Armed Forces

The UK Armed Forces, with the British Army at its core, maintains land forces designed to operate both independently and as part of NATO. The Army’s regular forces are maintained at graduated readiness able to deploy on operations in the UK and overseas. The Reserve forces provide essential depth, specialist skills, and scalability, with ongoing enhancements to their readiness and integration ensuring they remain a vital component of our overall capability.

Through the Strategic Defence Review, we are investing significantly in modernising equipment, improving sustainment, and accelerating the adoption of advanced technologies, including autonomous systems, to increase force lethality and endurance. The Armed Forces Bill 2026 contains measures that enhance the Strategic Reserve by, for example, increasing the maximum age limit for recall, enabling the use of experienced volunteer reservists when required, and giving the Secretary of State for Defence power to authorise recall for warlike operations that are being prepared or conducted.

The Government has accepted the Strategic Defence Review’s recommendation to introduce a Defence Readiness Bill. Engagement with Government departments and industry partners is ongoing to develop this legislation, which will deliver meaningful change and strengthen the readiness and resilience of our Armed Forces.

While the scale and duration of independent land campaigns are influenced by operational priorities and resource allocation, the UK Armed Forces are committed to maintaining and enhancing a balanced, integrated, and resilient land capability that meets the demands of current and future security challenges.