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 Co-Director and Senior Research Fellow.
Her current research areas are on deterrence, integrated air and missile defence, and risk. Previously, Sophy served in the Royal Air Force for twenty years including in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a tour with the Royal Navy.
Ned is Managing Director of Helsing UK and leads our Ukraine operations. He spent fifteen years in His Majesty’s Diplomatic Service, with extensive experience in national security roles, including postings to Afghanistan and Copenhagen. Ned brings deep expertise in geo-politics, diplomacy, defence, and the latest developments in modern conflict, which he is now applying to Helsing's own operations.
General (Ret.) Sir Richard Barrons served as Commander Joint Forces Command, one of the six ‘Chiefs of Staff’ leading the UK Armed Forces, 2013-2016. His military career began as an artillery officer and included the last decade of the Cold War, leadership from Captain to General on military operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, and serving as the Director of all UK military operations as Lieutenant General.
Now as Co-Chairman of Universal Defence & Security Solutions, he advises on senior leadership, defence and national security matters - especially Digital Age transformation for 21st Century warfare - and is a regular media commentator. He was one of the leaders of the UK Prime Minister’s 2025 Strategic Defence Review and is a Senior Consulting Fellow at Chatham House. His latest book, War and Peace, the Life and Times of General Sir Richard Barrons was published in 2024.
Lieutenant General Sir Nick Borton was commissioned into the British Army in 1991. Over a 34 year career, he has served in UK, Germany, Belize, Bosnia, Brunei, Cyprus, Iraq and Afghanistan. He has worked in strategy and policy in the UK Ministry of Defence, and commanded at every level from platoon to corps. His most recent appointments included: Commander 16 Air Assault Brigade; Commander 3rd (UK) Division, and Chief of Staff UK Permanent Joint HQ, where he was responsible for the daily running of all UK joint operations globally. His most recent appointment was command of the NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, UK’s senior field formation, focused on NATO deterrence in Europe.
He was awarded the MBE in 2002, the Distinguished Service Order for commanding his Battalion in Helmand, Afghanistan in 2008, and was appointed Knight Commander of The Order of the Bath in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours. He is a graduate of: University of Stirling; Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Cranfield University; Joint Services Command and Staff College; National Defence University Washington DC, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute. On leaving the Army, he has pursued various strategic advisory, board and business roles and is a NATO Senior Mentor.
Elisabeth Braw is a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. Her work focuses on defense against gray-zone and hybrid threats as well as the intersection of geopolitics and the globalized economy. She leads the Transatlantic Security Initiative’s Threats to the global maritime order project. Braw is also a columnist with Foreign Policy and Politico Europe.
Braw is a member of the advisory boards of M&C Saatchi World Services and GALLOS Technologies. She is also an adviser to Willis Towers Watson’s research arm, a member of the United Kingdom’s National Preparedness Commission, and a member of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy’s advisory council.
Braw has published numerous books, including the award-winning Goodbye, Globalization: The Return of a Divided World (2024), The Defender’s Dilemma: Identifying and Deterring Gray-Zone Aggression (2022), and God’s Spies (2019). She is also the author of the upcoming book The Undersea War.
Braw was previously a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. Prior to joining academia, she worked in the private sector following a career as a journalist.
Dr Hillary Briffa is a Senior Lecturer in National Security Studies and the Assistant Director of the Centre for Defence Studies in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. She is on the editorial board of open access, peer-reviewed journal Small States and Territories and serves as the Academic Chair for the Knowledge Hub on Climate for Circle-U, an alliance of nine research-intensive universities.
Beyond the university, she sits on the board of the London Defence Conference and regularly consults on foreign policy and defence issues for the British government and international governments, ranging from Estonia to Fiji. In 2015 she was appointed an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, and in 2016 became a recipient of the U.S. State Department’s inaugural Emerging Young Leaders award.
Professor Vince Connelly is Professor of Psychology at the Oxford Brookes University Defence and Security Centre and Director of Teaching and Learning for the Psychology programmes at Oxford Brookes. His particular areas of research expertise include Reserve Forces, Military Families and Veterans.
Vince is best known for his work on the Reserve Forces. His research on integrating Reservists and Regulars within the “Whole Force” approach has been especially influential with the British Army and his success in this area led to a “world leading” impact rating from the 2022 UK Research Excellence Framework. A founder member of the UK Future Reserves Research Programme in 2014 he has contributed to, and led, numerous projects examining the Reserve Forces experience. This includes understanding recruitment and retention issues, the need for family support, improving productivity and how to design and deploy Reserve Forces for warfighting. He has authored many peer-reviewed papers and articles on these topics and his 2023 co-edited book, Contemporary Military Reserves: Between the Civilian and Military Worlds, presents a comparative study of international military reserves.
