United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) is a directorate comprising the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

, the

Special Boat Service The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roy ...

, the

Special Reconnaissance Regiment The Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) is a special forces unit of the British Army that provides advanced and specialist surveillance and special reconnaissance capabilities. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United King ...

, the

Special Forces Support Group The Special Forces Support Group (SFSG) is a special forces unit of the British Armed Forces. The SFSG was formed officially on 3 April 2006 to provide support to the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service and the Special Reconnaissance R ...

18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment is a regiment of the Royal Corps of Signals in the British Army that provides Communications and Information Systems (CIS) support to the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF). The regiment is under the operational command ...

and the

Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW) is a Royal Air Force (RAF) and British Army joint service organisation that coordinates the provision of aviation support to the United Kingdom Special Forces. The wing is under the peacetime comma ...

.Special Reconnaissance Regiment, publications.parliament.uk
Retrieved 21 February 2014Elite special forces unit set up, BBC
Retrieved 21 February 2014. (SBS) Under the

Freedom of Information Act 2000 The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c. 36) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public right of access to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in t ...

, "special forces" has been defined as "those units of the armed forces of the Crown the maintenance of whose capabilities is the responsibility of the Director of Special Forces or which are for the time being subject to the operational command of that Director". The

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

and the Ranger Regiment are special operations–capable forces, but they do not form part of UKSF. The

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

and

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

(MOD) have a policy of not commenting on the UKSF, in contrast to other countries including the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In 1996, the UKSF introduced a requirement that serving members sign a confidentiality contract preventing them from disclosing information for life without the prior approval of the MOD, following the publication of several books written by ex-service members.

Formation

In 1987, the post of Director SAS became

Director Special Forces Director Special Forces (DSF) is the senior British Armed Forces officer responsible for the United Kingdom Special Forces. The post is a senior role within the Ministry of Defence (MoD). As director, the incumbent is responsible for the provis ...

. Since that time, the director has had control of both the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

's Special Boat Squadron, which was renamed the

during the formation. The directorate has since been expanded by the creation of the

, the

, and the

. In 2015, the

reported that approximately 40% of all UK Special Forces personnel were recruited from the Royal Marines. On 1 September 2014, the two

Army Reserve Army Reserve refers to a land-based military reserve force, including: *Army Reserve (Ireland) *Army Reserve (United Kingdom) *Australian Army Reserve *Canadian Army Reserve * New Zealand Army Reserve *United States Army Reserve *United States Navy ...

SAS regiments, the 21 (Artists) Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) and the

23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) (23 SAS(R)) is a British Army Reserve special forces unit that forms part of United Kingdom Special Forces. Together with 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) (21 SAS(R)), it forms the ...

, were removed from the UKSF and placed in the

1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade The Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group is a formation of the British Army that commands the Army's miniature UAS, tactical UAS, counter-intelligence and reach back intelligence capabilities, the Specialist Group Military Intell ...

(1 ISR Bde) under the command of

Force Troops Command Force Troops Command was a combat support and combat service support command of the British Army. Its headquarters was at Upavon, Wiltshire. It was formed in 2013 as a re-designation of the previous Headquarters Theatre Troops. Force Troops Comm ...

. Their role as part of 1 ISR Bde was to conduct Human, Environment, Reconnaissance, and Analysis (HERA) patrols. By April 2019, the two reserve regiments had returned to the UKSF. Special Forces Flight,

No. 47 Squadron RAF No. 47 Squadron is an inactive squadron of the Royal Air Force. Formed in 1916, it saw service during the First World War in the UK and in Greece. Between the wars it served in Egypt and Sudan, and at the outbreak of the Second World War under ...

which operated the

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

aircraft was formerly part of the UKSF. No. 47 Squadron RAF was disbanded in September 2023 after the Hercules was retired from service in June 2023.

Component units

The following units are part of UK Special Forces and UK Special Forces (Reserve).

British Army

* 22 Special Air Service Regiment (22 SAS) **A Squadron **B Squadron **D Squadron **G Squadron **L Detachment (SAS Reserve) * 21 Special Air Service Regiment (21 SAS) **A Squadron **C Squadron **E Squadron * 23 Special Air Service Regiment (23 SAS) **B Squadron **D Squadron **G Squadron *

**SBS Signal Squadron **264 (SAS) Signal Squadron **267 (SRR) Signal Squadron **268 (SFSG) Signal Squadron **63 (SAS) Signal Squadron (Reserve)

Royal Navy

**C Squadron **M Squadron **S Squadron **SBS Reserve - R Squadron

Joint service units

** HQ Company (Formerly D Company) ** A Company ** B Company ** C Company ** F Company ** R Company ** S Company

Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing

* No. 7 Squadron (Royal Air Force) * No. 658 Squadron (Army Air Corps, British Army)

Special operations–capable forces

The Armed Forces have raised special operations-capable forces that will conduct special operations to train, advise and accompany UK partner countries' forces in high threat environments. These forces do not form part of UKSF. The

formed the Ranger Regiment on 1 December 2021 within a new

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

, the Army Special Operations Brigade, established on 31 August 2021, that will take on some tasks traditionally done by special forces and work with partner forces. The Ranger Regiment's

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s are to be restructured by April 2023. The Chief of the Defence Staff has said that the Ranger Regiment will be similar to the

United States Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service Berets of the United States Army, headgear, is a branch of the United States Army United States Army Special Operations Comm ...

, known as the "Green Berets". Two of the four Ranger Regiment battalions will be deployed to Africa, the third will focus on Eastern Europe and the fourth will be deployed to the Middle East. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

is changing the

through the

Future Commando Force The Future Commando Force (FCF) is an in-progress (as of February 2022) modernisation programme and transformation of the role and operations of the Royal Marines. The FCF essentially retasks 40 Commando and 45 Commando with forming two Littoral R ...

concept, adapting their role of amphibious infantry held at readiness to a versatile special operations–capable force. As originally envisaged, the Marines were to be permanently deployed in two new

Littoral Response Group A Littoral Response Group (LRG) is a Royal Navy task group usually consisting of one or two amphibious warfare ships (supported by other Royal Navy elements if required and available), a company of Royal Marines and supporting elements primarily tas ...

s, with one in Northern Europe and the other in the Indian Ocean.

References

External links

* {{United Kingdom Special Forces 1987 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1987 Organisations based in Hertfordshire

Formation

Component units

British Army

Royal Navy

Joint service units

Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing

Special operations–capable forces

See also

References

External links