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The Best Photographs Of The British Military In 2017

A Royal Air Force Chinook, from RAF Odiham, inserts troops from 40 Commando Royal Marines onto a mountain peak in the Mojave Desert during Exercise Black Alligator.

As the year comes to a close, the MOD has released some of the most striking images captured by service and MOD photographers over the past year, and we’ve gathered together some of the best.

MOD 2017 photographs- cockpit — A Royal Air Force A400M Atlas based at RAF Brize Norton and two Typhoon FGR4 aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth, take part in a flypast over Brussels.

MOD photographs 2017- HMS Mersey Homecoming — Able Rating Amy Binns from Gosport meets her son, Ethan Binns (aged 5) for the first time since being deployed onboard HMS Mersey.

The total collection of 85 photographs includes striking images of service personnel, their friends and families, as well as members of the Royal family, and even the odd celebrity.

MOD 2017 photographs- India — It’s not all hard work on the latest of biennial UK-Indian Army exercise exchanges, Exercise Ajeha Warrior.

The pictures go some way to showing the reality of daily life for UK servicemen and women- from the dirt and dust of a war zone to the gleaming uniforms of a parade.

MOD photographs 2017- remembrance — Marking the centenary anniversary of the beginning of the Third Battle of Ypres – widely known as Passchendaele.

MOD photographs 2017- invictus swimming — Competitors from the UK Swimming Team taking part in the finals for the Invictus Games 2017.

2017 has seen British service personnel witness a number of extraordinary moments.

Some of the most striking images show the military helping civilians on the Caribbean islands devastated by hurricanes Irma and Maria - a key moment for British forces in 2017.

Hurricane Irma and Maria- MOD photographs 2017 — Royal Marines from Alpha Company, 40 Commando, conduct daily patrols throughout the largest island of the British Virgin Islands.

Many of the pictures captured were taken by those who are soldiers first and photographers second, allowing the public a unique insight into the realities of military life.

As usual, many servicemen and women have been deployed over the Christmas period- over 5,000 in total, deployed in over 30 countries, from Iraq to the South Atlantic.