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Military of the European Union
The coat of arms of the EU military staff
Service branchesEUMS
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief28 EU heads of state
High RepresentativeCatherine Ashton
Director General of EUMSLt. Gen. Wolfgang Wosolsobe[1]
Personnel
Military age17–45
Active personnel1,551,038 (2011)[2]
Expenditure
Budget€192.5 billion (2011)[2]
Percent of GDP1.55% (2011)[2]

The military of the European Union comprises the several national armed forces of the Union's 28 member states, as the policy area of defence has remained primarily the domain of nation states. European integration has however been deepened in this field in recent years, with the framing of a Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) branch for the Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) as well as the creation of separate international forces revolving around the EU's defence. A number of CSDP military operations have been deployed in recent years. The principal military alliance in Europe remains NATO, which includes 21 of all EU member states as well as other non-EU European countries, Turkey, the United States and Canada.

Several prominent leaders, including former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, have voiced support for a common defence for the Union.[3][4][5] This possibility, requiring unanimous support among the member states, was formally laid down in Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union upon the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009.[6] Furthermore, the Treaty of Lisbon extended the enhanced co-operation provision to become available for application in the area of defence. This mechanism enables a minimum number of member states to deepen integration within the EUs institutional framework, without the necessity of participation for reluctant member states.

Development

Map showing European membership of the EU and NATO
  EU member only
  NATO member only
  Member of both
See also: Military history of Europe
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Following the end of World War II and the defeat of the Axis Powers, the Dunkirk Treaty was signed by France and the United Kingdom on 4 March 1947 as a Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance against a possible German attack in the aftermath of World War II. The Dunkirk Treaty entered into force on 8 September 1947. The 1948 Treaty of Brussels established the military Western Union Defence Organisation with an allied European command structure under Field Marshal Montgomery. Western European powers, except for Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Austria, signed the North Atlantic Treaty alongside the United States and Canada which only created a passive defence association until 1951 when, during the Korean War, the existing and fully functioning Western Union Defence Organisation was augmented to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO.

In the early 1950s, France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries made an attempt to integrate the militaries of mainland western Europe, through the treaty establishing the European Defence Community (EDC). This scheme did however not enter into force, as it failed to obtain approval for ratification in the French National Assembly, where Gaullists feared for national sovereignty and Communists opposed a European military consolidation that could rival the Soviet Union. The failure to establish the EDC resulted in the 1954 amendment of the Treaty of Brussels at the London and Paris Conferences which in replacement of EDC established the political Western European Union (WEU) out of the earlier established military Western Union Defence Organisation and included West Germany and Italy in both WEU and NATO as the conference ended the occupation of West Germany and the defence aims had shifted from Germany to the Soviet Union.

Out of the 28 EU member states, 21 are also members of NATO. Another 3 NATO members are EU Applicants and 1 is solely a member of the European Economic Area. In 1996, the Western European Union (WEU) was tasked by NATO to implement a European Security and Defence Identity within NATO, which later was passed over to the EU Common Security and Defence Policy as all Western European Union functions were transferred to the European Union through the Lisbon Treaty. The memberships of the EU and NATO are distinct, and some EU member states are traditionally neutral on defence issues. Several of the new EU member states were formerly members of the Warsaw Pact.

Following the Kosovo War in 1999, the European Council agreed that "the Union must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and the readiness to do so, in order to respond to international crises without prejudice to actions by NATO". To that end, a number of efforts were made to increase the EU's military capability, notably the Helsinki Headline Goal process. After much discussion, the most concrete result was the EU Battlegroups initiative, each of which is planned to be able to deploy quickly about 1500 personnel.[7]

The EU currently has a limited mandate over defence issues, with a role to explore the issue of European defence agreed to in the Amsterdam Treaty, as well as oversight of the Helsinki Headline Goal Force Catalogue (the 'European Rapid Reaction Force') processes. However, some EU states may and do make multilateral agreements about defence issues outside of the EU structures.

