Chief of the Air Staff speech at DSEI 2025

Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m honoured to take to the stage right here as soon as once more at DSEI, and to ship my first keynote speech because the Chief of the Air Staff. And I wish to begin by taking this chance to thank my predecessor and our new CDS for the whole lot he did throughout his tenure to set a robust operational basis from which I now have the chance to spring board ahead.

To the Clarion workforce, thanks for the very variety invite and for the chance to talk, and certainly, to DJ on the DSEI Silent Disco… I’ll be taking requests throughout the break!

I feel I final stood right here in 2021 because the MOD’s inaugural Director Space, and spoke in regards to the significance of the Space area – at the moment I used to be on a quest to face up UK Space Command, and construct a brand new Defence Space Strategy and programme. I’ll come again to Space a little bit later, however would spotlight how far we’ve got are available that brief 4 yr interval by way of our method to the Space Domain, and it’s heartening information that Space Command has only in the near past declared IOC with its first LEO-based ISR satellite tv for pc – the start of what’s going to now construct in the direction of the UK’s unbiased ISTARI constellation, which in time will underpin the brand new CSOC’s method to intelligence assortment, and our modern digital concentrating on net … the spine of what our current SDR references because the Integrated Force.

Rather a lot has modified since 2021: COVID and the next post-pandemic value of dwelling disaster, new methods of working, the West’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, a decline in democratic governance the world over, a brand new British monarch, a brand new Labour Government, a brand new Trump Administration, a permanent and bloody battle in Europe, the return of nice energy competitors, Finland and Sweden becoming a member of NATO, Hamas’ brutal assaults into Israel, and Israel’s response, the autumn of Syria’s Asad, air operations in opposition to the Houthis, the AI Boom, US strikes in opposition to Iran’s nuclear websites … and so it goes on.

This tempo of change and problem is phenomenal, and the previous adage of  ‘never say never’ has been utterly validated –reducing to the chase … my prime focus as the brand new CAS is to satisfy this tempo of change head on … by placing extra AIR into Air … extra agile, extra built-in, extra prepared, to fly and struggle, right now, tomorrow and collectively.

This all stated, a lot of the final 4 years additionally has a broad sense of familiarity – fixed but unpredictable turmoil within the Middle East, the battle for expertise, a confrontational Russia, and a excessive demand on our army forces – all recognised as a part of the evaluation that underpinned our current SDR.

The breadth and depth of the problem exhibits no indicators of abating … a risky world … an period of radical uncertainty, and probably the most perilous interval in the entire of my 35-year army profession.

Until not too long ago, we’ve got loved the peace dividend, born out of a Cold War victory and a 30-year concentrate on counterinsurgency operations, combating removed from dwelling, sanctuary right here within the dwelling base, permitting a relentless focus in the direction of garrison effectivity, no existential risk to our nation, and broadly manageable affect on the nationwide purse.

Today, it’s totally different – we face a number of and multiplying threats, battle in Europe, a establishment reset within the Middle East, and the rising US concentrate on homeland defence and the Indo-Pacific.

And the challenges should not contained regionally. North Korean troops are combating only a 3-hour flight from the place we’re right now. New alliances are forming. Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are all lively in right now’s battlespace, throughout all domains, particularly the newer ones of Space and Cyber – studying, adapting, and collaborating … we should always be aware of the scenes of Ji, Putin, KJU and Pezeshkian, collectively in Beijing final week … all watching, while China displayed its army may through an unlimited parade of goose stepping troopers and new weapons, together with the Guam killer missile, loyal wingmen dones, and even robotic wolves.   

A transparent message to the world – and likewise undoubtedly a gross sales pitch for brand spanking new weapons, presenting a proliferation problem which we should not ignore.

Great energy competitors is again, and because the Prime Minister stated not too long ago:

‘We must recognise the new era we are in, not cling hopelessly to the comforts of the past.’

