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United Kingdom Commando Force

The United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), previously designated as 3 Commando Brigade, serves as the British Armed Forces' core amphibious commando entity, emphasizing littoral maneuver, rapid global response to crises, and integration of special operations elements.^[1]^[2] It comprises elite Royal Marine Commandos—distinguished by their green berets earned through the rigorous All Arms Commando Course—alongside commando-qualified troops from the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force, enabling scalable deployments of up to approximately 5,000 personnel for expeditionary tasks including raiding, reconnaissance, and humanitarian assistance.^[2]^[3] Commanded by a Royal Marines brigadier general, the force operates under the Royal Navy and maintains specialized expertise in arctic, mountain, and maritime environments to counter peer adversaries in contested domains.^[4] Originating from World War II-era commando units that evolved into the post-war Royal Marines structure, UKCF has adapted through conflicts such as the Falklands War, where its predecessor brigade executed critical amphibious assaults to reclaim territory, demonstrating the doctrinal emphasis on sea-to-land projection.^[5] In recent decades, the formation has contributed to operations in Afghanistan and counter-piracy efforts, while undergoing a strategic pivot toward the Future Commando Force concept, which prioritizes smaller, technology-enhanced strike teams within Littoral Response Groups for persistent forward presence and precision strikes amid evolving threats like those observed in the Indo-Pacific and High North.^[6]^[7] This transformation involves reallocating resources from traditional brigade-scale deployments to agile, distributed units supported by uncrewed systems and multi-domain integration, reflecting causal adaptations to hybrid warfare realities rather than static amphibious paradigms.^[8] Key subordinate elements include 40 and 45 Commando for infantry maneuvers, 24 Commando Regiment for engineering, 29 Commando Regiment for artillery fires, the Commando Helicopter Force for aviation lift, and 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group for intelligence dominance, all unified under a logistics backbone to sustain autonomous operations from naval platforms.^[7]^[9] The force's defining characteristic remains its commando ethos—emphasizing initiative, endurance, and versatility—honed through training that privileges empirical combat simulations over theoretical constructs, ensuring resilience in high-stakes scenarios where conventional forces falter.^[3]

Origins and History

Formation and World War II Operations

The British Commandos originated from a memorandum drafted by Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 4 June 1940, amid the Dunkirk evacuation's aftermath, calling for the formation of "independent companies" of 5,000-10,000 specially trained troops to conduct offensive raids against German-held territories in occupied Europe.^[10] This directive responded to the British Army's retreat and the need for irregular warfare tactics, drawing inspiration from Boer War commando units' mobile raiding strategies that emphasized hit-and-run operations to harass superior forces.^[11] Initial units, such as Nos. 1-4 Independent Companies, were raised from volunteers across infantry battalions, undergoing rigorous training at sites like Achnacarry Castle in Scotland, focusing on amphibious assaults, close-quarters combat, and endurance marches to prepare for small-scale disruptions of enemy logistics and morale.^[12] By mid-1940, these evolved into formalized Commando troops, totaling around 30 units by 1942, validating the concept through empirical testing against Axis coastal defenses.^[13] Early raiding operations tested the Commando model's efficacy in inflicting asymmetric damage. The St. Nazaire Raid (Operation Chariot) on 28 March 1942 involved 611 British personnel, including No. 2 Commando elements, who successfully rammed HMS Campbeltown—loaded with delayed explosives—into the Normandie dry dock, rendering it unusable for major German warships like the Tirpitz for the war's duration despite heavy defenses.^[14] Of the assault force, 169 were killed and 215 captured, yielding over 50% attrition, yet the raid disrupted German naval repair capabilities and forced resource reallocations to fortified coasts, demonstrating disproportionate strategic impact relative to losses.^[11] Similarly, No. 4 Commando's role in the Dieppe Raid (Operation Jubilee) on 19 August 1942 achieved tactical objectives by destroying a coastal battery, providing critical reconnaissance on German defenses that informed D-Day planning, though overall operation casualties exceeded 60% across 6,000 troops.^[10] As the war progressed, Commandos scaled to brigade-level assaults, integrating into larger Allied invasions while retaining raiding focus. In the Sicily landings (Operation Husky) on 9-10 July 1943, No. 3 Commando conducted beach assaults and inland advances, capturing key positions amid 20-30% unit casualties but enabling rapid exploitation by follow-on forces and yielding intelligence on Axis troop dispositions.^[11] During the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, elements of the 1st Special Service Brigade, including Nos. 3, 4, 6, and 45 (Royal Marine) Commandos, executed assaults on defended beaches like Ouistreham and Sword, securing flanks and disrupting German counterattacks despite intense fire; these actions sustained 40-50% casualties in initial waves but contributed to breaking coastal strongpoints, facilitating inland breakthroughs and validating the raiding doctrine's adaptability to amphibious spearheads.^[12] Overall, WWII Commando operations incurred high attrition rates—often exceeding 40% in independent raids—but achieved causal effects like diverted enemy garrisons, morale erosion via unpredictable strikes, and empirical data on fortifications, countering critiques of tactical futility through measurable logistical denials.^[11]

Post-War Reorganization and Cold War Roles

In 1946, following the conclusion of World War II, British Army Commando units were disbanded amid demobilization efforts, with the commando role transferred exclusively to the Royal Marines to maintain specialized amphibious capabilities.^[11] The existing 3 Commando Brigade was reformed as 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, incorporating reformed units such as 40 Commando (from the disbanded 44 RM Commando), 42 Commando, and 45 Commando, ensuring continuity of elite raiding and assault expertise in a post-mass mobilization era.^[15] This reorganization prioritized retention of commando forces for rapid-response operations, aligning with defense priorities amid emerging nuclear deterrence strategies that favored versatile, low-footprint units over large conventional armies. The Royal Marines saw no direct involvement in the Korean War (1950–1953), reflecting a peacetime emphasis on restructuring rather than expeditionary commitments. However, their utility was demonstrated during the Suez Crisis in November 1956, when 45 Commando conducted the world's first large-scale combat helicopter assault, landing over 400 personnel and equipment via Whirlwind and Sycamore helicopters from HMS Theseus and Ocean to secure Port Said, enabling rapid seizure of key objectives with minimal initial ground forces.^[16] Similarly, 40 Commando cleared harbor areas under fire to facilitate landings, underscoring the commandos' effectiveness in high-risk, amphibious interventions despite political constraints halting full advances.^[17] Throughout the Cold War, 3 Commando Brigade expanded to support NATO's northern flank, with units like 40, 42, and 45 Commandos oriented toward reinforcing Norway against potential Soviet incursions, emphasizing cold-weather and littoral warfare training.^[5] In counter-insurgency contexts, 45 Commando deployed to Aden in 1960, conducting patrols and operations in the Radfan region and urban areas amid the Aden Emergency (1963–1967), where small, mobile detachments maintained security in volatile environments with troop strengths often under 1,000 for brigade-level tasks, achieving disproportionate impact through rigorous selection and local adaptation.^[18] Post-war standardization of the green beret for all Royal Marines completing the Commando course—extended brigade-wide by 1960—served as a visible marker of elite status, fostering unit cohesion via shared ordeal of the training regimen, which included endurance marches, amphibious assaults, and survival drills designed to instill resilience independent of numerical superiority.^[19] This course's unyielding standards, with pass rates historically below 50% for recruits, causally reinforced operational effectiveness by filtering for personnel capable of sustained performance in austere conditions, as evidenced by low casualty ratios in deployments relative to conventional infantry.^[15]

