Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which units form the UK's contribution to the NATO Allied Reaction Force Special Operations Component.

The United Kingdom will assume leadership of NATO’s Allied Reaction Force (ARF) Special Operations Component from July 2026 to June 2027. As part of this commitment, the UK is providing the Special Operations Component Command headquarters, responsible for commanding multinational Special Operations task groups held at high readiness for NATO collective defence and crisis response tasks.

UK contributions to the ARF Special Operations Forces element principally comprise personnel drawn from the Royal Marines Commando Force, the Ranger Regiment and supporting Royal Air Force elements, forming maritime, land and air Special Operations Task Groups under NATO command. These forces will operate alongside contributions from Allied nations as part of the multinational ARF framework.