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Armed Forces

Question for Ministry of Defence

UIN HL17452, tabled on 24 July 2019

To ask Her Majesty's Government by how much (1) the Royal Navy, (2) the army, and (3) the Royal Air Force, are under strength.

Answered on

2 August 2019

This answer is a correction from the original answer.

The current strength of the Armed Forces as at 1 April 2019 is given in the table below:

Service

Trained Strength

Workforce Requirement

Royal Navy/Royal Marines

29,224

30,568

Army

75,070

82,000

Royal Air Force

30,010

31,756

Trained Strength comprises military personnel who have completed Phase 1 and 2 training for Royal Navy/Royal Marines, the Army (prior to 1 October 2016) and the Royal Air Force. Following the change in definition of trained strength for Army, from 1 October 2016, trained strength for the Army comprises of personnel who have completed Phase 1 training.

The Ministry of Defence remains committed to maintaining the overall size of the Armed Forces and we have a range of measures under way to improve recruitment and retention. The challenge is kept under constant review.

Importantly the Services continue to meet all their current commitments, keeping the country and its interests safe.

The strength of the Armed Forces is published every three months and can be found in the UK Armed Forces Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2019

Original answer

The current strength of the Armed Forces as at 1 April 2019 is give in the table below:

Service

Trained Strength

Workforce Requirement

Royal Navy/Royal Marines

29,224

30,568

Army

75,070

82,000

Royal Air Force

30,010

31,756

Trained Strength comprises military personnel who have completed Phase 1 and 2 training for Royal Navy/Royal Marines, the Army (prior to 1 October 2016) and the Royal Air Force. Following the change in definition of trained strength for Army, from 1 October 2016, trained strength for the Army comprises of personnel who have completed Phase 1 training.

The Ministry of Defence remains committed to maintaining the overall size of the Armed Forces and we have a range of measures under way to improve recruitment and retention. The challenge is kept under constant review.

Importantly the Services continue to meet all their current commitments, keeping the country and its interests safe.

The strength of the Armed Forces is published every three months and can be found in the UK Armed Forces Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2019