Major Engagements

Falklands War

3 Commando Brigade, the core of the United Kingdom Commando Force's contribution to Operation Corporate, deployed rapidly following the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands on 2 April 1982, with its Royal Marine Commando units—40, 42, and 45 Commando—forming the vanguard of the amphibious assault.^[20] The brigade's elements landed at San Carlos Water on 21 May 1982, securing a beachhead amid intense Argentine air attacks despite the loss of key logistics assets like the Atlantic Conveyor, which carried Chinook helicopters.^[21] This forced reliance on "yomping"—forced marches over 50-pound loads across peat bogs and hills—demonstrating high mobility; 45 Commando, for example, covered 56 miles in three days from San Carlos to positions near Teal Inlet by early June, enabling swift repositioning for the advance on Port Stanley.^[22] In the final offensive, 42 Commando conducted a night assault on Mount Harriet on 11–12 June 1982, overcoming Argentine defenses with close-quarters fighting and artillery support from 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery, capturing the feature that overlooked Stanley and disrupted enemy reinforcements.^[23] Simultaneously, 45 Commando seized Two Sisters Ridge through a multi-phase night battle involving bayonet charges and suppression by naval gunfire, clearing entrenched positions held by the Argentine 4th Infantry Regiment.^[24] 40 Commando, after securing the San Carlos lodgment, advanced eastward and executed the conflict's only major daylight helicopter insertion on Sapper Hill on 13–14 June, exploiting momentum to threaten Stanley's outskirts.^[25] These actions integrated with attached units, such as 2 Para's earlier seizure of Goose Green on 28–29 May, showcasing combined arms tactics that prioritized ground maneuver over airlift dependency.^[26] Despite vulnerabilities exposed by helicopter shortages, which strained resupply and amplified fatigue, the brigade's doctrinal emphasis on littoral raiding and endurance yielded disproportionate impact: Royal Marines suffered 27 killed in action across the campaign, yet their advances isolated Argentine forces, compelling General Mario Menéndez's unconditional surrender on 14 June 1982 after just 74 days of operations.^[21]^[27] This outcome underscored causal effectiveness of commando-style ground pressure in forcing capitulation, countering narratives of overextension by evidencing empirical success in amphibious dominance with minimal attrition relative to Argentine losses exceeding 600 dead.^[20]

Gulf War and Iraq Operations

In the 1991 Gulf War, known as Operation Granby, Royal Marine Commando units had a limited direct combat role during the main ground campaign, with primary contributions from special boat service elements in reconnaissance and sabotage missions, such as cutting Iraqi communications cables south of Baghdad.^[28] Larger formations like 40 and 42 Commando were not engaged in major assaults on the Al Faw Peninsula, which saw primary action by U.S. and coalition ground forces; instead, post-ceasefire efforts included humanitarian operations under Operation Haven, where 40 Commando supported Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq to counter Saddam Hussein's reprisals.^[29] Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessels, rather than Commando infantry, handled extensive Gulf mine clearance to reopen sea lanes, reflecting the force's emphasis on maritime denial over land assaults in this conflict.^[30] The 2003 invasion of Iraq, Operation Telic, marked a more prominent Commando Force deployment, with 3 Commando Brigade leading the initial southern thrust. On the night of 20-21 March, 40 Commando executed a helicopter-borne amphibious assault on the Al Faw Peninsula, securing vital oil production facilities and pipelines against sabotage risks, in coordination with naval gunfire from HMS Marlborough and HMS Chatham.^[31] This operation, launched from Kuwaiti bases and ships including HMS Ocean and HMS Ark Royal, prevented environmental catastrophe from ignited wells and established a coalition foothold with minimal initial casualties, as Iraqi defenders were rapidly overwhelmed by combined arms fire support.^[32] Following Al Faw, 40 Commando advanced inland, destroying over 20 Iraqi T-55 tanks and numerous armored vehicles in engagements supporting the push toward Basra, while 42 Commando relieved the U.S. 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit in securing Umm Qasr port by 25 March, enabling humanitarian aid inflows and logistics sustainment critical to coalition operations.^[33] 3 Commando Brigade headquarters oversaw urban raiding tactics around Basra, including 40 Commando's 31 March assault on Abu al-Kaseeb suburb to disrupt fedayeen irregulars and stimulate local uprisings against regime forces.^[34] These actions demonstrated effective integration with U.S. Marines, achieving port seizure and infrastructure control with low friendly losses in the invasion's opening weeks—British fatalities totaled under 10 during the March-April conventional phase—though subsequent urban attrition from guerrilla tactics imposed strains during the transition to occupation.^[35] Tactical metrics underscored Commando successes in littoral and urban raiding, such as rapid breaching of defended positions and denial of Iraqi armor counterattacks, contrasting with broader strategic debates over prolonged stabilization efforts that exposed forces to insurgency attrition and no verified WMD recoveries despite site inspections. While initial phases highlighted doctrinal strengths in amphibious seizure and joint operations, extended Basra patrols faced improvised explosive devices and militia ambushes, contributing to cumulative British losses exceeding 170 by mission end in 2009, amid critiques of under-resourced counterinsurgency.^[36]

21st Century Conflicts and Deployments

The United Kingdom Commando Force, primarily through 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, engaged in extensive operations in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021 under Operation Herrick, with a focus on counterinsurgency in Helmand Province. During Operation Herrick 5 (September 2006 to April 2007), 3 Commando Brigade deployed elements including 42 Commando to garrison Sangin District Centre amid the Taliban siege, conducting ground and air assaults to secure key areas against sustained insurgent attacks.^[37] J Company, 42 Commando participated in Operation Silver in early April to clear Taliban forces from Sangin town, supporting multinational efforts to disrupt enemy operations.^[38] Units such as 539 Assault Squadron provided amphibious and raiding support, adapting commando tactics to asymmetric warfare environments.^[38] Further deployments included 3 Commando Brigade assuming command of Task Force Helmand for Operation Herrick 14 in April 2011, overseeing six-month rotations emphasizing partnered operations with Afghan forces.^[39] Royal Marines units conducted over 12 tours in Afghanistan collectively, equivalent to more than 14,000 personnel rotations, maintaining high operational tempo in contested districts like Nad-e-Ali and Sangin despite intense combat demands.^[40] This sustained presence demonstrated the force's evolution from amphibious assault to persistent counterinsurgency, with verifiable successes in securing population centers and disrupting Taliban supply lines, though at the cost of significant casualties including 33 from 3 Commando Brigade in Helmand.^[41] In Iraq, post-2003 operations involved 40 Commando's tour in 2004 as part of stabilization efforts, transitioning to advisory roles by the drawdown phase.^[42] Commando elements contributed to counter-ISIS operations from 2014, primarily through special operations and training missions rather than large-scale ground engagements, aligning with coalition strategies emphasizing local capacity building.^[43] Beyond major land campaigns, the force supported non-combatant evacuations in Libya during February 2011 under Operation Deference, with Royal Marines providing force protection for HMS Cumberland and HMS York, facilitating the safe extraction of British nationals amid civil unrest.^[44] In counter-piracy efforts off Somalia, Royal Marines boarding teams captured 13 pirates in January 2012 during a NATO-led interception of a suspect dhow, contributing to maritime security in the Indian Ocean.^[45] More recently, the Littoral Response Group (South), integrating Commando Force units, deployed to the Indo-Pacific in 2024, with over 400 personnel conducting joint exercises near Darwin, Australia, to enhance littoral maneuver and regional partnerships.^[46] These operations underscore the force's versatility in global crisis response, sustaining relevance through adaptation to hybrid threats despite recruitment and welfare strains from prolonged high-tempo commitments.

