Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 10764, how many times British armed forces personnel have taken part in (a) bilateral and (b) multinational training exercises with (i) Germany, (ii) France, (iii) Italy, (iv) Poland, (v) the Netherlands, (vi) USA and (vii) Spain.
The information requested is not held centrally. The following has been compiled from sources across the single-Services. It is a ‘best estimate’ based on the available information.
Year | Bilateral | RN | Army | RAF | Multinational | RN | Army* | RAF |
2016 | Germany | 6 | 0 | 0 | Germany | 2 |
| 0 |
France | 4 | 4 | 0 | France | 6 |
| 0 | |
Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | Italy | 3 |
| 0 | |
Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 | Poland | 1 |
| 0 | |
The Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 0 | The Netherlands | 2 |
| 0 | |
USA | 7 | 15 | 0 | USA | 7 |
| 3 | |
Spain | 0 | 2 | 0 | Spain | 2 |
| 0 | |
2017 | Germany | 1 | 0 | 0 | Germany | 2 |
| 0 |
France | 1 | 4 | 0 | France | 9 |
| 0 | |
Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | Italy | 1 |
| 0 | |
Poland | 0 | 1 | 0 | Poland | 1 |
| 0 | |
The Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | The Netherlands | 3 |
| 0 | |
USA | 3 | 15 | 0 | USA | 12 |
| 3 | |
Spain | 2 | 2 | 0 | Spain | 0 |
| 0 | |
2018 | Germany | 1 | 2 | 0 | Germany | 2 |
| 0 |
France | 4 | 7 | 0 | France | 6 |
| 0 | |
Italy | 1 | 1 | 0 | Italy | 4 |
| 0 | |
Poland | 0 | 1 | 0 | Poland | 2 |
| 0 | |
The Netherlands | 0 | 2 | 0 | The Netherlands | 1 |
| 0 | |
USA | 5 | 19 | 0 | USA | 9 |
| 3 | |
Spain | 1 | 2 | 0 | Spain | 4 |
| 0 | |
2019 | Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | Germany | 2 |
| 0 |
France | 5 | 9 | 0 | France | 6 |
| 0 | |
Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | Italy | 3 |
| 0 | |
Poland | 2 | 1 | 0 | Poland | 1 |
| 0 | |
The Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | The Netherlands | 5 |
| 0 | |
USA | 10 | 20 | 0 | USA | 9 |
| 4 | |
Spain | 1 | 2 | 0 | Spain | 3 |
| 0 | |
2020 | Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 | Germany | 0 |
| 0 |
France | 2 | 0 | 0 | France | 3 |
| 0 | |
Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 | Italy | 0 |
| 0 | |
Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 | Poland | 0 |
| 0 | |
The Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | The Netherlands | 3 |
| 0 | |
USA | 6 | 0 | 0 | USA | 7 |
| 6 | |
Spain | 0 | 0 | 0 | Spain | 0 |
| 0 | |
2021 | Germany | 0 | 2 | 0 | Germany | 3 |
| 3 |
France | 5 | 6 | 0 | France | 7 |
| 3 | |
Italy | 1 | 1 | 0 | Italy | 3 |
| 4 | |
Poland | 0 | 1 | 0 | Poland | 2 |
| 0 | |
The Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | The Netherlands | 6 |
| 1 | |
USA | 11 | 21 | 0 | USA | 17 |
| 8 | |
Spain | 0 | 2 | 0 | Spain | 3 |
| 1 | |
2022 | Germany | 0 | 2 | 0 | Germany | 1 |
| 4 |
France | 1 | 7 | 0 | France | 4 |
| 3 | |
Italy | 3 | 0 | 0 | Italy | 1 |
| 3 | |
Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 | Poland | 1 |
| 1 | |
The Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 0 | The Netherlands | 3 |
| 2 | |
USA | 3 | 22 | 0 | USA | 13 |
| 12 | |
Spain | 0 | 3 | 0 | Spain | 3 |
| 2 | |
2023 | Germany | 0 | 4 | 0 | Germany | 2 |
| 2 |
France | 1 | 7 | 0 | France | 9 |
| 3 | |
Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | Italy | 1 |
| 1 | |
Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 | Poland | 1 |
| 1 | |
The Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 0 | The Netherlands | 3 |
| 1 | |
USA | 5 | 22 | 0 | USA | 15 |
| 10 | |
Spain | 0 | 3 | 0 | Spain | 2 |
| 2 |
* Due to the way in which Army data is held, multinational involvement cannot be readily separated from bilateral. Many of the bilateral exercises listed will be multinational, but the data capture only shows the primary sponsor of the exercise and not the additional participants. Army data from 2020 has been discounted due to uncertainty as to which exercises did or did not take place due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.