Hence our authorities is investing in Defence, with a brand new Strategic Defence Review and the a lot welcomed announcement on the Hague NATO Summit on elevated spending; an overt recognition of a extra contested world, and a profound assertion of intent to be safer at dwelling, and robust overseas.

The peace dividend is below risk  – and for the primary time in my profession, we enter the period of the defence dividend, with a Chancellor whose said ambition is to make the UK a “defence industrial superpower”.

So sure … the world has modified; and this transformation calls for that we take into consideration the brand new threats we are going to face, some ahead of anticipated, how we are going to deter them and, if needed, struggle and win, each right now and tomorrow.

And after all, integral to this effort are the air & house domains: each, important elements of our aspiration to have a really built-in power: persistently in excessive demand, important to any coalition’s capability to grasp the battlespace, to maneuver and function with agility, tempo and scale, and central to NATO’s manner of warfighting, our most treasured alliance and the bedrock of our method to nationwide safety during the last 76 years … and arguably, trying ahead, the subsequent 76 might be much more essential.

In an unsure future, air and house energy will proceed to be Defence’s first responder, the nation’s first line of defence, and the built-in power’s quickest means to strike, with the precision, agility, pace, and attain to ship impact globally, providing huge political alternative, usually with lowest threat.

As a part of its preparation for the current Strategic Defence Review, the RAF Strategy laid out our rationale on a desired future route. It was a superb piece of labor as evidenced by the truth that the SDR is underpinned by the readability, relevance, and logic of the air and house energy argument.

As a brand new CAS moving into the chair, the SDR has been very clear in how I have to prioritise our efforts, beginning with a NATO First method, alongside a renewed focus in the direction of homeland defence and resilience, while in parallel working carefully with the opposite Services to meaningfully construct a digitally enabled, Integrated Force.

Learning from present conflicts, we are going to construct a stronger, nearer partnership with Industry, and put money into cutting-edge applied sciences, accelerating and honing our fight edge to remain forward of our adversaries with a mix of subsequent era digital and standard capabilities; accelerating the mixing of Space-based belongings, uncrewed techniques, AI, and autonomy, to enhance our already fielded secure of remarkable warfighting capabilities.

As a continuing, our focus should stay on our folks, our infrastructure, and our enablers … we can’t be seduced away from these 3 foundational areas by new, shiny tools programmes – constructing readiness and resilience in these areas is key to our capability to fly and struggle.

This stated, we should in parallel be clear on our operational priorities, which centre on deterrence and management of the air and house, from a revamped method to fighter pilot coaching, to the significant introduction of collaborative fight plane, to a future the place GCAP is the cornerstone of our Fast Jet functionality

In the element of all of this, there are 3 particular areas I might point out right now, as a result of these are the place I intend to overtly improve RAF focus and tempo within the close to time period: the reintroduction of an RAF nuclear functionality; Integrated Air and Missile Defence; and our method to Space.

At the daybreak of the primary nuclear age within the early Nineteen Fifties, Chief of the Air Staff Sir ‘Jack’ Slessor, wrestled with issues much like these we face right now, by way of balancing the necessity to optimise for the struggle tonight, versus modernising for the struggle tomorrow – he summarised this as:

Getting the steadiness proper between being prepared too quickly with weapons that could be of little use when battle comes, and being prepared too late in our try to realize the proper weapon.

As a little bit of an apart, like me, Slessor additionally commanded Number 4 Squadron, with the motto In Futurum Videre (in foo-tu-room, wi-deh-reh) which means ‘to see into the future.’

Neither of us knew that years after commanding Happy 4, the unit’s motto could be the problem that will face us each on the pinnacle of our RAF careers.

On nuclear, which Slessor known as the Great Deterrent, he intimately understood our must have a sturdy graduated response functionality, tailor-made to suit the dynamic strategic atmosphere. He precisely assessed that:

‘There must be something between the hydrogen bomb and the frontier policeman.’

The Royal Navy’s Continuous at Sea Deterrent has offered the final word assure of our safety because the late Sixties and can proceed to take action into the long run with the continued Dreadnought programme.