Doctrine and Operational Capabilities

Amphibious and Littoral Warfare

The United Kingdom Commando Force, primarily embodied by the Royal Marines, employs amphibious and littoral warfare tactics centered on ship-to-objective maneuver (STOM), which enables forces to transition directly from maritime platforms to inland objectives while minimizing exposure on contested beaches. This approach prioritizes vertical envelopment through helicopter assaults and horizontal maneuvers via landing craft utility (LCU) vessels, allowing commando units to exploit littoral geography—coastal zones typically within 20 nautical miles of shore—where speed and dispersion outperform massed formations. Integration with amphibious assault ships and carriers facilitates layered power projection, combining air-delivered troops with surface landings to achieve overmatch in green-water environments.^[47]^[48]^[49] These tactics emphasize operational tempo over numerical superiority, leveraging the Royal Marines' light infantry specialization to conduct rapid insertions that disrupt adversary defenses before they consolidate. In exercises such as Joint Warrior, multinational scenarios have validated this methodology through simulated amphibious landings and vertical assaults involving over 20,000 personnel, 30 warships, and integrated helicopter operations, demonstrating the force's ability to synchronize LCU beachings with helo-borne envelopments for decisive effects in littoral battlespaces. Empirical data from such drills underscore the doctrinal preference for maneuver warfare, where commando elements achieve faster objective seizure compared to heavier army-centric amphibious models reliant on sustained beachheads, as littoral constraints like shallow waters and urban coastlines favor agile, distributed units.^[50]^[51]^[47] Key advantages include high-readiness crisis response, with commando forces maintained for swift global deployment via forward-based shipping, enabling interventions within days rather than weeks. However, these capabilities face vulnerabilities in anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) environments, where precision-guided munitions and integrated coastal defenses can target exposed assault waves, as highlighted in analyses of modern contested littorals that question the feasibility of traditional STOM without enhanced standoff fires and deception. The 2021 assessment of Royal Navy amphibious assaults notes that success increasingly demands adaptations beyond conventional models, prioritizing littoral shaping through unmanned systems and strikes to mitigate risks to landing forces.^[48]^[52]^[49]

Special Operations and Raiding Missions

The United Kingdom Commando Force serves as a tier-2 special operations forces enabler, as outlined in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, providing NATO Level 2 support through specialized raiding, reconnaissance, and disruption missions.^[53]^[54] This role emphasizes small-team insertions via maritime, air, or land approaches to conduct targeted reconnaissance, precision strikes, and counter-terrorism operations, prioritizing high-impact disruptions over sustained interventions.^[55] Units such as 45 Commando execute these tasks, including crisis response and raid operations that integrate with broader NATO special operations task forces.^[56] In counter-narcotics efforts during the 2010s and beyond, Commando Force elements demonstrated high operational success in raiding missions, such as interdicting drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Gulf of Oman. For instance, in 2020, Royal Marines collaborated with multinational forces to seize over 450 kg of methamphetamine in the largest such bust by Combined Maritime Forces, highlighting effective small-team boarding and disruption tactics.^[57] Similar precision actions, including sniper-disabled speedboats carrying £35 million in narcotics in 2023 and 2025, underscore the focus on rapid, low-signature interventions that degrade illicit networks without escalating to broader engagements.^[58]^[59] Integration with United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) enhances these capabilities, with Royal Marines contributing personnel to the Special Forces Support Group for counter-terrorism and direct action support.^[5] This collaboration blurs traditional boundaries between conventional commando raiding and elite special operations, enabling joint missions but raising internal debates on preserving the distinct ethos of scalable amphibious assaults versus niche SOF tasks.^[60] While historical World War II-style large-scale raids informed early doctrine, contemporary adaptations prioritize stealthy, technology-enabled strikes, necessitating ongoing training evolution to maintain effectiveness in peer-adversary environments.^[7]

Evolution under Future Commando Force

The Future Commando Force (FCF) programme, initiated in 2019, represents a doctrinal pivot for the United Kingdom Commando Force toward distributed littoral operations in response to peer adversary threats from states like Russia and China, emphasizing smaller, company-sized raiding teams over traditional brigade-scale amphibious assaults.^[7] This evolution aligns with the 2025 Strategic Defence Review's (SDR) prioritization of special operations forces (SOF) capabilities, including NATO Level 2 SOF support, amid trade-offs such as the early retirement of amphibious shipping like the Albion-class vessels to redirect resources toward autonomous and high-survivability insertion methods.^[53]^[61] The SDR underscores causal realism in these shifts, noting that massed formations are vulnerable to anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) systems, necessitating dispersed operations from forward carriers and submarines to maintain operational tempo against hypersonic and drone threats.^[55] Central to FCF's jointness is the establishment of the Military Strategic Headquarters (MSHQ) on 1 April 2025, which integrates Commando Force planning with broader defence command under the Chief of the Defence Staff, enhancing cross-service coordination for littoral strike packages.^[55] This structure facilitates company-level teams equipped for persistent forward presence, validated through exercises demonstrating rapid insertion via autonomous craft and vertical envelopment, countering critiques that the programme abandons amphibious heritage without empirical backing.^[62] Such testing, including 2025 drills with allied forces, confirms improved dispersal and lethality in contested environments, though traditionalists argue it dilutes massed manoeuvre without proportional gains in peer conflicts.^[63] Enhancements in survivability include prototypes like the Sea Dagger Commando Insertion Craft (CIC), unveiled in 2025, which enables high-speed, low-observability deployment of up to 12 personnel at 46 knots using AI-driven autonomy, addressing A2/AD vulnerabilities inherent in legacy landing craft.^[64] However, the National Audit Office's 2023 Equipment Plan assessment highlights a £0.7 billion shortfall for high-threat maritime operations, rendering full FCF realisation contingent on unresolved funding gaps that could undermine distributed ops against equipped adversaries.^[65]^[66] These trade-offs—prioritizing SOF punch over legacy platforms—reflect first-principles adaptation to empirical threat data from Ukraine, where dispersed forces evaded attrition, yet risk capability hollowing if budget constraints persist beyond SDR commitments.^[7]

