Editing United Kingdom (section)

=== Military ===
{{Main|British Armed Forces|Military history of the United Kingdom}}
[[File:United Kingdom overseas military installations and operations.png|thumb|upright=1.4|
{{Legend|#0000FF|Overseas military installations of the United Kingdom, and locally raised units of the [[British Overseas Territories]]}}
{{Legend|#F0002B|Military interventions since 2000: [[British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War|Palliser]] (Sierra Leone); [[Operation Herrick|Herrick]] (Afghanistan); [[Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa|Enduring Freedom]] (Horn of Africa); [[Operation Telic|Telic]] (Iraq); [[Operation Ellamy|Ellamy]] (Libya); and [[Operation Shader|Shader]] (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant).}}]]

The [[British Armed Forces]] consist of three professional service branches: the [[Royal Navy]] and [[Royal Marines]] (forming the [[Naval Service (United Kingdom)|Naval Service]]), the [[British Army]] and the [[Royal Air Force]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministry of Defence |url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/Home |access-date=21 February 2012 |publisher=Ministry of Defence |archive-date=19 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219194140/http://mod.uk/DefenceInternet/Home/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The armed forces of the United Kingdom are managed by the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] and controlled by the [[Defence Council of the United Kingdom|Defence Council]], chaired by the [[Secretary of State for Defence]]. The [[Commander-in-Chief]] is the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British monarch]], to whom members of the forces swear an oath of allegiance.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 March 2012 |title=Speaker addresses Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II |url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2012/march/speaker-addresses-hm-the-queen |access-date=28 April 2013 |publisher=UK Parliament |archive-date=1 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501221305/http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2012/march/speaker-addresses-hm-the-queen/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Armed Forces are charged with protecting the UK and its overseas territories, promoting the UK's global security interests and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in [[NATO]] (including the [[Allied Rapid Reaction Corps]]), the [[Five Power Defence Arrangements]], [[RIMPAC]] and other worldwide coalition operations. [[Overseas military bases of the United Kingdom|Overseas garrisons]] and facilities are maintained in [[RAF Ascension Island|Ascension Island]], [[Mina Salman|Bahrain]], [[Military of Belize|Belize]], [[Military Forces based in Brunei|Brunei]], [[British Army Training Unit Suffield|Canada]], [[British Forces Cyprus|Cyprus]], [[Diego Garcia]], the [[Military of the Falkland Islands|Falkland Islands]], [[British Forces Germany|Germany]], [[British Forces Gibraltar|Gibraltar]], [[British Army Training Unit Kenya|Kenya]], [[Oman]], [[Al Udeid Air Base|Qatar]] and [[Singapore]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=House of Commons Hansard |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/cgi-bin/newhtml_hl?DB=semukparl&STEMMER=en&WORDS=raf%20diego%20garcia&ALL=RAF&ANY=&PHRASE=%22Diego%20Garcia%20%22&CATEGORIES=&SIMPLE=&SPEAKER=&COLOUR=red&STYLE=s&ANCHOR=50221w33.html_spnew0&URL=/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/vo050221/text/50221w33.htm#50221w33.html_spnew0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309114107/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/cgi-bin/newhtml_hl?DB=semukparl&STEMMER=en&WORDS=raf%20diego%20garcia&ALL=RAF&ANY=&PHRASE=%22Diego%20Garcia%20%22&CATEGORIES=&SIMPLE=&SPEAKER=&COLOUR=red&STYLE=s&ANCHOR=50221w33.html_spnew0&URL=%2Fpa%2Fcm200405%2Fcmhansrd%2Fvo050221%2Ftext%2F50221w33.htm#50221w33.html_spnew0 |archive-date=9 March 2009 |access-date=23 October 2008 |publisher=UK Parliament}}; {{Cite web |title=House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 17 Jun 2013 (pt 0002) |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm130617/text/130617w0002.htm#13061746000236 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214025754/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm130617/text/130617w0002.htm#13061746000236 |archive-date=14 February 2015 |access-date=4 March 2015 |publisher=Publications.parliament.uk}}</ref>

According to the [[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]]<ref name=":7">{{Cite report |url=https://www.sipri.org/publications/2022/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-world-military-expenditure-2021 |title=Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2021 |last1=da Silva |first1=Diego Lopes |last2=Tian |first2=Nan |last3=Béraud-Sudreau |first3=Lucie |last4=Marksteiner |first4=Alexandra |last5=Liang |first5=Xiao |date=April 2022 |publisher=[[SIPRI]] |doi=10.55163/DZJD8826 |access-date=3 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425064753/https://www.sipri.org/publications/2022/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-world-military-expenditure-2021 |archive-date=25 April 2022 |url-status=live |doi-access=free |type=fact sheet |s2cid=248305949}}</ref> and the [[International Institute for Strategic Studies]],<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |date=January 2021 |title=IISS Military Balance 2021 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/04597222.2021.1868791?journalCode=tmib20 |url-status=live |journal=The Military Balance |volume=121 |issue=1 |pages=23–29 |doi=10.1080/04597222.2021.1868791 |issn=0459-7222 |s2cid=232050862 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001220232/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/04597222.2021.1868791?journalCode=tmib20 |archive-date=1 October 2021 |access-date=1 October 2021|url-access=subscription }}</ref> the UK has the [[List of countries by military expenditures|fourth- or fifth-highest military expenditure]].{{Needs update|date=May 2025|reason=Figures are outdated; see linked article (List of countries by military expenditures).}} Total defence spending in 2024 is estimated at 2.3 per cent of [[gross domestic product]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rishi Sunak vows to boost UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68880171 |access-date=24 April 2024 |publisher=BBC News |date=24 April 2024 |archive-date=23 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423233438/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68880171 |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the end of the [[Cold War]] defence policy has a stated assumption that "the most demanding operations" will be undertaken as part of a coalition.<ref>''UK 2005: The Official Yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland''. Office for National Statistics. p. 89.</ref>