The Long War Conference 2025

This opening panel sets the strategic scene. It considers how major powers have prepared for and sustained protracted wars, and what lessons these offer today. Drawing on historical precedent and contemporary conflicts such as Ukraine, the discussion will explore how political, industrial, and military systems endure or fail when war proves longer and harder than expected.

Speakers include:
Dr Jack Watling, Senior Research Fellow, Land Warfare, RUSI
Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London
Deborah Haynes, Security and Defence Editor, Sky News

Moderator: Dr Hillary Briffa, Senior Lecturer in National Security Studies Education

This panel examines how the UK and its allies can generate and sustain military capability at scale during a protracted conflict. It explores how defence industries adapt under pressure, the limits of peacetime production models, and the potential of 'dissimilar rearmament' to fill urgent gaps. Drawing on lessons from Ukraine and historical examples of wartime adaptation, the discussion will consider what an industrial base for long war might look like today.

Speakers include:
Air Commodore (Ret’d) Andrew Curtis OBE, Independent Researcher and RUSI Associate Fellow
Dr Sidharth Kaushal, Senior Research Fellow, Sea Power, RUSI
Dr Chris Lewis, Director for Business Growth, Babcock International Group

Moderator: Dr Linus Terhost, Research Analyst, Military Sciences, RUSI

Keynote speaker: General (Ret.) Sir Richard Barrons KCB CBE

Moderator: Matthew Savill MBE, Director of Military Sciences, RUSI

This panel examines how UK forces could adapt to the realities of attrition in a future high-intensity conflict. It will consider how manpower, training, and command structures might evolve to regenerate combat power at pace, and the role of reserve forces in planning for that effort. The discussion will explore what credible reconstitution looks like and how to plan to fight through the echelons.

Speakers include:
Major General John Kendall, Deputy Commander Field Army
Dr Sophy Antrobus, Co-Director of the Freeman Air and Space Institute, King's College London
Professor Vincent Connolly, Professor of Psychology at the Oxford Brookes University Defence and Security Centre

Moderator: Lieutenant General Sir Nick Borton KCB DSO MBE, RUSI Distinguished Fellow

Speakers include:
Elizabeth Braw, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
The Rt Hon Amber Rudd, Consultant and RUSI Trustee
Dr Jon Kendrew, International SOS Senior Medical Director Government Services International
Ned Baker, Managing Director, Helsing

Moderator: Hamish Mundell, Defence Engagement Manager, Military Sciences, RUSI

Keynote speaker: Luke Pollard MP, Minister of State (Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry)

Moderator: Rachel Ellehuus, Director-General, RUSI