Dr Sophy Antrobus researches contemporary air power in the context of the institutional, cultural and organisational barriers to innovation in modern air forces, in particular the RAF, at the Freeman Air and Space Institute, King’s College London, where she is a Research Fellow. Her current research areas are on deterrence and risk, and she recently published a paper ‘An Applied History of the RAF’s Approach to Risk and Implications for Modern Warfighting’. She completed her PhD at the University of Exeter in 2019 on the political fight for the RAF in the inter-war years.
Previously, Sophy served in the Royal Air Force for twenty years including in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a tour with the Royal Navy. She is a Fellow and elected member of the Council of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Hudson Fellow with the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre and a member of the RAF Museum’s Research Advisory Board.
Michael Kofman is a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on the Russian military and Eurasian security issues. Prior to joining Carnegie in 2023, he served as Director of the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analyses, where he conducted research on the capabilities, strategy, and military thought of the Russian Armed Forces. Widely recognized as one of the leading authorities on the Russian military, and the Russo-Ukrainian War, Kofman has led foundational work in the field, and is routinely cited in major publications. He also regularly advises senior government and military officials.
Aside from his work at Carnegie, Kofman is also a Principal Research Scientist at CNA, an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and a Contributing Editor at War on the Rocks, where he hosts The Russia Contingency, a bi-weekly podcast on the Russian military and war against Ukraine. He previously served as a program manager, and research fellow, at the National Defense University. Past fellowships have included the Modern War Institute at West Point, and the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
Professor Justin Bronk is the Senior Research Fellow for Airpower and Technology in the Military Sciences team at RUSI, and the Editor of the RUSI Defence Systems online journal.
His particular areas of expertise include the modern combat air environment, Russian and Chinese ground-based air defences and fast jet capabilities, the air war during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, unmanned combat aerial vehicles and novel weapons technology. He has written extensively for RUSI and a variety of external publications, as well as appearing regularly in the international media.
Justin also holds a Professor II position at the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy, and is a member of the Editorial Board of the Scientific and Technical Journal "Weapons and Equipment" at the Central Scientific Research Institute of Arms and Military Equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
His PhD examined Balancing Imagination and Design in British Combat Aircraft Development at the Defence Studies Department of Kings College London.
Justin is also a private light aircraft and glider pilot.
Lieutenant General André ‘Jabba’ Steur is Commander Royal Netherlands Air Force. In this role he also serves as the senior Air & Spacepower advisor to the Dutch Chief of Defence.
General Steur was commissioned in 1992 as a graduate of the Royal Military Academy (KMA) in Breda, where he studied Business Administration. In 1994 Steur earned his wings and subsequently attended initial F-16 training in Tucson, Arizona. After returning to the Netherlands, he was assigned to 312 Squadron at Volkel Air Base. Between 1995 and 2003, Steur deployed multiple times to operations over Former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan. His flying career also includes an exchange assignment to Shaw Air Force Base, graduation from Weapons Instructor Course with honours as well as serving as squadron and base commander.
His previous staff tours include serving as staff officer in the F-16 replacement program, Head of Planning Integration, Director of Operations of the Royal Netherlands Air Force and finally in his previous position as he was appointed as the Director of Operational Policy and Plans within the Directorate of Policy of the Netherlands Ministry of Defence. Within this newly established directorate, the foundation was laid for further development of the Netherlands armed forces.
Maj. Gen. Cezary Wiśniewski is the Deputy General Commander of the Polish Armed Forces. Maj. Gen. Cezary Wiśniewski joined the Polish Air Force in 1987, starting his studies at the Aviation Academy in Dęblin.
He obtained the 3rd class of military pilot on January 14, 1991 in the 58th Aviation Training Regiment in Dęblin. During the fourth year of his studies, he began flying MiG-21UM/MF combat aircraft. He received his first officer rank in 1991 after graduating from Aviation Academy.
A graduate of the Polish Air Force University (1991) and the Pedagogical University (1997). In 2001 he graduated from the National Defence University of Warsaw. Then, he completed foreign courses (Squadron Officer Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, USA – 2003, COMAO Course, TLP Florenns, Belgium – 2008).
In 2009, he completed postgraduate studies in Foreign and International Service at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, in 2014 he graduated from the Master of Strategic Studies, Air War College at the United States Air Force University, Maxwell AFB, USA. Awarded with many medals and decorations and an entry in the "Honorary Book of the Minister of National Defense". He performed important functions, including the function of the Head of the Air Safety Inspectorate of the Ministry of National Defense – Chairman of the State Aviation Accident Investigation Committee (2016), Air Force Inspector (2016-2017) and the position of defense attaché in the USA (2017-2021).
