RUSI Integrated Air and Missile Defence Conference 2024

The air threat will be both more complex in itself and rendered ever more challenging by the intersection of modes of air attack with other capabilities. This panel will consider the different capabilities which will comprise the future threat and the ways in which other modes of attack such as electronic warfare will intersect with the air threat. 

Chair: Dr Sidharth Kaushal, Senior Research Fellow, RUSI 

Speakers: 
Sam Cranny-Evans, RUSI Associate Fellow
Dr Uzi Rubin, Former Director IMDO
Dr Thomas Withington, RUSI Associate Fellow

Nations within Europe including the UK seek to elevate the importance of integrated air and missile defence after a long period of air supremacy. The panel will consider the factors that will inform the articulation of policies and strategies for the development and fielding of air and missile defence capabilities. This session will also look at the ramifications for doctrinal considerations including the principles which determine allocation of assets and the division of duties and airspace between different organisations.

Chair: Paul O’Neill, Senior Research Fellow, RUSI 

Speakers:
Thomas Bajorek, Assistant Head BMD, C-UAS UK MoD
Radoslava Stefanova, Head of IAMD Section, NATO Defence Investment Division
Air Cdre Andrew Martin, HQ Air Command, RAF

The safety of the homeland can no longer be taken for granted, even by nations such as the UK, which have historically enjoyed strategic depth. This has ramifications for both the protection of civil infrastructure and the preservation of those capabilities without which joint forces cannot operate. This entails choices regarding how the protection of different assets can be achieved and where active defence should be prioritised vis passive defence. In addition, the cost of homeland defences will need to be weighed against other national defence priorities.

Chair: Juliana Suess, Research Fellow, RUSI

Speakers:  
Mark Gunzinger, Director of Future Concepts and Capability Assessments, Mitchell Institute 
Alessandro Marrone, Head of Defence Programme, IAI 
Lord Toby Harris, Chair National Preparedness Commission

Although the distinction between a theatre of operation and strategic rear areas is blurring, it is still the case that as forces deploy they will face an even more complex range of threats as the tyranny of distance is eroded and a broader range of capabilities can strike both fielded forces and the nodes upon which their ability to operate depends. This dynamic, though true across the board, will have specific characteristics in each domain. The types of air and missile capabilities that adversaries will use to disrupt different elements of the joint force differ, as do the points of failure which will need to be defended. Not only will this determine the specific defensive capabilities which are most appropriate to each context, but it will also condition the extent to which forces can rely on defensive means instead of proactively neutralising threats. 

Chair: Professor Justin Bronk, Senior Research Fellow, RUSI 

Speakers:  
Brigadier General Glauco Mora, Commander of the Aerospace Control Brigade, Italian Air Force
Lt Col Stuart Hay, Commander of 7th Air Defence Group, British Army
Dr Philippe Roudier, Area Protection Product Line Group Director, MBDA
Tristam Constant, Senior Director Europe, Anduril

The scale of the air and missile challenge presents states with a threat environment which is inherently offense dominated. This is decidedly suboptimal for defenders in a context where already strained defence industrial systems will be challenged by the need to produce complex weapons for defensive tasks. Surmounting this challenge will demand innovation. This can take the form of technological solutions involving new approaches to neutralising threats with capabilities, such as directed energy and new types of interceptors. It will also depend on the delivery of a more integrated system which effectively allocates resources, something which is as much of an organisational challenge as it is a technical one.

Chair: Matthew Savill, Director Military Sciences RUSI 

Speakers:
Dr Anthony Wraight, Director Missile Defence Centre
Professor Justin Bronk, Senior Research Fellow for Airpower, RUSI
Richard Drake, General Manager, Anduril UK
Wade Mize, Northrop Grumman