The British Armed Forces are the unified military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid. The force is also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces due to the British monarch's status as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.
Since the formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 (later succeeded by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and finally by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), the British Armed Forces have seen action in most major wars involving the world's great powers, including the Seven Years' War, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, the First World War and the Second World War. Britain's victories in most of these wars allowed it to influence world events and establish itself as one of the world's leading military and economic powers. The British Armed Forces consist of: the Royal Navy, a blue-water navy with a fleet of 62 commissioned and active ships, together with the Royal Marines, a highly specialised amphibious light infantry force; the British Army, the UK's 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 British Armed Forces include standing forces, Regular Reserve, Volunteer Reserves and Sponsored Reserves.
