Like the U.S. Army, the British Army relies on a legacy force of upgraded Cold War equipment. Challenger II main battle tanks and Warrior infantry fighting vehicles equip the mechanized forces. Although proven and reliable, these are getting on in age and will have to be eventually replaced at considerable cost.

The British Army’s special-purpose and special-operations forces are small, but among the best in the world. The British Army has three parachute battalions under 16th Air Assault Brigade plus the world-famous 22nd Special Air Service Regiment. An additional 8,000 Royal Marines, an infantry-centric force, operate under Royal Navy control and can deploy 3 Commando Brigade.

Kyle Mizokami is a writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and The Daily Beast. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. You can follow him on Twitter:@KyleMizokami. This article first appeared in 2015.

Image: Reuters.