Air Commodore Crawford is the Commandant of the Air and Space Warfare Centre. He completed tours on 111(F) and XXV(F) Squadrons, and the Tornado F3 Operational Conversion Unit, before promotion to Squadron Leader, where he was posted to the Tactical Leadership Programme, while completing a Masters at Cambridge University before returning to the F3 as a Flight Commander.
He completed Advanced Command and Staff College and an MA in Defence Studies, prior to posting to a strategy role in the Pentagon. He returned to the UK as OC Ops Wing at RAF Leuchars, before deploying as XO to the Commanding General, 1st Infantry Division, in Baghdad on OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE. Crawford was awarded an OBE in 2015.
Within Joint Forces Command, he led the rollout of ‘Warfare in the Information Age’ and then returned to Washington as the interoperability lead for the Multi Domain Command and Control enterprise, before participating in the development of the USAF’s innovation strategy.
Appointed Station Commander, RAF Leeming, he drove multiple transformation programmes including setting up the RAFX Innovation Hub. He was awarded a CBE in 2021 before attending Higher Command and Staff College. He is currently completing a Doctorate in Innovation, Technology and Strategy at Durham University, where he is also a Professor in Practice.
Jonas Grönberg is a Strategy Director within Business Unit Fighter Core Capabilities at Saab covering Radar, EW and Avionics. Previously been heading product management, marketing and sales, cyber organizations within Saab. For several years technical manager within the ongoing Gripen EW program. Started as a system engineer within EW in 1999.
Matthew Savill is the Director of Military Sciences at RUSI, focussing on developments and trends in modern conflict, and the use of force in the 21st Century.
Before joining RUSI he spent over 20 years as a civil servant working on defence and security, predominantly in the Ministry of Defence. He joined the MOD in 2003, starting his career in Defence Intelligence as an Iraq analyst before moving to intelligence coordination and support to operations, and later roles in private office, approvals and scrutiny of major procurement projects, before a return to analysis and a secondment to the Cabinet Office.
He has also specialised in strategy and policy, with roles in: Defence Strategy and Priorities, working on the Integrated Review; the MOD’s Operations Directorate, where he was responsible for operational policy for the Middle East and overseas counter-terrorism; the Cabinet Office National Security Secretariat, to cover intelligence oversight and then Middle East policy; the MOD team responsible for the deployment of the UK Carrier Strike Group in 2021; and operations and crisis team responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. His final role in the MOD was responsibility for Special Operations policy, covering oversight of UK Special Forces and intelligence operations.
He attended the Advanced Command and Staff Course at the Defence Academy Shrivenham in 2010-11, and the Higher Command and Staff Course in 2020, and has a Masters in Defence Studies from King’s College London. He has had articles published in Defence Studies and on The Wavell Room website.
He has deployed on operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and across the Middle East for the military campaign against Daesh.
Matthew was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2008.
Major General Jonas Wikman was appointed Commander of the Swedish Air Force in December 2022.
Jonas Wikman is a 1993 graduate from the Air Force Flying Training School and started his career as a light attack pilot and flight instructor before transitioning to J 35 Draken and later to the JAS 39 Gripen. During his career as a fighter pilot, General Wikman was engaged in the development of the
man-machine-interface for air crew and has extensive experience in the field of aviation medicine as an aviation physiologist and ultimately as Head of the Armed Forces Aeromedical Center.
Following his graduation from the advanced command course at the Swedish Defence University in 2009 Jonas Wikman served in the Plans and Finance Department of the Defence Staff. In 2012 he was appointed Commanding Officer of the Flight Test Center (Linköping). Two years thereafter, he entered the position as Chief of Plans in the Joint Force Generation Command.
In 2016 Jonas Wikman was appointed Senior Air Advisor to the NATO Resolute Support Mission in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was later promoted to Brigadier General and appointed Chief of the Joint Materiel and Support Directorate and Assistant Chief of the Joint Force Generation Command.
In 2021 he was promoted to Major General and appointed Deputy Chief of Joint Operation were he served during the evacuation operation from Afghanistan and the events leading up to, and following, the Russian war against Ukraine. He held this position until he assumed his current command in December 2022.
Col. Soren W. Andersen (WIS) is the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Danish Air Command and the Commander of the Danish National Air Operations Center.
Col Andersen has previously held the position as Head of the Current Operations Division in the Danish Tactical Air Command after which he took over the joint function of the Chief of J-3 Current Operations and Planning, Defence Command, Denmark. Before his current function, Col Andersen was Division Head, Combat Operations Division, NATO Combined Air Operations Center, Uedem, Germany as well as Division Head, NATO Joint Force Air Component HQ AIRCOM Ramstein AFB, Germany.