Organizational Structure

Headquarters and Command Elements

The headquarters of the United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF) is situated at Royal Marines (RM) Stonehouse Barracks in Plymouth, England, functioning as the primary nerve center for command, control, and administrative support of the formation's operations.^[67] This location houses the core staff elements responsible for strategic planning, operational coordination, and integration of joint service capabilities across Royal Marines, Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force personnel.^[67] The facility supports the commander's oversight of high-intensity training, deployment readiness, and mission rehearsals, ensuring the force maintains its role as a scalable, special operations-capable amphibious unit.^[3] Command of the UKCF falls under a Royal Marines brigadier general, who exercises authority over the formation's nine subordinate units and associated elements, spanning planning from littoral strike operations to NATO-aligned contingencies.^[60] This leadership directs rotations of very high readiness forces, such as those embedded in the Royal Navy's Littoral Response Groups (LRGs), which integrate UKCF land components with naval amphibious assets for rapid global response.^[2] Command elements emphasize joint interoperability, including real-time fusion of intelligence and logistics to support commanders' decision-making in contested environments.^[68] In alignment with 2025 defense reforms, UKCF headquarters maintains ties to the Maritime Strike Headquarters (MSHQ) framework, enhancing NATO interoperability through standardized procedures for multi-domain operations and crisis response.^[69] These linkages facilitate seamless integration with allied forces, focusing on causal enablers like shared maritime domain awareness and expeditionary basing, without compromising the force's autonomous command span.^[69] Staff rotations and exercises under this structure have tested command resilience, as evidenced by prolonged deployments supporting LRG missions across theaters like the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific.^[70]

Core Royal Marine Commando Units

The core Royal Marine Commando units comprise the primary battalion-sized formations that provide the fighting backbone of the United Kingdom Commando Force, specializing in amphibious manoeuvre, protection, raiding, and information operations. These units, numbering approximately 3,000 personnel in total, are trained to the Commando standard and integrate within 3 Commando Brigade for rapid deployment in littoral and expeditionary environments.^[3]^[71] 40 Commando Royal Marines, based at Norton Manor Camp near Taunton in Somerset, operates as a light manoeuvre battalion focused on reconnaissance, direct action, and crisis response in amphibious and land-based operations.^[3]^[72] 42 Commando Royal Marines, headquartered at Bickleigh Barracks in Plymouth, Devon, similarly functions as an elite light role battalion capable of independent manoeuvre, raiding, and sustainment in contested littoral zones.^[3]^[71] 45 Commando Royal Marines, located at RM Condor in Arbroath, Angus, Scotland, provides equivalent manoeuvre capabilities, with a historical emphasis on arctic and northern operations alongside its core amphibious role.^[3]^[72] 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines, stationed at HM Naval Base Clyde in Faslane, Scotland, consists of around 460 personnel dedicated to maritime counter-terrorism, nuclear asset protection, and high-threat security missions, including denial of access to strategic deterrents and explosive ordnance disposal at sea.^[73]^[74] 47 Commando (Raiding Group) Royal Marines, based at RM Tamar within HM Naval Base Devonport in Plymouth, specializes in amphibious raiding, small boat insertions, and landing craft operations to enable forcible entry and disruption in denied areas.^[75] 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group, a battalion-sized element integrated into the Commando structure, delivers reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence gathering, and information warfare support to enhance decision-making and targeting in joint operations.^[76]^[68]

Supporting and Integrated Units

The United Kingdom Commando Force incorporates commando-qualified units from the British Army and aviation elements from the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm to deliver critical enablers for expeditionary operations, multiplying the combat power of Royal Marine maneuver units through specialized joint capabilities. These integrated formations, which undergo the rigorous All Arms Commando Course for green beret qualification, provide fire support, engineering, logistics, and rotary-wing insertion, allowing for rapid, scalable responses in littoral and high-threat environments. Post-2020 restructuring under the Future Commando Force concept has emphasized mixed-service compositions for special operations support, aligning with NATO's demands for versatile, peer-competitive forces.^[77] The 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, based in Plymouth, serves as the primary fire support element, deploying forward observation teams to coordinate artillery, naval gunfire, and air strikes in support of commando raids and assaults. Comprising approximately 700 personnel trained for amphibious, arctic, mountain, and desert warfare, the regiment operates L118 light guns and maintains very high readiness for global deployment, having supported operations from the Falklands to Afghanistan. Its integration ensures precise, expeditionary fires that extend the brigade's reach without reliance on heavier, less mobile assets.^[77]^[78] Similarly, the 24th Commando Regiment Royal Engineers, located at Chivenor, furnishes combat engineering to facilitate mobility and survivability, including assault breaching, route clearance, and improvised explosive device defeat in contested littoral zones. With around 600 commando-trained sappers organized into headquarters, field support, and specialist squadrons, the regiment enables brigade-level maneuvers by constructing temporary infrastructure and countering obstacles, as demonstrated in exercises simulating peer adversary threats. This engineering backbone is vital for sustaining operations in austere, water-dominated terrains where conventional support falters.^[79]^[80] Logistics sustainment falls to the Commando Logistic Regiment at Chivenor, a tri-service unit of roughly 780 personnel from the Royal Logistic Corps, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, and medical elements, delivering second-line supplies such as ammunition, fuel, water, and maintenance across the force. Capable of five-day notice to move, it supports dispersed commando elements with tailored combat service support, including forward refueling and casualty evacuation, ensuring operational tempo in prolonged engagements without fixed bases.^[81]^[82] Aerial mobility and insertion are provided by the Commando Helicopter Force, comprising three Fleet Air Arm squadrons equipped with Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat helicopters for troop transport, reconnaissance, and close air support to 3 Commando Brigade. Operating from carriers or austere sites, the force has executed over 10,000 sorties in recent decades, enabling stealthy littoral maneuvers and rapid exfiltration, with crews trained for night and adverse weather operations to maintain advantage in denied areas.^[83]^[84] Recent enhancements include the incorporation of British Army Ranger Regiment elements for NATO special operations, as outlined in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, where Rangers provide scalable augmentation for Level 2 tasks such as deep reconnaissance and force projection in a 2026 NATO taskforce integrating commandos and Rangers for hybrid threats. This joint qualification model fosters interoperability, allowing Rangers' expeditionary skills to complement commando raiding without duplicating core infantry roles.^[56]^[53]

Equipment and Technology

Weapons and Personal Gear

The primary assault rifle for lead strike teams within the United Kingdom Commando Force is the L403A1, a designation for the Knight's Armament Company KS-1 rifle, adopted in September 2023 to enhance close-quarters and multi-role capabilities in littoral and raiding operations.^[85] This 5.56×45mm weapon, featuring a 13.7-inch barrel variant optimized for the Alternative Individual Weapon (AIW) role, supplements legacy systems like the L85A3 SA80 series, which remains in use for general infantry roles despite ongoing phase-out efforts.^[86] Empirical evaluations, including cold-weather trials in Norway during early 2025, demonstrated superior reliability and handling over predecessors in dynamic environments, with field tests confirming reduced malfunctions under stress compared to SA80 variants in peer adversary simulations.^[86] Specialized units, such as those conducting visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) missions, have integrated the SIG Sauer MCX carbine as of April 2025, replacing Colt Canada L119A1-A2 models for enhanced modularity and suppressibility in confined spaces.^[87] Standard sidearms include the L131A1 Glock 17 Gen 4 pistol in 9×19mm Parabellum, valued for its reliability in adverse conditions, with commandos often pairing it with suppressors for stealth operations.^[88] These small arms evolutions prioritize combat edge through interchangeable optics, rails for accessories, and ammunition compatibility, drawing from operational data showing improved hit probabilities in low-light raids versus conventional forces.^[89] Personal protective equipment emphasizes mobility for amphibious commandos, featuring the Virtus soldier system with modular plate carriers and helmets, which balance fragmentation resistance against weight penalties exceeding 15 kg in full loadout.^[90] The Osprey Mk4 body armor, integrated into this kit, provides NIJ Level IV ceramic plates for small-arms protection, with survivability data from conflict analyses indicating up to 30% casualty reductions in torso hits compared to unarmored baselines, though critiques highlight agility trade-offs in prolonged swims or climbs.^[91] Night vision capabilities rely on the Head Mounted Night Vision System (HMNVS), a UK-adapted AN/PVS-14 monocular goggle, supplemented by recent Elbit Systems contracts awarded in October 2024 for advanced thermal clip-ons to extend detection ranges beyond 300 meters in degraded visibility.^[92]^[93] These systems, while adding to load burdens documented in fatigue studies, yield empirical advantages in first-shot accuracy during nocturnal insertions, as validated in joint exercises with allies.^[94]

