Overseas military bases of the United Kingdom

Overseas military bases of the United Kingdom enable the British Armed Forces to conduct expeditionary warfare. Bases tend to be located in or near areas of strategic or diplomatic importance, often used for the build-up or resupply of military forces, as was seen during the 1982 Falklands War and the use of RAF Ascension Island as a staging post. Most of the bases are located on British Overseas Territories or former colonies which retain close diplomatic ties with the UK.

World map showing the United Kingdom and the locations of its 145 overseas military bases

As revealed by Declassified UK, the UK has 145 overseas military bases—second only to the United States—across 42 countries.[1] Seven of the countries where the UK military has a fixed presence are featured in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's list of 30 'Human Rights Priority Countries': Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.[2] Sixty bases are UK-run, including seventeen installations in Cyprus; whilst sixty-nine are operated by partner countries including Oman, which is home to sixteen bases, and Saudi Arabia, which has fifteen.[3]

A number of military operations would not have been possible without the strategic island of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands. It was used for major operations during the War on Terror, Operation Granby (1991), Operation Herrick (2001–14; NATO), Operation Telic (2003–11), Operation Shader (2014–present), Operation Desert Storm (1991), Operation Desert Fox (1998), Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–14), Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003–11), and Operation Inherent Resolve (2014–present; NATO).[4]

Bases by continent

Whilst the Ministry of Defence previously claimed that the UK only had a small number of military bases across the globe,[5][6] a November 2020 report by Declassified UK journalist Phil Miller revealed for the first time that there were in fact a total of 145 military sites that spanned all seven continents.[7] The UK's base sites include 60 it manages itself, as well as a further 85 run by UK allies where the UK has a significant presence.[1] According to Miller, these appear to fit the description of what Mark Carleton-Smith, Britain's Chief of the General Staff, referred to as "lily pads",[8] i.e. sites which the UK has easy access to as and when required.[1]

Africa

In Africa, British troops are based in Djibouti, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Somalia. There are five bases in Kenya alone, including the Kifaru Camp, which is part of the BATUK at the Kahawa Barracks in Nairobi.[3]

In May 2019, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a resolution demanding the withdrawal of British troops from Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands, whose native population was forcibly displaced in the 1970s, and return the islands to Mauritius.[9] Six months later, as the deadline passed, the occupation still had not ended and Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth said the UK was now "an illegal colonial occupier".[10] In January 2021, a UN special international maritime court in Hamburg rejected Britain's claim to sovereignty over Chagos and was urged to "immediately terminate its unlawful occupation" of the archipelago.[11]

Antarctica

Antarctica features the Rothera Research Station.[12] HMS Protector supplies this civilian scientific research station and patrols these waters, including South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.[1]

Asia

There are 61 British military bases in Asia, far more than any other continent. Most of these are in Arab monarchy dictatorships like Saudi Arabia, which is home to fifteen sites, and Oman, which has sixteen of them. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have two bases and one base, respectively.[1] There is also a two-man squad at the Embassy of the United States in Jerusalem. These two soldiers are understood to assist the work of Mark C. Schwartz, the US security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority.[7] Schwartz uses the embassy as his headquarters.[13]

Australia and Oceania

Australia has got four UK bases: the Wyndham aerodrome in Western Australia, Williamtown in New South Wales, Woomera and Mawson Lakes, both in South Australia.[3] Declassified found that the UK also has around 60 personnel spread across the country. Around 25 of these hold defence attaché roles in the British High Commission in Canberra and at Australian Defence Department sites near the capital, such as the Headquarters Joint Operations Command at Bungendore.[1]

A further ten British military personnel are based at unspecified locations in New Zealand. Parliamentary data from 2014 showed their roles included working as navigators on a P-3K Orion aircraft, which can be used for maritime surveillance.[1]

Europe

There are more military sites in Cyprus than anywhere else in the world, seventeen in total.[1] It includes the "sovereign base areas" of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, containing 2,290 British personnel.[14] There are also four bases in Germany and one each in the British Crown Dependency of Jersey, Lithuania, Estonia and the Czech Republic.[1]

North America, Central America and the Carribean

The UK has military forces in six U.S. states including California (Edwards Air Force Base),[15] Nevada (Creech Air Force Base)[16] and South Carolina (MCAS Beaufort).[17][1]

The Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, all major tax havens,[18] have British bases on their land as well.[1] The most recent of these is the Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment, which was raised in April 2020.[19]

South America

RAF Mount Pleasant is the largest of six sites in the Falkland Islands, which is the only territory in South America with British military personnel. Pleasant relies upon a dockyard at Mare Harbour and three anti-aircraft missile silos on Mount Alice, Byron Heights and Mount Kent.[1]

Overseas military installations
Map of current military installations

The British Armed Forces maintain a number of garrisons and military facilities around the world:

Location Details Note
Ascension Island RAF Ascension: The RAF maintains an airbase on Ascension Island; notable for use as a staging post during the 1982 Falklands War, the territory is also the site of a joint UK-US signals intelligence facility. [20]
Bahrain HMS Jufair: Britain's return East of Suez was marked with the establishment of a large Naval Support Facility. Officially opened in 2018, at the Bahraini port of Mina Salman, the base can support vessels up to the size of aircraft carriers. Bahrain is also home to the UK Maritime Component Command, which supports Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessels deployed in the Middle East. [21]
Belize British Army Training and Support Unit Belize (BATSUB): Used primarily for jungle warfare training, with access to 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2) of jungle terrain. Although British facilities were mothballed in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010, BATSUB is still seeing increased usage. [22]
British Indian Ocean Territory British Forces British Indian Ocean Territories: A Permanent Joint Operating Base. Although the Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia and airbase facilities on Diego Garcia are leased to the United States, the UK retains ownership and continual access. The small but permanent British garrison, known as Naval Party 1002, forms the civil administration on this British Overseas Territory. [23]
Brunei British Forces Brunei: A garrison made up of one battalion from the Royal Gurkha Rifles and No. 7 Flight AAC. Established in 1959, it also hosts routine jungle warfare courses for the British Army and Royal Marines. [24]
Canada British Army Training Unit Suffield: Home to a large contingent of in-service British Army vehicles, such as the Challenger 2 and Warrior IFV. It is the British Army's largest armoured warfare training facility, training up-to 5 battlegroups, each consisting of 1,400 personnel, every year. [25]
Cyprus British Forces Cyprus: A Permanent Joint Operating Base with significant garrisons in Akrotiri and Dhekelia, including RAF Akrotiri, the joint signals intelligence stations RAF Troodos and Ayios Nikolaos, and facilities to support two resident infantry battalions and supporting British Army units. [23]
Falkland Islands British Forces South Atlantic Islands: A Permanent Joint Operating Base. The British garrison is centred around RAF Mount Pleasant (the Mount Pleasant Complex) and includes commitments from all branches of the Armed Forces, most notably; No. 1435 Flight RAF (4 x Typhoons), No. 1312 Flight RAF (one Voyager and one Hercules), HMS Forth, and 1,000 British Army personnel. There are also early-warning and airspace-control radar stations at critical locations, and East Cove Military Port, a deep-water port operated by Naval Party 2010. [23]
Germany British Army Germany: Home of the 23 Amphibious Engineer Squadron and other supporting elements as well as depots and the Alpine Training Centre Hubertushaus in Oberstdorf.
Gibraltar British Forces Gibraltar: A Permanent Joint Operating Base. Britain has maintained a military presence in Gibraltar since its capture (1704) and the subsequent Treaty of Utrecht (1713). Facilities include (but are not limited to) the airbase RAF Gibraltar and the Port of Gibraltar. [23]
Kenya British Army Training Unit Kenya: Used primarily for the training of British infantry battalions in the arid and rugged terrain of the Great Rift Valley. Routine Royal Engineers and Royal Army Medical Corps exercises also carry out civil engineering projects and health care assistance to the local communities. [26]
Nepal British Gurkhas Nepal: The British Army maintains a small outpost in Nepal for recruitment purposes to the Brigade of Gurkhas. [27]
Oman UK Joint Logistics Support Base: A military logistics centre and training facility under construction in Duqm that will have a dry dock and be able to accommodate submarines and Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. It could be linked to other Persian Gulf countries by the Gulf Railway. Additionally, a permanent British Army presence is maintained at the Omani-British Joint Training Area which opened in 2019. [28]
Qatar RAF Al Udeid: An outpost at Al Udeid Air Base serving as the headquarters for No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group and its operations across the Middle East.
Singapore British Defence Singapore Support Unit: A Royal Navy repair and logistics support facility at Sembawang wharf in support of the Five Power Defence Arrangements. [29]

