Chapter 4 - Formations, Vessels, Aircraft and Vehicles of the Armed Forces

Introduction

Formations of the Naval Service, Army and Royal Air Force, at 1 April each year

Table 4.1 shows the number of submarines and ships in the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Royal Marine Commando units, squadrons of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in the Fleet Air Arm, and Reserve Units. The figures show overall unit numbers only; they do not reflect the level of readiness at which the unit is held which changes throughout the year.

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Table 4.2 shows the numbers of regiments and Infantry battalions in the Regular and Territorial Army; and Corps, Divisional and Brigade headquarters.

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Table 4.3 shows the number of squadrons in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), and units in the RAF Regiment.

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Table 4.4 shows the number of regiments and squadrons in the Special Forces, Joint Helicopter Command and Joint Force Harrier.

Vessels

Table 4.5 shows the numbers of Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships and submarines by class and base port, categorized by those that were operational and those undergoing refit at 1 April 2009. The figures for operational vessels show the numbers available for tasking, although they do not indicate the level of readiness at which the vessels were held.

The numbers of vessels listed in Tables 4.1 and 4.5 represent all of those in service with the Royal Navy as at 1 April 2009. The distinction between 'active' and 'all' vessels referred to in footnote 1 to Table 4.1 is a legacy from many years ago when there was also a reserve fleet. No such reserve fleet exists today so the figures simply reflect vessels currently in service, regardless of their level of readiness. The only exception is HMS Invincible. As explained in footnote 5 in Table 4.1, she was placed into a state of very low readiness in 2005 and it is planned that she remains there until she is withdrawn from service in 2010. Whilst still officially in the fleet, her extremely low state of readiness means that she is no longer factored into operational planning, therefore she is no longer listed in the tables.

Readiness refers to the length of time it would take for a vessel to be ready to be deployed. Keeping vessels and their crews constantly at a high state of readiness would be both expensive and impractical, therefore the RN's ships are held on a graduated scale of readiness, from very high to very low, that enable it to fulfil its tasks in the most efficient way. With the exception of HMS Invincible, it is Departmental policy not to comment on the readiness states of individual ships, as to do so could be prejudicial to their security and the safety of their crews, as well as to our operational and national security. Table 4.5 goes as far as noting the distinction between ships undergoing refit and those that are operational, but it does not and should not give any further details about what level of readiness the operational vessels are held at.

Table 4.6 shows the number of passenger and dry cargo merchant vessels by principal categories and sizes.

Table 4.7 shows the number of merchant tankers, specialist and fishing vessels by principal categories and sizes.

Militarily useful British-registered merchant vessels are vessels that could be requisitioned in the appropriate circumstances in support of the armed forces. Other types of ship might also be used in certain cases. Foreign-flagged, but British-owned ships could also be requisitioned in certain circumstances.

Aircraft

Forward Available Fleet (FAF) is a way of managing aircraft resources which aims to enable the optimal level of availability, which has been used since 2006. FAF is defined as the number of aircraft required to undertake the mandated task; including aircrew and ground crew training, 'in-work' rectification and operational / tactical trials.

Table 4.8 shows the aircraft fleets for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm.

Table 4.9 shows the aircraft fleets for the Royal Air Force Air Command including Operational Conversion Units and Training Aircraft.

Table 4.10 shows the aircraft fleets by type in the Joint Helicopter Command and Joint Force Harrier.

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Equipment holdings within the scope of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

The equipment numbers in Tables 4.11, 4.12 and 4.13 cover holdings in the UK, Germany, Cyprus and Gibraltar.

Table 4.11 shows the surveyed holdings of Tanks and Artillery by type of equipment, and indicates which types of equipment are obsolete and non-operational at 1 January each year.

Table 4.12 shows the surveyed holdings of Armoured Combat Vehicles and Armoured Combat Vehicle Look-alikes by type of equipment, and indicates which types of equipment are obsolete and non-operational at 1 January each year.

Table 4.13 shows the surveyed holdings of Attack helicopters and Combat aircraft by type of equipment, and indicates which types of equipment are obsolete and non-operational at 1 January each year.

Table 4.14 shows the declared Holdings and Ceilings of Tanks, Armoured Combat Vehicles and Artillery by country within the scope of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty at 1 January 2009.

Table 4.15 shows the declared Holdings and Ceilings of Attack helicopters and Combat aircraft by country within the scope of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty at 1 January 2009.

Data Sources

The overall numbers of ships shown in Table 4.5, and their respective out-of-service dates, are laid out in the annual Royal Navy Plan. The figures in Table 4.5 come from Navy Command, who programme the activities of RN ships.

Figures in Table 4.11 - 4.15 are taken from the Consolidated Matrix showing equipment held under the ratified Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, which gives figures as at 1 January 2009. See the CFE Vehicles and Aircraft text for more information.

Key Points

  • There were 12 submarines, and 73 ships in the Royal Navy at 1 April 2009. There are 22 vessels in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service, including 6 that are commercially owned and leased to the Royal Navy when required (see Table 4.1).
  • There were 46 Regular Army and 18 Territorial Army combat arms regiments, and respectively 37 and 17 combat support regiments (see Table 4.2) at 1 April 2009.
  • There were 106 Tornado GR and 14 Tornado F3 aircraft, and 42 Typhoons in the Royal Air Force Air Command (see Table 4.9) at 1 January 2009.
  • The UK had 328 battle tanks and 357 artillery held within the scope of the CFE Treaty (see Table 4.11) at 1 April 2009.
  • The UK had 1459 Armoured Combat Vehicles and 1018 Armoured Combat Vehicle look-alikes held within the scope of the CFE Treaty (see Table 4.12) at 1 January 2009.
  • The UK had 242 attack helicopters and 434 combat aircraft held within the scope of the CFE Treaty (see Tables 4.13 and 4.15) at 1 January 2009.