Vehicles, Craft, and Insertion Capabilities

The Viking BvS10, operated by the Royal Marines' Viking Squadron, serves as the primary amphibious all-terrain armored personnel carrier for the UK Commando Force, enabling troop transport across challenging littoral and inland terrains with full amphibious capability.^[95] Introduced in 2005, approximately 166 units were acquired, with recent exercises in Norway during October 2025 demonstrating their role in Arctic and Baltic amphibious landings.^[96] Complementing this, Jackal high-mobility weapons platforms provide rapid reconnaissance and patrol functions, offering protected mobility in open terrains suitable for commando raiding operations.^[97] For surface insertion, the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk10, measuring 29 meters in length and 7.4 meters in width, facilitates assault deliveries from larger vessels, accommodating up to 120 Royal Marines or four Viking vehicles—or a single Challenger 2 tank—in amphibious operations.^[98] Addressing gaps in high-threat littoral environments, the Ministry of Defence initiated procurement for 24 next-generation Commando Insertion Craft (CIC) in 2025, with Leidos unveiling the Sea Dagger concept at DSEI in September 2025; this armored, autonomous amphibious vessel can deploy 12 commandos or light tactical platforms at speeds up to 46 mph, incorporating advanced sensors and modular systems for contested insertions.^[99]^[100] Airborne insertion relies on the Commando Helicopter Force's Merlin HC4 and Wildcat helicopters, which support rapid troop deployment, raids, and overwatch in littoral scenarios; for instance, Merlin aircraft conducted maritime insertions during June 2025 exercises, while Wildcats enabled perimeter establishment and vehicle interdiction in December 2024 training.^[62]^[101] The 2024 decommissioning of the Albion-class landing platform docks has prompted analysis of reduced capacity for launching these craft and vehicles from dedicated amphibious motherships, potentially constraining sustained operations despite Ministry of Defence assurances of unchanged Royal Marines deployment schedules.^[102]^[103]

Recent Modernization Acquisitions

In March 2025, the Royal Navy procured over 1,500 Sig Sauer MCX rifles through Edgar Brothers for the UK Commando Force, replacing Colt Canada-produced rifles previously in use and enhancing precision for specialist operations, including counter-terrorism missions.^[104]^[105] These SOF-peculiar weapons support the Force's alignment with NATO Level 2 special operations, as outlined in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, focusing on peer-level threats without reliance on legacy systems.^[53] Uncrewed aerial systems have seen targeted integrations, with the Malloy Aeronautics T-150 heavy-lift drone declared operational for Royal Navy and Royal Marines front-line service in September 2025, enabling ship-to-ship resupply and logistics in contested environments.^[106]^[107] This builds on the February 2024 Defence Drone Strategy, incorporating Ukraine-derived lessons for heavy-lift UAS to bolster Commando Force capabilities in littoral and high-threat scenarios, including Arctic operations with FPV drones for extended reconnaissance.^[8]^[108] Budget constraints have tempered rollout, with the National Audit Office's 2023 Equipment Plan report allocating £0.7 billion for Royal Marines modernisation yet noting overall £16.9 billion cost overruns and insufficient funding for Commando Force operations in high-threat maritime domains, delaying full Future Commando Force fielding.^[65]^[66] These shortfalls, exacerbated by prioritisation of nuclear and naval programmes, have pushed timelines beyond initial targets, though incremental procurements like the MCX rifles proceeded on schedule for counter-terrorism units by March 2025.^[109]

Controversies and Criticisms

Debates on Effectiveness and Relevance

In January 2024, then-Defence Secretary Grant Shapps directed senior military officials to conduct performance reviews of units including the Royal Marines, prompting accusations from Corps leaders that he was effectively demanding they justify their existence amid broader efficiency drives.^[110] Shapps denied seeking to undermine the force, affirming its essential role, but the episode highlighted tensions over the Marines' strategic value post-Future Commando Force (FCF) restructuring, which emphasizes special operations maritime tasks over traditional large-scale amphibious assaults.^[110] Critics, including some defence analysts, argue this pivot dilutes the Corps' core amphibious expertise, transforming elite infantry into a niche SOF adjunct that risks redundancy with established units like the Special Boat Service, potentially eroding massed landing capabilities needed for peer conflicts.^[111] Proponents counter with evidence of operational adaptability, citing the Commando Force's validation for NATO's 2026 Special Operations Taskforce, where Royal Marines units like 42 Commando integrate as maritime strike teams for high-threat littoral missions, demonstrating relevance in contested environments like the High North.^[56] This NATO endorsement, involving rapid-response raiding and insertion validated through exercises such as fast-roping assaults and multi-domain integration, underscores empirical effectiveness against obsolescence claims, as the force's specialized skills align with alliance priorities for deterrence without relying on vulnerable large-scale projections.^[112] However, these successes are tempered by enabler shortfalls; the March 2025 retirement of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark—key amphibious assault ships—eliminates dedicated landing platforms until Multi-Role Support Ship replacements arrive around 2033, constraining deployment scale and exposing reliance on ad-hoc carriers or allies for force projection.^[113] ^[114] Debates reflect partisan divides, with conservative-leaning outlets emphasizing retention of elite capabilities for national security amid rising threats from Russia and China, while government statements under Labour's John Healey frame cuts as modernization necessities, prioritizing drone-enabled littoral operations over expensive legacy assets despite acknowledged capability gaps.^[115] Healey affirmed the Marines' future in November 2024, tying it to FCF's SOF evolution, yet RUSI analyses warn that overemphasis on raiding without balanced amphibious sustainment could undermine deterrence in future wars, where empirical data from Ukraine highlights the need for resilient, scalable insertions over pure special operations.^[47] Operational metrics, including the Corps' contributions to NATO exercises simulating peer aggression, provide causal evidence of sustained relevance, but budgetary trade-offs risk hollowing out the force's strategic depth unless offset by accelerated acquisitions.^[116]