On 20 February 2009 the European Parliament voted in favour of the creation of Synchronised Armed Forces Europe (SAFE) as a first step towards a true European military force. SAFE will be directed by an EU directorate, with its own training standards and operational doctrine. There are also plans to create an EU "Council of Defence Ministers" and "a European statute for soldiers within the framework of Safe governing training standards, operational doctrine and freedom of operational action".[8]

EU forces have been deployed on peacekeeping missions from middle and northern Africa to Western Balkans and western Asia.[9] EU military operations are supported by a number of bodies, including the European Defence Agency, European Union Satellite Centre and the European Union Military Staff.[10] In an EU consisting of 28 members, substantial security and defence co-operation is increasingly relying on great power co-operation.[11]

Implications of the Treaty of Lisbon

The entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon triggered member states of the Western European Union (WEU) to scrap the organisation, which had largely become dormant, but they have kept the mutual defence clause of the Treaty of Brussels as the basis for the EU mutual defence arrangement.

The Treaty of Lisbon also states that:

The common security and defence policy shall include the progressive framing of the common defence policy. This will lead to a common defence, when the European Council, acting unanimously, so decides. (TEU, Article 42)[12]

Forces and frameworks

Common Security and Defence Policy

Main article: Common Security and Defence Policy

The defence arrangements which have been established under the EU institutions are part of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), a branch of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). It should be noted that Denmark has an opt-out from the CSDP.

Cap badge of the Eurocorps

Separate initiatives

Separate initiatives by Member States that revolve around the defence of the European Union in some way or another, or acting as a European standing army.

Military expenditure and personnel

Further information: List of countries by military expenditures
Military personnel of the Eurocorps in Strasbourg, France, during a change of command ceremony in 2013.

The following table presents the military expenditure of the European Union in euros (€). The combined military expenditure of the European Union Member States amounts to just over is €192.5 billion.[2] This represents 1.55% of European Union GDP and is second only to the €503 billion military expenditure of the United States. The US figure represents 4.66% of United States GDP.[13] European military expenditure includes spending on joint projects such as the Eurofighter Typhoon and joint procurement of equipment. The European Union's combined active military forces in 2011 totaled 1,551,038 personnel. According to the European Defence Agency, the European Union had an average of 53,744 land force personnel deployed around the world (or 3.5% of the total military personnel). In a major operation the EU could readily deploy up-to 425,824 land force personnel and sustain 110,814 of those during an enduring operation.[13] In comparison, the US had on average 177,700 troops deployed in 2011. This represents 12.5% of US military personnel.[13]

In a speech in 2012, Swedish General Håkan Syrén criticised the spending levels of European Union countries, saying that in the future those countries' military capability will decrease, creating "critical shortfalls".[14]

Guide to table:

  • All figure entries in the large table below are provided by the European Defence Agency. Figures from other sources are not included.
  • The table is split into two distinct parts (indicated by colors): red for data regarding expenditure and green for data regarding personnel.
  • The "operations & maintenance expenditure" category may in some circumstances also include finances on-top of the nations defence budget.
  • The categories "troops prepared for deployed operations" and "troops prepared for deployed and sustained operation" only include land force personnel.

France and the United Kingdom

Map showing France (blue), the United Kingdom (red) and their overseas territories (some of which are home to military bases).
Further information: Power projection and The Lancaster House Treaties (2010)

The United Kingdom and France are both recognised nuclear-weapon states and represent the most dominant and capable military powers within the European Union. In 2010, the United Kingdom and France accounted for 45% of Europe's defence budget, 50% of its military capacity and 70% of all spending in military research and development.[15] The European Union Institute for Security Studies (ISS) has suggested that the The Lancaster House Treaties signed between Britain and France in 2010 may lay the foundations of a "new engine for European defence". Its publication also makes the observation that both are committed to preserving their expeditionary warfare capabilities: such as retaining the capacity to deploy a substantial number of troops during a high-intensity expeditionary operation, anywhere in the world.[16] The BBC reported that the Lancaster House Treaties will "pool resources" of these two nations' armed forces to maintain their status as major "global defence powers".[17]

British and French military expenditure for 2012 published in the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Yearbook 2013 using current (2010) market exchange rates in US$.[18] Figures for active military personnel are provided by their respective Ministries of Defence.