Col Andersen’s deployments include service at various functions in Operation Enduring Freedom and ISAF to include Deputy Commander for Operations, Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan and Chief Campaign Projects, CJ-5, ISAF HQ, Kabul, Afghanistan. He has also served several tours as Danish SNR and Red Card Holder, Operation Inherent Resolve, Al-Udeid, Qatar.
Col Andersen is a graduate of the USAF Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, USA and the USAF Air War College Nonresident Studies Seminar Programme, Sheppard Air Force Base, USA as well as national courses of Strategy and Security Policy.
Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo is a Europe correspondent for Defense News where she covers all topics related to military procurement and international security in the region as well as the Middle East. At 26, she has been published several times internationally in multiple languages including Al-Jazeera, the Globe and Mail, as well as other media networks. She is originally from Canada, but is now based full-time in Milan, Italy. She previously attended the University of St-Andrews, where she specialized in counter-terrorism studies.
Lt. Gen. Richard G. Moore, Jr. is the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. As the Air Force’s senior Planner/Programmer, he directs and coordinates activities ensuring the Air Force plans for, builds, and employs effective air and cyber forces to achieve national defence objectives. To accomplish these tasks, he leads the development, integration, evaluation, and analysis of the Air Force’s program objective memorandum and resource allocation plan.
Lt. Gen. Moore graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, and subsequently earned a Master of Engineering Management from Washington State University in 1997. During his Air Force career, Lt. Gen. Moore has commanded at the squadron, group, and wing levels. He is a command pilot with more than 4,000 hours in the KC-135R/T Stratotanker, C-12F Huron, C- 5A/B/M Galaxy, C-17A Globemaster III and C-130J Super Hercules.
Prior to his current position, Lt. Gen. Moore was the Director of Programs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, HAF, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia.
Major General Vincent Chusseau is acting as Deputy COS Plans & Programs since 2023.
He is a fighter (Mirage 2000 and Rafale) and a test pilot. His operational career saw him participate in several operations in former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. He had the honor to make a three years’ exchange within the French Navy (2000-2003). He also commanded the 1/7 fighter squadron “Provence” in Saint Dizier on Rafale (2005).
Beyond his operational career, Major General Chusseau has the opportunity to serve in NATO, within the French representation. He has also served extensively within the programs branch of the Air Force staff. In 2000, he worked on the Rafale in the Navy OE&T center and then in 2004, in the Air Force OE&T center. In 2017, he served as Chief of Programs for the Air Force staff.
In 2020, he was at the head of the Future Combat Air System project. In 2022, he commanded the Air Warfare Center in Mont de Marsan before joining the Air and Space Force staff in Paris.
Major General Vincent Chusseau has graduated the Air Force Academy (1992), the Joint Defense College (2004) and the NATO Defense College (2010, Senior Course 116).
Richard was appointed as the BAE Systems Air Managing Director, Europe & International and Chair of the Eurofighter Supervisory Board on 1 January 2024.
Richard is accountable for managing the strategic relationship with the UK Royal Air Force, European partners and international customers in Oman and Qatar through the delivery of the Typhoon, Hawk and Tornado platforms.
Richard has previously held the role of Group Manufacturing & Support Director. In this role, he held Group-wide responsibility for BAE Systems for the strategic direction of the Manufacturing, Quality and Support functions working closely with the Executive Committee.
Richard has accrued 27 years’ experience within BAE Systems. He began his career within manufacturing and led on behalf of the Company the acceptance process and initial deliveries of the Typhoon Aircraft into service with the Royal Air Force and Royal Saudi Air Force customers.
Amelia began her career as an Engineering Officer in the Royal Navy, serving for 11 years before becoming an Enterprise Architect for digital transformation. She moved to BAE Systems where she was a Technical Authority, Chief of Staff to the CEO, and finally led the Maritime Combat Systems business. Amelia is a WISE Woman in Industry Award winner (2017), a Chartered Engineer and a non-Executive Director on the Maritime UK Solent Board.
ACM Sir Richard Knighton joined the RAF in 1988 as a University Cadet and studied Engineering at Clare College Cambridge. He spent his early career in frontline roles working on Nimrod Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Tornado and with the Harrier force. He has served as the Station Commander at RAF Wittering where he was also the RAF’s Logistics Force Commander.
He has held a range staff appointments and has been closely involved in strategic and capability planning for the RAF and Defence. He has been the Assistant Chief of Air Staff, responsible for the strategic coherence and coordination of the RAF and planning for the RAF100 centenary programme. The most senior role he has held in the Ministry of Defence was as DCDS Military Capability. He was previously Deputy Commander Capability and People at Air Command, responsible for strategic planning and delivering RAF capability including people, equipment, infrastructure and training.
He has completed the Advanced Command and Staff Course, the Royal College of Defence Studies and the UK Pinnacle Course. He was appointed to the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath as a Commander (CB) in 2017 and as Knight Commander (KCB) in 2023.