Internal Cultural and Training Issues

In September 2024, the Royal Navy directed the renaming of several Royal Marines training exercises at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in Lympstone, citing concerns that names such as "Violent Entry," "Final Thrust," and "Direct Action" conveyed overly aggressive or sexual connotations that might deter recruits or offend sensitivities.^[117] These were replaced with neutral alternatives like "Dragon Warrior" and "Green Salamander," a decision former instructors described as emblematic of a broader cultural shift away from the force's historically unapologetic emphasis on combat realism toward greater inclusivity.^[118] Critics, including ex-personnel, argued that such changes risk diluting the psychological toughness essential to commando identity, though official rationale focused on modernizing language to align with diversity goals without altering physical demands.^[119] The Royal Marines Commando Course, a 32-week regimen renowned for its brutality, has retained its core standards as of 2025, with officials explicitly stating "no one's changing the commando tests" amid public scrutiny.^[120] Pass rates hover around 40-50% for recruits reaching the full program, reflecting sustained rigor that includes the infamous 30-mile "Endurance" yomp carrying 90-pound loads, though overall armed forces recruitment shows net outflows exceeding inflows, with 6,890 voluntary departures against lower intakes in the year to June 2025.^[121]^[122] Volunteer numbers for elite roles have faced pressure, partly attributed by insiders to perceptions of eroding meritocracy, yet Royal Navy/Royal Marines applications rose to 30,220 in the prior 12 months, indicating resilience in initial interest despite high attrition.^[123] A notable 2025 case involved Royal Marine John Carr of 43 Commando, who penned an open letter to military leaders decrying potential standard dilutions for female integration, warning that DEI-driven adjustments could endanger lives in combat by prioritizing inclusion over capability.^[124] Following his advocacy, Carr faced police questioning, referral to counter-extremism programs, and suspension, which he likened to treatment "like a terrorist," while denying neo-Nazi allegations and framing his stance as defense of operational discipline.^[125]^[126] This incident highlighted tensions between traditional warrior ethos—credited with forging cohesive units through shared adversity—and emerging pressures from diversity policies, which some analysts link to risks of factionalism, though empirical data on cohesion remains anecdotal absent longitudinal studies.^[127] No women have completed the full Commando Course to date, with seven succeeding only in the abbreviated 13-week All Arms variant for serving personnel, underscoring persistent barriers tied to physiological demands rather than overt lowering of criteria.^[128]

Budgetary and Political Challenges

The United Kingdom Commando Force, primarily comprising Royal Marine units, has encountered persistent funding shortfalls that have constrained equipment procurement and operational readiness. A 2023 analysis revealed a £17 billion equipment funding gap across UK defence over the subsequent decade, exacerbating underinvestment in high-threat capabilities essential for commando operations, such as amphibious assault and rapid insertion assets.^[129] These pressures manifested in specific cuts, including a 1.8% reduction in planned Royal Marines training expenditure within the prior year, as part of broader Ministry of Defence efforts to address in-year budget overruns.^[130] Overall defence spending, at 2.3% of GDP in 2024–25, has risen modestly to 2.5% by 2027–28, yet real-terms growth remains minimal at 0.1% for 2025–26 after accounting for inflation and personnel costs, limiting reprioritizations for elite forces like the Commandos.^[131]^[130] The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) of 2025 introduced reprioritizations to bolster the Commando Force's role in NATO Level 2 special operations, including enhanced investment in special operations forces equipment and a new Defence Investment Plan to align resources with emerging threats from state actors.^[61]^[53] However, these adjustments occur amid ongoing debates over the adequacy of the 2% NATO target, with empirical assessments indicating that normalized austerity—prioritizing social expenditures—has hollowed out force capabilities, as evidenced by a nearly 24% reduction in Royal Navy and Marines personnel since 2000.^[132]^[133] Proponents of spending hikes argue that geopolitical risks, including Russian aggression and Indo-Pacific tensions, necessitate exceeding 2.5% of GDP to sustain commando lethality, while fiscal constraints have prompted scrutiny of inefficiencies without fully resolving causal underfunding.^[134] Politically, the Commando Force has faced tensions between pushes for greater integration with Army and special forces units—aimed at optimizing scarce resources—and preserving Royal Marines autonomy in littoral and expeditionary roles. In 2024, Defence Secretary John Healey placed the service under review amid equipment retirements, such as amphibious vessels, yet affirmed its essential status and reinforcement via the SDR, countering earlier proposals to repurpose units for special operations.^[115]^[135] This scrutiny reflects broader governmental efforts to modernize amid fiscal realism, though institutional biases toward procurement over maintenance have compounded readiness gaps, as noted in parliamentary analyses.^[136]

Achievements and Legacy

Battle Honours and Key Successes

The United Kingdom Commando Force, primarily through Royal Marine Commando units, has accumulated numerous battle honours from World War II operations to engagements in Afghanistan, with Commando forces collectively awarded 38 honours for daring raids and assaults that achieved outsized strategic effects relative to force size.^[137] These include the St. Nazaire raid on 28 March 1942, where approximately 600 Commandos in Operation Chariot destroyed the Normandie dry dock, preventing its use for German battleship repairs and earning recognition as a pivotal disruption despite heavy losses of 169 killed and most survivors captured. Such operations exemplified commando doctrine's emphasis on precision strikes by elite, lightly equipped troops to yield disproportionate battlefield impacts. In the Falklands War of 1982, 3 Commando Brigade elements secured key terrain around Goose Green and Darwin following the initial assault, with 40 Commando advancing over 50 miles by foot to occupy the settlement on 1 June, consolidating gains from the 28-29 May battle and enabling further pushes toward Stanley.^[20] 42 Commando's night assault on Mount Harriet on 11-12 June, involving 650 marines against entrenched Argentine positions, captured the feature after intense close-quarters fighting, inflicting over 30 enemy casualties while suffering 7 killed, and unhinging defenses for the final advance that prompted Argentine capitulation on 14 June.^[21] These actions, executed by roughly 3,000 brigade personnel in amphibious and overland maneuvers, demonstrated force multiplication through rigorous training and adaptability, recapturing the islands against a numerically superior garrison of about 11,000. During the 2003 Iraq invasion, 40 Commando executed a helicopter-borne assault on the Al Faw Peninsula starting 20 March, with 539 marines securing oil infrastructure against Iraqi marines and infantry in under 48 hours, preventing well sabotage that could have caused environmental and economic damage akin to Kuwait 1991, while sustaining only 4 casualties.^[31] This operation, the first major conventional ground action of the coalition, opened southern access routes with a small spearhead force, highlighting doctrinal effectiveness in littoral strike roles integrated with naval and air assets.^[9] In Afghanistan from 2001-2014, Commando units like 45 Commando conducted platoon-level raids and mentoring, disrupting insurgent networks in Helmand with teams of 30-40 achieving kills and captures far exceeding larger conventional patrols, as evidenced by multiple gallantry awards for operations yielding high enemy disruption ratios.^[138] These successes underscore a pattern of low-footprint, high-lethality engagements that amplify coalition effects, though official records note such contributions often receive less public emphasis compared to larger formations.^[139]