Country Military expenditure ($) % of GDP World share % Active military personnel
France France[18][19] $58,900,000,000 2.3% 3.4% 222,215
United Kingdom United Kingdom[18][N 1] $62,800,000,000 2.5% 3.5% 205,330

The table

Country Military expenditure (€) Per capita (€) % of GDP Operations & maintenance expenditure (€) Active military personnel Troops prepared for deployed operations Troops prepared for deployed and sustained operation
European Union EU[2] €192,535,000,000 €387 1.55% €45,219,000,000 1,551,038 425,824 110,814
Austria Austria[2] €2,453,000,000 €291 0.82% €507,000,000 27,110 1,364
Belgium Belgium[2] €3,986,000,000 €363 1.08% €651,000,000 31,894 6,691 1,897
Bulgaria Bulgaria[2] €545,000,000 €73 1.42% €111,000,000 28,767 6,232 900
Croatia Croatia[2]
Cyprus Cyprus[2] €345,000,000 €400 1.92% €50,000,000 12,392 237
Czech Republic Czech Republic[2] €1,820,000,000 €173 1.17% €501,000,000 22,129 7,866 1,350
Denmark Denmark[2]
Estonia Estonia[2] €280,000,000 €209 1.75% €87,000,000 3,205
Finland Finland[2] €2,654,000,000 €493 1.40% €705,000,000 8,844 1,418
France France[2] €39,105,000,000 €597 1.93% €7,613,000,000 218,200 71,585 29,444
Germany Germany[2] €32,490,000,000 €397 1.23% 191,721
Greece Greece[2] €3,272,000,000 €290 1.69% €738,000,000 109,070 22,180 2,552
Hungary Hungary[2] €1,000,000,000 €100 1.00% €329,000,000 18,088 3,149 1,057
Republic of Ireland Ireland[2] €881,000,000 €196 0.55% €89,000,000 9,450 850 850
Italy Italy[2] €20,600,000,000 €338 1.32% €2,087,000,000 184,318
Latvia Latvia[2] €210,000,000 €102 1.04% €45,000,000 4,832 733 212
Lithuania Lithuania[2] €252,000,000 €83 0.82% €55,000,000 7,987 1,280 413
Luxembourg Luxembourg[2] €201,000,000 €386 0.47% €21,000,000 1057 234 44
Malta Malta[2] €40,000,000 €96 0.62% €6,000,000 1,698 159 30
Netherlands Netherlands[2] €8,156,000,000 €489 1.35% €2,128,000,000 44,655 16,853 5,050
Poland Poland[2] €6,557,000,000 €171 1.77% €1,177,000,000 96,040
Portugal Portugal[2] €2,669,000,000 €251 1.56% €253,000,000 35,254 10,206 2,254
Romania Romania[2] €1,713,000,000 €80 1.26% €189,000,000 68,340 10,957 2,953
Slovakia Slovakia[2] €763,000,000 €140 1.10% €168,000,000 13,501 3,760 722
Slovenia Slovenia[2] €478,000,000 €233 1.32% €81,000,000 7,107 1,756 454
Spain Spain[2] €10,059,000,000 €218 0.95% €1,742,000,000 124,561 45,921 7,850
Sweden Sweden[2] €4,331,000,000 €459 1.12% €1,847,000,000 13,949 3,122 1,966
United Kingdom United Kingdom[2] €43,696,000,000 €691 2.30% €17,052,000,000 185,690 68,400 19,000

Militaries of Member States

European Naval Forces

The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle underway in 2009

The combined component strength of the European Naval Forces is some 543 commissioned warships. Of those in service, 4 are aircraft carriers, the largest of which is the 42,000 tonne Charles de Gaulle. However British plans will see two 70,600 tonne Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers enter service starting 2018. Of the EU's 58 submarines, 21 are nuclear-powered submarines (11 UK and 10 French) while 37 are conventional attack submarines. Many European Navies do not classify destroyer sized vessels as destroyers, and instead classify them as frigates regardless of size and role. This would explain the relatively large difference between the number of destroyers and frigates in service.

Operation Atalanta (formally European Union Naval Force Somalia) is the first ever (and still ongoing) naval operation of the European Union. It is part of a larger global action by the EU in the Horn of Africa to deal with the Somali crisis. As of January 2011 twenty-three EU nations participate in the operation.

Guide to table:

  • Ceremonial vessels, research vessels, supply vessels, training vessels, and icebreakers are not included.
  • The table only counts warships that are commissioned (or equivalent) and active.
  • Surface vessels displacing less than 200 tonnes are not included, regardless of other characteristics.
  • The "amphibious transport dock" category includes dock landing ships too.
  • The "anti-mine ship" category includes minesweepers and minehunters.
  • Generally, total tonnage of ships is more important than total number of ships.