However, we have to recognise the void recognized by Slessor, between CASD and our standard capabilities.

Against this backdrop, the Government’s announcement on the current NATO Summit, whereby the RAF will as soon as once more return to the sub-strategic nuclear sport, by procuring F35A and becoming a member of NATO’S DCA partnership, is way welcomed. A nuclear-capable Lightning presents the UK with a mechanism to offer appreciable assist to our ‘NATO First’ method and NATO’s nuclear mission.

The RAF will quickly have the chance to supply NATO extra sturdy, credible, and succesful response choices, as a result of we’ve added this essential rung to our escalation ladder: one which has been lacking from the UK’s political, diplomatic, and army toolset for almost three a long time. I might count on potential adversaries to be aware of this transformation.

Of course, there are a number of challenges to handle in delivering this functionality, not least the truth that there are only a few people at the moment serving within the RAF who’ve expertise of the nuclear enterprise. To reinforce a phrase usually utilized by the earlier CDS, we should construct our nuclear IQ, and shortly.  This might be a core effort throughout my tenure as CAS, spurred on by the truth that a number of NATO nations with a fielded DCA functionality have already supplied me probably the most intimate of assist, to ship this functionality at tempo, and with precision. An excellent instance of the ability of trusting partnerships.

Shifting to Integrated Air & Missile Defence, or IAMD, this month, we rightly and proudly commemorate the eighty fifth anniversary of our Service’s ‘Finest Hour’ – The Battle of Britain. 9 a long time in the past, Dowding created the primary method to IAMD – The Dowding System – comparatively small, however extremely environment friendly, battle profitable and subsequently replicated globally.

Today, because it was within the skies above us in the summertime of 1940, Control of the Air is important. This is our Air Force’s core position; not solely does it allow air and house energy, however it additionally permits the opposite domains, and the built-in power. More importantly, it underpins our commitments to NATO’s Article 3.

Ukraine is a stark reminder of what warfare turns into when neither aspect can achieve efficient management of the air: stalemate, trench warfare, and thousands and thousands of lives misplaced.

Any IAMD answer might be multi-domain. Rather just like the Dowding System that concerned land, sea and air, right now our response will even embody house and cyber.

IAMD is extra than simply ground-based air defence, it’s a multi-domain, multinational layered functionality with command & management, sense and warn, missile defence techniques, defensive fight air, and, importantly, a spread of offensive capabilities, as important elements. 

Colloquially, when discussing IAMD there’s a lot speak about taking pictures the archer, not the arrow. But in actuality, we might want to additionally interdict the fletcher, the bowyer and the armourer to make sure that the archer by no means has the instruments to do their job. 

IAMD will even must be multi-national – built-in with allies, and particularly throughout NATO.

In the near-term, our focus might be on integrating what we have already got – optimising present capabilities for very best impact – this can rely instantly on making certain we stay on the high of our sport in delivering built-in Command and Control. 

Beyond C2, we are going to enhance our sense and warn capabilities, each on the bottom and within the air – and naturally, our new E7 Wedgetail air system, flown at this summer season’s RIAT for the primary time, might be important to this, offering a core component of a broader system of up to date ground-based radars and house capabilities, as a part of an agile, built-in, and distributed sense and warn system. 

The SDR’s announcement of as much as £1bn of latest funding for homeland air and missile defence is most welcome, and can enable us to start the journey of delivering a contemporary and succesful IAMD system. And, below our new Defence Reform mannequin, I look ahead to performing as Lead Command for this effort, working alongside others in Defence, Industry, and our allies, to ship an end result match for function in opposition to the anticipated threats we face, right now and tomorrow.

And thirdly, to Space … this area issues now greater than at another time in our lifetimes. Its relevance and significance have by no means been extra evident, underpinning the inspiration of contemporary life.

Once a site focussed totally on daring house exploration, it’s now an enviornment of strategic, financial, and political rivalry and competitors. It is vehemently contested and overly congested.