Influence on Modern Special Operations

The doctrinal foundations of the United Kingdom Commando Force, rooted in World War II British Commando raiding tactics emphasizing small-unit autonomy, physical endurance, and rapid amphibious insertion, directly shaped early Allied special operations units. American Rangers, established in June 1942 under Colonel William O. Darby, underwent training at the British Commando depot in Achnacarry, Scotland, adopting hit-and-run methodologies that prioritized individual initiative over rigid hierarchies, enabling scalable operations against superior forces. This exchange demonstrated the Commando model's causal efficacy in asymmetric warfare, where empirical outcomes—such as disrupting German coastal defenses with limited manpower—outweighed conventional army preferences for massed infantry assaults.^[140] Post-war, the Commando legacy endured through symbolic and structural exports, notably the green beret, originally adopted by British Commandos in 1941 on the recommendation of their Scottish instructor for its practicality in rugged terrain and as a marker of elite qualification. United States Army Special Forces informally embraced the green beret in 1953, formalizing it in 1961 under President Kennedy, to signify comparable standards of unconventional warfare proficiency derived from Commando-influenced training lineages. This adoption reflected the model's scalability, as Commando-trained personnel from the Office of Strategic Services transitioned into post-war units, fostering a global paradigm of special operations rigor that NATO allies replicated in forming amphibious reconnaissance elements by the 1950s.^[141]^[142] In contemporary contexts, the United Kingdom Commando Force's Future Commando Force (FCF) program, initiated in 2019, has exported littoral warfare concepts to NATO partners, adapting WWII-era raiding to contested maritime domains through distributed, technology-augmented teams operating from uncrewed vessels and multi-domain networks. Joint exercises like Talisman Sabre in July-August 2024, involving over 30,000 personnel, showcased FCF's influence as UK Commandos collaborated with United States, Japanese, and Singaporean special operations forces on ship-boarding and interdiction in littoral environments, validating scalable tactics for peer adversaries like China. This doctrinal ripple contrasts with traditional army-centric models by prioritizing naval integration and surprise over sustained ground dominance, with empirical data from such drills informing allied shifts toward agile response groups.^[53] Ongoing interoperability, including 2023 training in Germany where Royal Marines Commandos paired with US 10th Special Forces Group for urban and recce operations, underscores the Commando Force's role in evolving NATO special operations toward hybrid threats. By 2025, integration into NATO's Special Operations Taskforce—comprising UK Rangers, Royal Marines, and elements from 16 Air Assault Brigade—has enabled Level 2 capabilities like partner-force advising in high-threat areas, with over 2,000 UK personnel honing cold-weather littoral raids in Norway exercises. These exchanges perpetuate causal adaptations, as Commando-derived emphasis on mindset and versatility equips allies to counter army-dominant paradigms in resource-constrained scenarios.^[143]^[56]^[144]