The table

Country Aircraft carrier Amphibious assault ship Amphibious support ship Destroyer Frigate Corvette Patrol boat Anti-mine ship Missile sub. Attack sub. Total Tonnage
European Union EU 4 8 10 21 105 44 132 161 8 50 543
Austria Austria
Belgium Belgium[22] 2 2 5 9
Bulgaria Bulgaria 4 3 1 10 18 15,160
Croatia Croatia 5 2 7
Cyprus Cyprus
Czech Republic Czech Republic
Denmark Denmark[23] 9 9 18
Estonia Estonia 1 7 8 4,518
Finland Finland 4 17 21 5,429
France France[24] 1 3 1 11 11 9 12 18 4 6 78 319,195
Germany Germany[25] 12 5 8 15 4 44 82,790
Greece Greece[26] 13 26 4 8 51
Hungary Hungary
Republic of Ireland Ireland[27] 7 7 8,372
Italy Italy[28] 2 3 4 13 6 10 10 6 54
Latvia Latvia 4 4
Lithuania Lithuania[29] 4 4 8
Luxembourg Luxembourg
Malta Malta[30] 1 1 400
Netherlands Netherlands[31] 2 6 3 6 4 21
Poland Poland[32] 2 1 3 19 5 28
Portugal Portugal[33] 5 7 7 2 23
Romania Romania[34] 3 7 6 5 21
Slovakia Slovakia
Slovenia Slovenia[35] 2 2 900
Spain Spain[36] 1 2 11 18 7 3 42
Sweden Sweden[37] 6 11 5 22
United Kingdom United Kingdom[38] 2 5 6 13 6 15 4 7 56 367,850

European Land Forces

The Leopard 2 main battle tank

Combined, the member states of the European Union maintain large numbers of various land-based military vehicles and weaponry.

Guide to table:

  • The table is not exhaustive and can only provide approximate figures. In some cases figures are taken from articles that are known to be fairly-accurate and contain reliable sources (E.g. Modern equipment of the British Army).
  • The "main battle tank" category also includes tank destroyers (such as the Italian B1 Centauro).
  • The "Armoured vehicle" category includes all types of armoured vehicles, such as: infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), armoured personnel carriers (APC), infantry mobility vehicles (IMV), armoured engineering vehicles (AEV), armoured recovery vehicles (ARV), armoured command vehicles and all other types.
  • The "self-propelled gun" and "towed artillery" categories only include howitzers. Other types of towed or self-propelled artillery are not included regardless of characteristics.
  • The "multiple rocket launcher" category is also known as "rocket artillery".
  • The "attack helicopter" category only includes attack helicopters comparable in role and configuration too AgustaWestland Apache or Eurocopter Tiger types.

The table

Country Main battle tank Armoured vehicle Self-propelled gun Towed artillery Multiple rocket launcher Mortar Attack helicopter Military logistics vehicle
European Union EU[39] 6,510 46,211 2,116 3,398 1,319 18,302 338 0
Austria Austria[39] 162 835 80 250 1,360
Belgium Belgium[39] 35 439 14 350
Bulgaria Bulgaria[39] 80 1,397 206 150 240
Croatia Croatia[39] 80 128 9 114 60 183
Cyprus Cyprus[39] 184 519 28 84 11
Czech Republic Czech Republic[39] 123 586 89 93 24
Denmark Denmark[39] 57 734 12 90
Estonia Estonia[39] 139 104 129
Finland Finland[39] 169 1,323 90 684 58 2,058
France France[39] 527 6,887 150 93 1,550 39
Germany Germany[39] 408 3,934 185 252 2,200 27
Greece Greece[39] 1,244 4,209 587 729 152 3,371 29
Hungary Hungary[39] 32 1,000 30 65 250
Republic of Ireland Ireland[39] 94 24 151 127
Italy Italy[39] 480 6,002 166 72 22 2,166 56
Latvia Latvia[39] 70 10 64
Lithuania Lithuania[39] 240 64 142
Luxembourg Luxembourg[39] 87
Malta Malta[39] 52 43
Netherlands Netherlands[39] 1,346 18 550 29
Poland Poland[39] 991 2,788 443 255 240 1,675 29 5,893
Portugal Portugal[39] 137 400 18 41 400
Romania Romania[39] 1,098 2,578 644 188 1,117 22
Slovakia Slovakia[39] 17 147
Slovenia Slovenia[39] 17 156
Spain Spain[39] 357 1,894 96 143 400 6
Sweden Sweden[39] 120 1,722 600
United Kingdom United Kingdom[39] 227 6,642 89 138 42 2,370 66 17,682