In the subsequent decade, the worldwide house financial system is forecast to achieve £1.8 trillion.

Today, almost 20 per cent, or £450 billion, of the UK’s financial system is underpinned by Space-based providers, and the UK Space sector alone generates about £17 billion in development.

It is obvious that we’re more and more reliant on house. For instance, the lack of the GPS timing sign alone would value the UK financial system about £1 billion a day – it is a worse affect than skilled on the top of COVID.

All this, in opposition to a backdrop the place our opponents are investing closely in Space: and are outpacing us.

The SDR dedicates a chapter to this subject, and rightly elevates house to parity alongside the standard warfighting domains.

It additionally recognises that we have to construct a contemporary, agile, resilient defence and civil house infrastructure…one able to assembly the threats, mitigating the dangers, seizing the alternatives, and making ready for the challenges of right now and tomorrow.

At the current Global Air and Space Chiefs’ Conference, one in all our senior house companions stated that: when you’ve got zero functionality in house, you will have zero functionality in each different area. I agree.  Space underpins deterrence in all domains, and is the keystone to our ambition of delivering an Integrated Force.  

To construct such Space functionality, the SDR requires a extra bold method to assuring entry to house, each on a sovereign foundation, with NATO, and different key allies. Consequently, our funding precedence areas are Space Control and Decision Advantage, in addition to Sense, to allow ‘Understand’ and ‘Strike’ capabilities.

These ideas are neither new nor contentious, however are important – our capability to manage the house area at a time and a spot of our selecting, advantages everybody inside the Integrated Force, not simply these inside the house area.

Even at this early stage in my CAS tenure, I can see the necessity for a UK Space Defence Centre, to allow clear command and management of our belongings, accompanied by credible counterspace capabilities to guard and defend our important nationwide pursuits in house.

And we aren’t going to do that alone – having been Director Space, I’ve witnessed firsthand that that is the final word workforce sport. By working with our allies and companions, we are able to flip the idea right into a actuality – simply as Dowding did within the late Thirties, making ready us for the Battle of Britain.

We are at the moment introduced with the thrilling alternative to make a tangible and demanding distinction within the Space area. It should occur this decade, and as Lead Command for Space, I’ll make sure the RAF champions this method. And, similar to we should ramp up our Nuclear IQ, we should do the identical regards our understanding of the Space Domain … Space issues to defence, our nation, and our allies. Again, this might be a core effort throughout my tenure as CAS, and I look ahead to partaking with the breadth of the house enterprise, in UK and internationally, to grasp how greatest to extend our tempo on this space, to make sure the correct capabilities are delivered for right now’s struggle, and the correct foundations are set to be greatest positioned for tomorrow.

To conclude, our potential adversaries should not standing nonetheless – in reality, they’re approaching a dash – their army industrial complicated is in full swing, and it oftentimes looks like ours continues to be in peace mode – due to this fact, there’s a lot work to be carried out, and we can’t afford to squander the time we’ve got.

This stated, I’m supremely assured that he we’ve got the correct folks in our entire power workforce, with the professionalism, ingenuity, resilience, drive and combating spirit to make the change, and make the distinction.  

And, after all, the Defence Industrial Strategy introduced simply this week, reinforces our backing of UK trade, and can put the UK at the vanguard of defence innovation, to revolutionise not simply our defensive capabilities, however our whole financial panorama.  

The RAF stays the nation’s first responder; we’ve got a proud legacy; however mustn’t ever be distracted or complacent.

We should relentlessly pursue the excellence demanded by our leaders, our nation, and our allies. As Churchill requested for:

‘Successful deterrence operated from sober, calm, and tireless vigilance.’

Going ahead, I intend to place extra AIR in Air:

More Agile, extra Integrated and extra Ready, to fly and struggle – right now, tomorrow, and collectively.

Returning to Slessor, for the ultimate, salient phrase

‘Our swords must be in our hands. It is no good thinking that we can forge them, or draw them from the armoury, after the emergency is upon us.’

Thank you.