Locally raised units of British Overseas Territories

Six British Overseas Territories also maintain their own locally raised units for home defence and security:

Location Details Official website
Bermuda The Royal Bermuda Regiment: Formed in 1965. www.bermudaregiment.bm
Cayman Islands Cayman Islands Regiment: Formed in 2019. www.exploregov.ky/ciregiment
Falkland Islands Falkland Islands Defence Force: Traces its origins back to 1847. The force consists of one light infantry company and trains once per week. It is manned entirely by the local population, following British Army doctrine, training and operations. www.fig.gov.fk/fidf
Gibraltar Royal Gibraltar Regiment: Raised in 1943. The regiment consists of one infantry battalion (1 x HQ company and 3 x infantry companies) and is regarded as a colonial force within the structure of the British Army. royalgibraltarregiment.gi
Montserrat Royal Montserrat Defence Force: Raised in 1899.
Turks and Caicos Islands Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment: Raised in 2020.

See also

References
  1. Miller, Phil (24 November 2020). "REVEALED: The UK military's overseas base network involves 145 sites in 42 countries". Declassified UK. Daily Maverick. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  2. "Extent of Britain's global military presence revealed". AOAV. 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  3. "UK military base sites overseas, 2020". Google My Maps. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  4. Samaranayake, Nilanthi (10 July 2020). "How a Tiny Indian Ocean Island Could Force a US-UK Rift". Defense One. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  5. "RAF Recruitment | Our Bases | Royal Air Force". www.raf.mod.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  6. "Director of Overseas Bases". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  7. Cobain, Ian (24 November 2020). "British military operating in scores of locations across Middle East". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  8. "Army will have a 'more persistent presence' in Asia, suggests chief". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  9. Osborne, Samuel (23 May 2019). "UN officially demands Britain and US withdraw from Chagos Islands". The Independent. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  10. James, Liam (22 November 2019). "UK 'an illegal colonial occupier' after missing UN deadline to return Chagos islands". The Independent. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  11. Wintour, Patrick (28 January 2021). "UN court rejects UK claim to Chagos Islands in favour of Mauritius". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  12. "Rothera Research Station". British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  13. Cronin, David (8 October 2020). "Declassified UK: Ties that bind: Britain buys £46m of Israeli military equipment and stations troops in Israel". Declassified UK. Daily Maverick. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  14. "Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament". parliament.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  15. https://www.thebalanceeveryday.com/installation-overview-edwards-air-force-base-california-3344207
  16. "RAF tackles Taliban in Afghanistan – using joysticks in Las Vegas". The Guardian. 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  17. https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/community/beaufort-news/bg-military/article44801697.html
  18. Neil, Scott (28 May 2019). "Report labels Bermuda a corrosive tax haven". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  19. "Arrival of a Security Assistance Team in TCI from the UK". Welcome to the Turks and Caicos Islands. 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  20. "The Status and Location of the Military Installations of the Member States of the European Union" (PDF). Policy Department External Policies: 13–14. February 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  21. "Royal Navy's new Bahrain base seriously enhances Britain's ability to defend the Gulf". The Telegraph. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  22. "New Lease of Life for British Army Base in Belize". 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  23. Permanent Joint Operating Bases (PJOBs), www.gov.uk, 12 December 2012
  24. "The British Army in Brunei". www.army.mod.uk/. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  25. "The British Army in Canada". www.army.mod.uk/. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  26. "The British Army in Africa". www.army.mod.uk/. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  27. "British Gurkhas Nepal". www.army.mod.uk/. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  28. "Defence Secretary strengthens ties between UK and Oman". Gov.uk. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  29. Navy News (Magazine). United Kingdom: Royal Navy. June 2011. p. 11 Eastern Outpost. Retrieved 22 June 2016. ("The White Ensign is still flying above the operations of Naval Party 1022 (NP1022), based at Sembawang Wharves in Singapore.")
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