European Air Forces

A Eurofighter Typhoon of the Royal Air Force

The Air Forces of Europe operate a wide range of military systems and hardware. This is primarily due to the independent requirements of each member state and also the national defence industries of some member states. However such programmes like the Eurofighter Typhoon and Eurocopter Tiger have seen many European nations design, build and operate a single weapons platform. 60% of overall combat fleet was developed and manufactured by member states, 32% are US-origin, but some of these were assembled in Europe, while remaining 8% are soviet-made aircraft. In 2013 it is estimated that the European Union had around 2,000 serviceable combat aircraft (fighter aircraft and ground-attack aircraft).[40]

Currently within the EU operates:

The EUs air-lift capabilities are evolving with the future introduction of the Airbus A400M (another example of EU defence cooperation). The A400M is a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities.[41] Around 140 are initially expected to be operated by 5 member states (UK, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium).

Guide to table:

  • Aircraft are grouped into three main types (indicated by colors): red for combat aircraft, green for aerial refueling aircraft, and blue for transport aircraft.
  • The three "other" categories include additional aircraft according to their type sorted by colour (E.g. the "other" category in red includes combat aircraft, while the "other" category in green includes aerial refueling aircraft). This was done because it was not feasible allocate every type its own category.
  • The "special" category (blue) includes: AEW&C, ISTAR, SIGINT, and reconnaissance aircraft.

The table

Combat aircraft
2013[40] Eurofighter
Typhoon 		Panavia
Tornado 		Mirage 2000 Saab
Gripen 		F-16 F/A-18 MiG-29 MiG-21 Other Total
European Union EU 341 313 203 162 393 128 59 44 359 2037
France France 159 78 D. Rafale,
25 SÉ, 13 F1		 275
Greece Greece 44 157 50 F-4, 32 A-7 283
Germany Germany 100[42] 134 234
United Kingdom United Kingdom 100[43] 104 3 F-35 267
Italy Italy 86 75 55 AMX, 16 Harrier II 229
Spain Spain 40 74 16 Harrier II,
22 F1		 152
Sweden Sweden 134 134
Poland Poland 48 32 38 Su-22 118
Netherlands Netherlands 74 2 F-35 76
Finland Finland 54 54
Belgium Belgium 49 49
Romania Romania 36 36
Denmark Denmark 36 36
Czech Republic Czech Republic 14 19 L-159 33
Portugal Portugal 29 29
Bulgaria Bulgaria 15 14 Su-25 29
Austria Austria 15 15
Hungary Hungary 14 14
Slovakia Slovakia 12 12
Croatia Croatia 8 8
Lithuania Lithuania 1 L-39 1
Transport, tanker and air-lift aircraft
A330/
A340 		A310 KC-135/
707 		C-17 C-130 C-160 C-27J CN-235/
C-295 		An-26 L-410 Other Total
 European Union 12 910 917 911 9139 99 31 83 13 17 983 515
France France 3 3 14 14 39 24 1 A400M 98
Germany Germany 2 5 60 022 A319 69
United Kingdom United Kingdom 6 8 32 11 VC10/TriStar, 4 BAe 146 61
Spain Spain 2 3 12 22 19 C-212 58
Poland Poland 5 16 27 M28 48
Italy Italy 20 12 074 KC-767, 3 A319 39
Greece Greece 15 8 23
Portugal Portugal 6 12 18
Romania Romania 5 5 4 14
Belgium Belgium 1 11 12
Czech Republic Czech Republic 4 6 022 A319 12
Sweden Sweden 8 033 Saab 340 11
Hungary Hungary (3) 5 8
Bulgaria Bulgaria 3 2 2 011 A319 8
Netherlands Netherlands 4 033 (K)DC-10 7
Slovakia Slovakia 2 5 7
Lithuania Lithuania 3 2 5
Denmark Denmark 4 4
Finland Finland 3 011 F27 4
Austria Austria 3 3
Croatia Croatia 022 An-32B 2
Republic of Ireland Ireland 2 2
Latvia Latvia 1 1
Slovenia Slovenia 1 1

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Military of the European Union.

