 1 April.

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Telephone: 030 679 84458

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More details on the methodology used in this report are included in the Background Quality Report

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2. Introduction

This is an annual publication which provides information on the numbers and types of equipment and formations of the UK armed forces. Equipment and formations statistics have been presented based on the UK armed forces areas: maritime, land and air. Statistics are also provided on militarily-useful British-registered vessels (including passenger, tanker and fishing vessels).

Prior to 2016, equipment and formations statistics were published in the National Statistics publication Formations, Vessels and Aircraft. An internal review was held during March 2016, followed by a six-week public consultation. Based on consultation feedback, a number of changes were made to the publication, including a name change to better reflect the publication’s content.

The term ‘equipment’ for the purposes of this publication refers collectively to vessels, submarines, vehicles, aircraft, artillery and engineering equipment pieces.

Data have been obtained from various Ministry of Defence sources: Navy Command, Army Equipment Department, Army Organisation Branch, Air Command and Joint Helicopter Command (JHC). Data on militarily-useful British-registered vessels has been provided by the Department for Transport. Further information about the data sources and data quality can be found in the Background Quality Report.

2.1 A National Statistics publication

The United Kingdom Statistics Authority designated these statistics as National Statistics on 3rd June 2016, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act of 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. Designation can be broadly interpreted to mean that the statistics:

• meet identified user needs;
• are well explained and readily accessible;
• are produced according to sound methods; and
• are managed impartially and objectively in the public interest.

Once statistics have been designated as National Statistics it is a statutory requirement that the Code of Practice shall continue to be observed. Further details about how this report has been developed since its confirmation as National Statistics can be found in the Background Quality Report.

3. Maritime Equipment and Formations

This section provides the main findings on the UK armed forces maritime equipment, and formations which are all or primarily sea-based, in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

3.1 Submarines

There were 10 submarines in the Royal Navy Submarine Service as at 1 April 2020, consisting of:

• 6 Nuclear Submarines
• 4 Ballistic Nuclear Submarines

3.2 Vessels

At 1 April 2020, there were 64 vessels in the UK armed forces: 51 vessels in the Royal Navy and 13 in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA).

The total number of vessels has increased since decreased since 2020. This is due to a decrease in Inshore patrol vessels. Inshore and Offshore Patrol vessels make up the largest proportion of vessels in the Royal Navy.

Horizontal bar chart showing total numbers of Royal Navy vessels at the start of April 2021. This includes 22 patrol ships, 13 frigates, 6 destroyers and 2 aircraft carriers. Patrol ships make up the largest proportion of Royal Navy vessels.

The total number of Destroyers and Frigates (19) as at 1 April 2021 is in line with SDSR Joint Force 2025 commitments.

Table 1 provides further statistics on Maritime vessels and submarines - access tables

3.3 Maritime Formations

The Royal Navy has 15 Reserve Units and a Fleet Diving Squadron consisting of 13 Units. The Royal Marines consists of 3 Commando Brigade, the Royal Marine Band Service, the Commando Training Centre and 4 Reserve Units.

Table 2 provides further breakdowns of maritime formations (excluding the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm which are included in Table 9) - access tables

3.4 Militarily-useful British-registered vessels

Militarily-useful vessels are defined as vessels that could be requisitioned in appropriate circumstances in support of the UK armed forces.

The number of passenger, tanker, and dry cargo merchant vessels decreased from 721 to 584 in 2020, with product and chemical tankers showing the largest decline.

In 2020, there were a total of 72 British-registered merchant specialist and fishing vessels. This is a decrease from 77 in 2018 and 2019.

Tables 3 and 4 provide further breakdowns of militarily-useful, British-registered vessels - access tables

4. Land Equipment and Formations

This section provides the main findings on the UK armed forces Land equipment, and formations which are primarily land-based, in the Army.

4.1 Land Equipment

There were 3,985 pieces of Combat Equipment as at 1 April 2021, a reduction of 86 platforms since 2020. This largely due 102 Husky platforms being defielded.

There are currently 19 AJAX platforms in operation in the UK Armed forces. These have not yet been included in the Table 5 as they have not formally been accepted in to service.

Protected Mobility Vehicles made up the largest (46%) proportion of land combat equipment

Doughnut chart showing overall proportions of Armed Forces combat equipment platforms in April 2021. Protected Mobility Vehicles made up almost half these platforms (1814), while both Armoured Personnel Carriers (979) and Armoured Fighting Vehicles (1192) made up around a quarter.

Most Combat Equipment Platforms at 1 April 2020 were Protected Mobility Vehicles (45%), with Armoured Fighting Vehicles and Armoured Personnel Carriers making up 30% and 25% respectively. This change from 2020 is due to the number of Husky vehicles which were defielded.

The most common types of combat equipment land platforms in the UK armed forces are:

• Bulldog (APC) - 880
• Warrior (AFV) - 767

The UK armed forces had 250 Artillery and 148 Engineering Equipment pieces at 1 April 2021. Combat Engineering Equipment declined from 156 in 2020 due to the removal of 8 M3 Amphibious Bridging Vehicles

At 1 April 2021, there were 14,735 pieces of Combat Support Equipment in the UK armed forces of which 46% were Landrovers and 48% were Wheeled Support Vehicles. The decrease in this number since April 2020 is due to a decrease of 859 Landrovers and 255 Wheeled Support Vehicles.