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What is the difference in standard issue equipment between British ...
Feb 22, 2024 · Those within the RM serving in supporting roles will use the UK armed forces standard issue vertus helmet, plate carrier and sa80 rifle, as do ...What weapons did British commandos use in WW2? - QuoraCan the Royal Marines commandos choose and customize their ...More results from www.quora.com
[91]
Combat body armour | The British Army
Osprey assault body armour provides excellent ballistic protection, while improving the comfort of personnel in a combat role.
[92]
Night Vision Devices - UKSF Gear - Elite UK Forces
Regular British forces use the Head Mounted Night Vision System (HMNVS), the UK version of the AN/PVS-14, made by ITT Defence for the US military.
[93]
UK MoD awards Elbit further night-vision goggles contract for British ...
Jan 30, 2025 · According to Elbit Systems UK, the contract for additional NVGs was awarded by the UK MoD in October 2024 but was not publicly announced until ...
[94]
State-of-the-art night vision goggles secured for British Army
Jun 8, 2021 · The British Army will receive new state-of-the-art Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) and Thermal Clip-on Systems (TCOS) which will improve ...Missing: body armor
[95]
BVS 10 Viking APC - Elite UK Forces
The latest ATV used by the Royal Marines is the BvS 10 Viking APC. In service since 2005, the armoured Viking has been deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
[96]
UK Royal Marines Test BvS10 Viking Amphibious Landings in ...
Oct 1, 2025 · UK-led JEF drills put Royal Marines' Viking amphibious landings on Norway's coast to the test, boosting Arctic/Baltic readiness and allied ...
[97]
MWMIK Jackals | Royal Marines - Elite UK Forces
The Jackal is an open, armoured vehicle that offers a degree of protection against IEDs while remaining relatively fast and maneuverable.
[98]
Royal Marines Equipment By Sea
At 29 metres long and 7.4 metres wide, our Landing Craft Utility (LCU) can transport up to 120 Royal Marines Commandos or four Viking APVs (or one Challenger ...
[99]
Leidos unveils Sea Dagger for UK Commando Insertion Craft ...
Sep 17, 2025 · At DSEI UK 2025, Leidos unveiled its Sea Dagger, a next-generation Commando Insertion Craft (CIC) concept developed for the Royal Navy.
[100]
Britain's Royal Marines Are Getting a New Landing Craft
Sep 8, 2025 · The Royal Marines, the UK's elite amphibious force, has put in an order for 24 Sea Dagger Commando Insertion Craft, an autonomous amphibious ...
[101]
Royal Marines test skills in vehicle takedowns - Royal Navy
Dec 13, 2024 · In this scenario, Wildcat helicopters inserted 42 Commando troops onto the airfield, where they established a perimeter and conducted vehicle ...
[102]
The Albion class are gone, let's move on - UK Defence Journal
Dec 5, 2024 · While the retirement of HMS Albion and Bulwark marks the end of an era, the MoD has emphasised that amphibious capability will remain intact.
[103]
HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark
Dec 2, 2024 · The retirement of HMS Albion and Bulwark will not impact the operational programme of the Royal Marines, who continue to deploy globally.
[104]
Royal Navy procures new rifle for specialist commando operations
Mar 8, 2025 · More than 1,500 Sig Sauer MCX rifles have been purchased by the Navy, enabled by Edgar Brothers, as part of continued investment in the Commando ...
[105]
Royal Navy Procures Sig MCX Rifle for Specialist Commando ...
Mar 10, 2025 · The new rifles will replace the Colt Canada-produced rifles previously used by the Commando Force, further enhancing the specialized ...
[106]
Royal Navy declares two drone systems ready for front-line operations
Sep 11, 2025 · “The introduction of logistic drones represents a significant expansion in the Commando Force's use of Uncrewed Aerial Systems, beyond those ...Missing: counter- | Show results with:counter-
[107]
Royal Navy's Malloy T-150 UAS Ready for Front-Line Service
Sep 16, 2025 · Malloy's eight-rotor T-150 logistics drone has recently been used for ship-to-ship resupply during the HMS Prince of Wales' CSG 25 deployment.
[108]
Commando drone project to boost Arctic combat power
Apr 29, 2025 · The integration of drones into Commando operations represents a significant force multiplier. FPV drones allow small, agile teams to extend ...
[109]
The Equipment Plan 2023 to 2033 - NAO press release
Dec 4, 2023 · It estimates that the Plan's funding gap could range between £7.6 billion and £29.8 billion, depending on whether risks or opportunities ...
[110]
MPs demand answers on HMS Albion and Bulwark as Shapps plans ...
Jan 10, 2024 · The Defence Secretary has denied reports he is set to ask the Royal Marines to justify their existence, after telling MPs they are "absolutely ...
[111]
The Commando Force's Focus on Raiding is Distorting Future ...
Feb 15, 2023 · As the Commando Force reforms to become a 21st-century raiding force, it faces significant equipment and capability challenges.Missing: onwards | Show results with:onwards
[112]
ITV News joins elite unit as it prepares to be deployed within Nato
Aug 1, 2025 · This team has been pulled together to form part of Nato's new special operations taskforce to be deployed worldwide, both on land and at sea.
[113]
UK to scrap Royal Navy ships, retire helicopters to save $633 mln
Nov 20, 2024 · HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, two amphibious assault ships which have been used to land Royal Marines, will be retired from service in March 2025 ...
[114]
Government confirm new assault ships due for 2033
Dec 12, 2024 · These vessels are planned to leave service by 2034, with MRSS intended to replace them.” The MRSS programme is designed to ensure the continuity ...
[115]
Future of Royal Marines secured says Defence Secretary
Nov 21, 2024 · Defence Secretary John Healey defended the decision, asserting that it aligns with modernising the Royal Navy and optimising resources.
[116]
What will be the real consequences of axing the Royal Navy's LPDs?
Feb 3, 2025 · On 20th November 2024, the Defence Secretary announced that HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark would be decommissioned. Here we look at the context, ...
[117]
Marines rename training exercises over fears they're 'too sexual'
Sep 12, 2024 · 'Woke' defence chiefs have ordered Royal Marines' training exercises to be renamed because their aggressive and sexual connotations could offend ...
[118]
Fury as woke top brass rename Royal Marines training exercises for ...
Sep 11, 2024 · Navy Top Brass have renamed war training exercises for Royal Marines – as the old ones were “too sexual and aggressive”.
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Royal Marines renaming of 'sexual' Forward Thrust exercise is idiocy
Sep 13, 2024 · A truly elite fighting force is now the subject of bizarre changes for fear that names such as Final Thrust sound too aggressive.
[120]
Royal Marines Commando Course standards still as high as ever ...
Apr 30, 2025 · While no woman has yet passed the Royal Marines Commando Course, seven women have succeeded in passing the 13-week All Arms Commando Course, ...
[121]
60% of Royal Marine Recruits Fail and So Do 70% of Business ...
Feb 24, 2025 · 60% of Royal Marine Recruits Fail and So Do 70% of Business Transformations. This is me after successfully completing, and coming top of, my ...
[122]
Armed Forces recruitment: More leaving than joining UK regulars in ...
Aug 29, 2025 · In the 12 months to 30 June 2025, 6,890 personnel left voluntarily. As a percentage of the average trained strength during the outflow period, ...
[123]
Quarterly service personnel statistics: 1 July 2025 - GOV.UK
Jul 1, 2025 · This is a increase of 30 personnel (1.1 per cent) since 1 July 2024. The Maritime Reserve total Strength at 1 July 2025 was 3,170. This is a ...
[124]
Royal Marines in DEI row over women on front line - The Telegraph
Apr 29, 2025 · Member of elite corps who raised concerns about lower standards for female trainees claims he was treated 'like a terrorist'
[125]
Royal Marine says he was arrested and treated like a terrorist after ...
May 1, 2025 · A Royal Marine has claimed he was 'arrested' and 'treated like a terrorist' after complaining about women serving in the elite naval unit.Missing: discipline | Show results with:discipline
[126]
Royal Marine in diversity row: I am not a neo-Nazi - Yahoo
Apr 30, 2025 · A Royal Marine at the centre of a row over diversity and inclusion policies in the Armed Forces has denied claims that he is a neo-Nazi.
[127]
Marine guarding nuclear weapons questioned over 'neo-Nazi links'
Apr 30, 2025 · A Royal Marine in a unit guarding the nuclear deterrent has been questioned by counterterrorism police over his alleged neo-Nazi links. John ...Missing: discipline | Show results with:discipline
[128]
'It's not impossible: A woman will become a Royal Marine' - BBC
Jan 29, 2025 · While no woman has done this yet, seven women have succeeded at the shorter 13-week All Arms Commando Course – available to serving members of ...
[129]
UK military's £17 billion shortfall: a symptom of deep financial ...
Dec 6, 2023 · The NAO's findings point to soaring costs in nuclear and naval programmes, coupled with high inflation, which have exacerbated the budget strain ...Missing: Commando | Show results with:Commando
[130]
Britain's defence cuts outlined and explained
Nov 20, 2024 · The two ships will be replaced by the upcoming Multi-Role Support Ships (MRSS), which are part of the government's long-term naval modernisation ...
[131]
UK defence spending: composition, commitments and challenges - IFS
Sep 26, 2025 · The UK spent 2.3% of national income on defence in 2024–25. This is set to rise to 2.5% (2.6% including the security services) by 2027–28. At ...Missing: Marines | Show results with:Marines
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UK defence spending - The House of Commons Library
Oct 10, 2025 · The latest NATO estimates show that the UK is expected to spend 2.4% of GDP on defence in 2025. In February 2025 the government committed to ...
[133]
British military shrinks by nearly 30% since 2000 - UK Defence Journal
Jan 26, 2024 · Royal Navy and Royal Marines: Reduced by approximately 23.86%; Royal Air Force: Reduced by approximately 41.50%. The detailed figures are as ...
[134]
Prime Minister sets out biggest sustained increase in defence ...
Feb 25, 2025 · The Prime Minister has today (Tuesday 25 February) set out his commitment to increase spending on defence to 2.5% of GDP from April 2027.Missing: debates | Show results with:debates
[135]
Update on Defence capabilities - GOV.UK
Nov 20, 2024 · And of course, Madame Deputy Speaker be in no doubt, the future for our Royal Marines, and their elite force, will be reinforced in the SDR.Missing: scrutiny | Show results with:scrutiny
[136]
Defence in microcosm: the future of the Royal Marines - The Ideas Lab
Nov 21, 2024 · The decision to retire the Albion-class amphibious assault ships raises questions about the role of the Royal Marines and the way the SDR team is working.<|separator|>
[137]
St. Nazaire Raid, also known as Operation Chariot, which took place ...
Mar 28, 2025 · After the war, St Nazaire was one of 38 battle honours awarded to the Commandos; the operation has since become known as The Greatest Raid ...
[138]
Blog — RM Historical Society
In World War II over 74,000 Royal Marines fought at sea and in Commando actions. They manned landing craft, provided frogmen, drove tanks and flew with the ...
[139]
Royal Marines - Operations | History - Elite UK Forces
1991 - Operation Safe Haven Apart from the SBS, the Royal Marines had missed out on the Gulf War (Operation Granby). In the ensuing humanitarian crisis in ...
[140]
'Troops of the Hunter Class': Creating Britain's Legendary ...
Apr 19, 2025 · The British established a small, but well-trained and highly mobile, raiding and reconnaissance force known as the Commandos.
[141]
The green beret came from a British commando school. During ...
Dec 18, 2024 · DURING Pres Kennedy administration he fully authorized the green beret as special forces head gear calling it a symbol of excellence.He ...Missing: legacy | Show results with:legacy
[142]
Green Beret's Roots Traced to World War II - SOFX Report
Oct 11, 2023 · Despite the Army's initial reluctance, the green beret was informally adopted by the Special Forces in 1953 and was widely used during field ...
[143]
UK Royal Marines train with US Green Berets in Germany - NATO
Jul 19, 2023 · During the training, Green Berets from US Army 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) teamed up with Royal Marines from the United Kingdom's 45 ...
[144]
Royal Marines head on Arctic raids as NATO deters aggression on ...
Mar 18, 2025 · More than 2,000 personnel from the UK Commando Force have spent the opening months of 2025 honing vital extreme cold weather warfare tactics ...