Notes

  1. ^ The British Armed Forces are a purely professional force and as of 1 April 2013 have a strength of 176,660 regular[20] and 28,670 volunteer[21] personnel. This gives a combined component strength of 205,330 personnel. All figures exclude the University training units.

References

  1. ^ "Change of Command at the European Union Military Staff" Council of the European Union, 28 May 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag Defence Data Portal, Official 2012 defence statistics from the European Defence Agency
  3. ^ Italy's Foreign Minister says post-Lisbon EU needs a European Army, The Times. 2009-11-15
  4. ^ Merkel's European Army: More Than a Paper Tiger? by Peter C. Glover, World Politics Review, 2007-04-25.
  5. ^ EU military at Bastille Day celebration. Irishtimes.com (7 July 2007). Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  6. ^ Article 42, Treaty on European Union
  7. ^ Council of the European Union (July 2009). "EU BATTLEGROUPS" (PDF). Europa web portal. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  8. ^ Waterfield, Bruno (18 February 2009). "Blueprint for EU army to be agreed". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  9. ^ Council of the European Union (April 2003). "Overview of the missions and operations of the European Union". Europa web portal. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  10. ^ Council of the European Union. "CSDP structures and instruments". Europa web portal. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  11. ^ "The Russo-Georgian War and Beyond: towards a European Great Power Concert, Danish Institute of International Studies". Diis.dk. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  12. ^ "Treaty of Lisbon". EU.
  13. ^ a b c EU-US Defence Data 2011, European Defence Agency, September 2013
  14. ^ Croft, Adrian (19 September 2012). "Some EU states may no longer afford air forces-general". Reuters. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  15. ^ "Britain and France to work together", By Catherine Field, 4 November 2010
  16. ^ Franco-British military cooperation: a new engine for European defence?, 14 February 2014
  17. ^ "Q&A: UK-French defence treaty". BBC News. 2 November 2010.
  18. ^ a b c "The 15 countries with the highest military expenditure in 2012 (table)" (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  19. ^ "Key defence figures 2013" (PDF) (in Template:Fr icon). Defense.gouv.fr.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  20. ^ Table 3a—Strength of UK Armed Forces—full time trained and untrained personnel at website of Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA), 1 April 2013
  21. ^ Table 9—Strength of the volunteer reserve forces at website of Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA), 1 April 2013
  22. ^ Marinecomponent Hoofdpagina. Mil.be. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  23. ^ Jane's Fighting Ships 2009
  24. ^ "French Navy Ship List (defense.gouv.fr)".Navy Ship List, 22 October 2011.
  25. ^ Template:De icon Offizieller Internetauftritt der Marine. www.marine.de. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  26. ^ Πολεμικό Ναυτικό – Επίσημη Ιστοσελίδα. Hellenicnavy.gr. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  27. ^ Home | Defence Forces. Military.ie. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  28. ^ Marina Militare. Marina.difesa.it. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  29. ^ Template:Lt icon Lithuanian Armed Forces :: Structure » Navy. Kariuomene.kam.lt (21 January 2010). Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  30. ^ WWW.AFM.GOV.MT is currently under construction. Afm.gov.mt. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  31. ^ Koninklijke Marine | Ministerie van Defensie. Defensie.nl. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  32. ^ Template:Pl icon Marynarka Wojenna. Mw.mil.pl. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  33. ^ Marinha Portuguesa. Marinha.pt. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  34. ^ Template:Ro icon Fortele Navale Române. Navy.ro. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  35. ^ Slovensko obalo bo varovala "Kresnica" :: Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija. Rtvslo.si. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  36. ^ Presentación Buques Superficie – Ships – Armada Española. Armada.mde.es. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  37. ^ The Swedish Navy – Försvarsmakten. Forsvarsmakten.se (2 September 2008). Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  38. ^ Home. Royal Navy. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
  39. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac "Countries Ranked by Military Strength (2013)". globalfirepower.com. 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  40. ^ a b c "World Air Forces 2013" (PDF). Flightglobal Insight. 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  41. ^ "RAF – A400m." RAF, MOD. Retrieved: 15 May 2010.
  42. ^ Cassidian delivers 100th Eurofighter to the German Air Force.
  43. ^ RAF squadron takes delivery of 100th Typhoon
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