Table 5 provides further statistics on land equipment platforms - access tables

4.2 Land Formations

The Army can be split into three main parts: Combat Forces, Combat Support Forces and Combat Service Support.

The Combat Forces includes the Infantry and Royal Armoured Corps. At 1 April 2021, there were 32 Regular Army and 16 Army Reserves Infantry Battalions, and 15 Royal Armoured Corps Regiments (11 Regular; four Reserves).

Table 6 provides further breakdowns of Army formations (excluding the Army Air Corps which are included in Table 9) - access tables

5. Air Equipment and Formations

This section provides the main findings on the UK armed forces aircraft, and formations which are primarily air-based, as at 1 April 2021.

5.1 Fixed-wing Aircraft

Typhoons are the most common type of Fixed-wing platform with 137 aircraft at 1 April 2021.

The UK armed forces had 555 Fixed-wing platforms at 1 April 2021, an increase of 26 since 2020.

Of the 426 Fixed-wing aircraft (for which ‘in service’ figures are recorded), 304 (71%) are ‘in service’ which is a smaller proportion than 2020 (79%). ‘In service’ figures are not available for platforms operated under contracts (see accompanying Excel Tables). ‘In service’ Fixed-wing platforms are all aircraft in active fleet management, which can include aircraft in storage.

5.2 Unmanned Aircraft Systems

There were 285 Unmanned Aircraft Systems as at 1 April 2021, a decrease of 2 since 2020. The majority of these Systems are Desert Hawk-III (229).

5.3 Rotary-wing Aircraft

Chinook are the most common type of Rotary-wing platform with 60 aircraft at 1 April 2021.

The UK armed forces had 301 Rotary-wing platforms at 1 April 2021, 10 less than 2020. Since April 2020, the number of Apache platforms has been reduced to support the introduction of the AH-64E model which will see the numbers rise again from next year.

Of the 264 Rotary-wing aircraft (for which ‘in service’ figures are recorded), 191 (72%) were in ‘service’ which is a smaller proportion than 2020 (77%). The definition of ‘in service’ differs slightly for aircraft owned by Navy Command.

Table 7 and 8 provide further Fixed- and Rotary-wing aircraft statistics - access tables

5.4 Air Formations

At 1 April 2021, there were 97 squadrons in the Royal Air Force, This shows an increase of 13 on the previous year. This is in part due to the re-distribution of squadrons under new headings. Full details can be seen in Table 9. The Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm consists of 16 squadrons and four Headquarters, whilst the Army Air Corps incorporates eight Regiments (seven Regular; one Reserve).

Table 9 provides further breakdowns of Air formations - access tables

6. Further Information

6.1 Definitions

Definitions and further information about the types and categories of UK armed forces equipment and formations can be found on each of the Services’ websites:

• Royal Navy and Royal Marines
• Army
• Royal Air Forces

Some definitions have been provided in the Glossary for additional information.

6.2 Rounding

All figures in this report are actuals and have not been rounded.

6.3 Revisions

Corrections to the published statistics will be made if errors are found, or if figures change as a result of improvements to methodology or changes to definitions. When making corrections, we will follow the Ministry of Defence Statistics Revisions and Corrections Policy. All corrected figures will be identified by the symbol “r”, and an explanation will be given of the reason for and size of the revision.

Corrections which would have a substantial effect on the utility of the statistics will be corrected as soon as possible, by reissuing the publication. Minor errors will also be corrected, but for convenience these corrections may be timed to coincide with the next annual release of the publication.

Following the 2020 data collection process, revisions have been made to previously published figures due to errors in the administrative data. Further information is available in the supplementary Excel Tables).

6.4 Contact Us

Defence Statistics welcome feedback on our statistical products. If you have any comments or questions about this publication or about our statistics in general, you can contact us as follows:

Telephone: 030 679 84458

Email: Analysis-Publications@mod.gov.uk

If you require information which is not available within this or other available publications, you may wish to submit a Request for Information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to the Ministry of Defence. More information on this can be found on the GOV.UK website.

If you wish to correspond by mail, our postal address is:

Defence Statistics (Publications)
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For general MOD enquiries, please call: 020 7218 9000

7. Glossary

Ballistic Nuclear Submarine - A Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear (SSBN) is a nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered submarine.

Combat Equipment - Collective term used for Protected Mobility Vehicles, Armoured Personnel Carriers and Armoured Fighting Vehicles.

In Service - The definition of ‘in service’ varies across equipment types and between services. To assist interpretation, a definition of ‘in service’ has been provided in the footnotes for each table where ‘in Service’ figures have been used. Note that in service figures are not available for platforms operated under contracts. See footnotes for further information.

Militarily-useful British-registered vessels - Vessels that could be requisitioned in appropriate circumstances in support of the armed forces. It is required by international law for all merchant ships to be registered in a country, called its flag state. Flag refers to the country in which the ship is registered. Other types of ship might also be used in certain cases. Foreign-flagged but British-owned ships could also be requisitioned in certain circumstances.

Nuclear submarine - A Ship Submersible Nuclear (SSN) is a conventionally armed, nuclear powered submarine.

Protected Mobility Vehicle - A wheeled Armoured Personnel Carrier serving as a military patrol, reconnaissance or security vehicle. Protected Mobility vehicles were developed in response to the threats of modern counter insurgency warfare, with an emphasis on Ambush Protection and Mine Resistance. Until recently these vehicles were termed ‘Protected Patrol Vehicles’.