|
|commander-in-chief = Queen Elizabeth II〔(Parliament ) Speaker addresses Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 20 March 2012〕 |commander-in-chief_title = Commander-in-Chief |minister = Michael Fallon |minister_title = Defence Secretary |commander = General Sir Nick Houghton |commander_title = Chief of the Defence Staff |ChiefStaff = General Sir Peter Wall |ChiefStaff_title = Chief of General Staff (United Kingdom) |age = 16 |conscription = No |available = |available_f = |fit = |fit_f = |reaching = |active = 156,940 |ranked = |reserve = 75,110 |amount = £45 billion; FY 2015-16〔() 2015 Budget (18 March 2015) - ''see Chart 1 on page 6''〕 (~$69 billion)〔Exchange rate as of 2 June 2015〕 |percent_GDP = 2.1%; FY 2014-15 }} The British Armed Forces form the military of the United Kingdom, tasked with defence of the country, its overseas territories and the Crown dependencies; as well as promoting the UK's wider interests, supporting international peacekeeping efforts, and providing humanitarian aid.〔(The Mission of the Armed Forces ), armedforces.co.uk〕 They encompass: the Royal Navy, a blue-water navy with a fleet of 77 commissioned ships; the Royal Marines, a highly specialised amphibious light infantry force; the British Army, the UK's principal land warfare branch; and the Royal Air Force, a technologically sophisticated air force with a diverse operational fleet consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. The Commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces is the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, to whom members of the forces swear allegiance.〔 However the British parliament maintains the armed forces during times of peace with the passing of quinquennial armed forces acts.〔Wikisource:Bill of Rights 1689〕 The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council of the Ministry of Defence, headed by the Secretary of State for Defence. The UK is an active and regular participant in NATO and other coalition operations. The country is also party to the Five Power Defence Arrangements. Recent operations have included wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 2000 intervention in Sierra Leone, peacekeeping responsibilities in the Balkans and Cyprus, and participation in the UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya. Overseas garrisons and facilities are maintained at Ascension Island, Belize, Brunei, Canada, Diego Garcia, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kenya, Qatar and Cyprus.〔(Permanent Joint Operating Bases ), northwood.mod.uk〕〔(House of Commons Hansard ), publications.parliament.uk〕 The United Kingdom tested its first nuclear weapon under Operation Hurricane in 1952, becoming the third nation in the world to achieve the status of a nuclear power. , Britain remains one of five recognised nuclear powers, with a total of 225 nuclear warheads. Of those, no more than 160 are deployed and active. Its nuclear deterrence system is based on Trident missiles on board ballistic missile submarines. ==History== (詳細はAct of Union in 1707, the armed forces of England and Scotland were merged into the armed forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain. By 1815, with the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo Britain had risen to become the world's dominant superpower, and the British Empire subsequently presided over a period of relative peace, known as Pax Britannica, until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Between 1707 and 1914, British forces played a prominent role in notable conflicts including the Seven Years' War, the Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War. The current structure of defence management in Britain was set in place in 1964 when the modern day Ministry of Defence (MoD) was created (an earlier form had existed since 1940). The MoD assumed the roles of the Admiralty, the War Office and the Air Ministry. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「British Armed Forces」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|