| AAAW | Advanced Air-launched Anti-armour Weapon |
| AAC | Army Air Corps |
| AAR | Air-to-Air Refuelling |
| ACE | Allied Command Europe |
| ACO | Air Cadet Organisation |
| ACV | Armoured Combat Vehicle |
| AEW | Airborne Early Warning |
| AFPRB | Armed Forces Pay Review Body |
| AMRAAM | Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile |
| ARCS | Admiralty Raster Chart Service |
| ARP | Applied Research Programme |
| ARRC | Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps |
| ASRAAM | Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile |
| ASW | Anti-Submarine Warfare |
| ATS | Aviation Training Ship |
| ATTU | Atlantic To The Urals |
| AVLB | Armoured Vehicle Launcher Bridge |
| AWE | Atomic Weapons Establishment
|
| BATSUB | British Army Training Support Unit Belize |
| BMD | Ballistic Missile Defence |
| BR90 | Bridging for the Nineties
|
| C2I | Command, Control and Intelligence |
| CAA | Civil Aviation Authority |
| CASOM | Conventionally-Armed Stand-Off Missile |
| CBDE | Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment |
| CDA | Centre for Defence Analysis |
| CFE | Conventional Armed Forces in Europe |
| CFQ | Competing For Quality |
| CHODs | Chiefs of Defence Staff |
| CJTF | Combined Joint Task Force |
| CNAD | Conference of National Armaments Directors |
| CNGF | Common New Generation Frigate |
| COBRA | Counter Battery Radar |
| CPX | Command Post Exercise |
| CRE | Commission for Racial Equality |
| CRP | Corporate Research Programme |
| CTBT | Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty |
| CVS | Aircraft Carrier |
| DERA | Defence Evaluation and Research Agency |
| DGP | Defence Group on Proliferation |
| DHE | Defence Housing Executive |
| DIS | Defence Intelligence Staff |
| DMAF | Defence Military Assistance Fund |
| DRA | Defence Research Agency |
| DROPS | Demountable Rack Off-loading and Pick-up System |
| DTEO | Defence Test and Evaluation Organisation |
| ECDIS | Electronic Chart Display and Information System |
| EH101 | European Helicopter 101 |
| EOD | Explosive Ordnance Disposal |
| EU | European Union |
| EUCLID | European Co-operation for the Long Term in Defence |
| FLA | Future Large Aircraft |
| FLIR | Forward-Looking Infra-Red |
| FMRAAM | Future Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile |
| FPDA | Five Power Defence Arrangement |
| FSC | Field Standard C (Rapier) |
| GDP | Gross Domestic Product |
| GPS | Global Positioning System |
| HMS | Her Majesty's Ship |
| HMY | Her Majesty's Yacht |
| HQ | Headquarters |
| HS | Home Service |
| ICBM | Intercontinental Ballistic Missile |
| IFOR | Implementation Force |
| IGC | Inter-Governmental Conference |
| IRCM | Infra-Red Countermeasures |
| ISD | In-Service Date |
| ITT | Invitation to Tender |
| JCSI | Joint Command Systems Initiative |
| JMC | Joint Maritime Course |
| JRDF | Joint Rapid Deployment Force |
| JSCSC | Joint Service Command and Staff College |
| JTIDS | Joint Tactical Information Distribution System |
| LAESI | Local Authority and Emergency Service Information |
| LPH | Landing Platform Helicopter |
| LSL | Landing Ship Logistic |
| |
| MACP MACP | Military Aid to the Civil Power |
| MCMV | Mine Countermeasures Vessel |
| MIRV | Multiple Independently-targetable Re-entry Vehicle |
| MND(C) | Multi-National Division (Central) |
| MND(SW) | Multi-National Division (South West) |
| MT | Military Task |
| NACC | North Atlantic Co-operation Council |
| NATO | North Atlantic Treaty Organisation |
| NATS | National Air Traffic Services Limited |
| NPT | Non-Proliferation Treaty |
| NVQ | National Vocational Qualification |
| OCU | Operational Conversion Unit |
| OPM | Office for Public Management |
| OSCE | Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe |
| PAAMS | Principal Anti-Air Missile System |
| PARP | Planning and Review Process |
| PE | Procurement Executive |
| PFI | Private Finance Initiative |
| PfP | Partnership for Peace |
| PIRA | Provisional Irish Republican Army |
| PJHQ | Permanent Joint Headquarters |
| PVR | Premature Voluntary Release |
| RA | Royal Artillery |
| RAuxAF | Royal Auxiliary Air Force |
| RAF | Royal Air Force |
| RAFVR | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
| RAMC | Royal Army Medical Corps |
| RE | Royal Engineers |
| REME | Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
| RFA | Royal Fleet Auxiliary |
| RHA | Royal Horse Artillery |
| RLC | Royal Logistic Corps |
| RM | Royal Marines |
| RMR | Royal Marines Reserve |
| RN | Royal Navy |
| RNAS | Royal Naval Air Station |
| RNR | Royal Naval Reserve |
| RUC | Royal Ulster Constabulary |
| SACEUR | Supreme Allied Commander Europe |
| SACLANT | Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic |
| SAR | Search and Rescue |
| SAS | Special Air Service |
| SBA | Sovereign Base Area |
| SBS | Special Boat Service |
| SCR | Security Council Resolution |
| SF | Special Forces |
| SLBM | Submarine-launched Ballistic Missile |
| SSBN | Ship Submersible Nuclear
(Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine) |
| SSRB | Senior Salaries Review Body |
| TA | Territorial Army |
| TIALD | Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator |
| TLB | Top Level Budget |
| TOW | Tube-launched Optically-controlled Wire-guided bomb |
| TRIGAT | Third Generation Anti-Tank Guided Weapon |
| TWCU | Tactical Weapons Conversion Unit |
| UAS | University Air Squadron |
| UKBC | United Kingdom Based Civilians |
| UNAVEM | United Nations Angola Verification Mission |
| UNCLOS | United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea |
| UNFICYP | United Nations Force in Cyprus |
| UNHQ | United Nations Headquarters |
| UNIKOM | United Nations Iraq Kuwait Observer Mission |
| UNOMIG | United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia |
| UNPROFOR | United Nations Protection Force |
| UNSCOM | United Nations Special Commission |
| USAF | United States Air Force |
| VE | Victory in Europe |
| VLSMS | Vehicle-Launched Scatterable Mine System |
| VJ | Victory over Japan |
| WEAG | Western European Armaments Group |
| WEU | Western European Union |
| WMD | Weapons of Mass Destruction |