Vince is a Fellow of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, the academic member of the UK Reserve Forces External Scrutiny Team, a council member of the Royal Signals Institution, a trustee of the Berkshire Yeomanry Museum and a member of the Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre Stakeholder Advisory Panel, among others. Vince has also published many research studies in the field of educational psychology examining the development of literacy skills.
Vince has 40 years’ experience of part time volunteer service with the Armed Forces. He is currently a senior Army Reservist.
Andrew Curtis is a defence and security academic, specialising in strategy, the higher management of defence, and military logistics.
His research interests stem from his 35-year career as a Royal Air Force logistics officer, from which he retired in 2019 in the rank of air commodore. His final appointment was programme director of the Defence Support Transformation Programme, the flagship transformation initiative of the MoD’s Modernising Defence Programme. During his career, he gained considerable operational experience through a variety of appointments, including: commander support in the NATO Headquarters at Kandahar Airfield in 2011-12; chief of staff of the Joint Task Force Headquarters that conducted the UK’s 2011 Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation in Libya; and commander of the UK humanitarian contribution following the Haiti earthquake of 2010.
Andrew is a RUSI Associate Fellow and an Associate at Cityforum. He is a regular contributor to defence commentary and debate, and author of two books: Understanding UK Military Capability (2022) and We need to talk about Defence (2024). He was appointed as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2007 and has a PhD in defence studies from King’s College London.
Rachel Ellehuus became Director-General of RUSI on 6 January 2025.
Rachel joined RUSI after serving nearly three years at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as the United States Secretary of Defense Representative in Europe and Defense Advisor to the United States’ Mission to NATO.
Prior to that, she was Deputy Director of the Europe and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC and a Senior Advisor at WestExec Advisors. Previously, she served in multiple roles in the U.S. Department of Defense to include Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy. Her time in the Pentagon also included an exchange to the UK Ministry of Defence's Strategy Unit, where she worked on the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Rachel has numerous publications to her name, most recently Europe’s High-End Military Challenges (2022) and The Challenge of Political Will in Europe (2022). She holds a BA from Colgate University and a MA from the College of Europe.
Sir Lawrence Freedman is Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King’s College London. Lawrence Freedman was Professor of War Studies at King's College London from 1982 to 2014, and was Vice-Principal from 2003 to 2013. He was educated at Whitley Bay Grammar School and the Universities of Manchester, York and Oxford. Before joining King's he held research appointments at Nuffield College Oxford, IISS and the Royal Institute of International Affairs. Elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1995, he was appointed Official Historian of the Falklands Campaign in 1997. In June2009 he was appointed to serve as a member of the official inquiry into Britain and the 2003 Iraq War.
Professor Freedman has written extensively on nuclear strategy and the cold war, as well as commentating regularly on contemporary security issues. Among his books are Strategy: A History (2013), The Future of War: A History (2017) and Ukraine and the Art of Strategy (2019). His most recent book is Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine. He also has a Substack, 'Comment is Freed' which he writes with his son Sam.
From the Middle East to Ukraine, Deborah Haynes has covered conflict around the world for more than two decades. She also focuses on defence and resilience in the UK at a time of growing threats, with the government attempting to reverse cuts to the armed forces and be better prepared for war.
As the security and defence editor at Sky News, Deborah wrote and presented The Wargame podcast series, which pitches former British ministers and military chiefs against a fictional Kremlin.
Deborah also wrote and presented Into The Grey Zone, a podcast series that explores how nations attack each other under the threshold of conventional war, including with cyber hacks, disinformation operations and assassinations.
Sidharth Kaushal's research at RUSI covers the impact of technology on maritime doctrine in the 21st century and the role of sea power in a state's grand strategy.
Sidharth holds a doctorate in International Relations from the London School of Economics, where his research examined the ways in which strategic culture shapes the contours of a nation's grand strategy.
Major General John Kendall commissioned into the Royal Signals Reserves after serving as a Lance Corporal in the Berkshire Yeomanry. His career includes Regimental Duty in the UK and Balkans, mentoring Afghan forces, commanding a training unit, and serving as Deputy Commander in both the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade and the 3rd (UK) Division. He has held staff roles at the Junior Officer Tactics Course, Reserve Advanced Command and Staff Course, Regional and Home Command, and the Royal College of Defence Studies.
John was responsible for Reserves and key innovation work in the ISR Brigade and Reserve mobilisation planning during his time with the Iron Division. He has also researched the Army’s societal and international connections. As DCFA he is responsible for mobilisation and Army Reserves in the Field Army.
In civilian life, he is a strategic analyst and senior research fellow, focusing on complex problems, wargaming, futures research, and leadership development. He supports the South East Reserve Forces and Cadets Association, a Deputy Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire, and is an ally to both the Defence Sikh and Hindu Networks.
He assumed the role of Deputy Commander Field Army on 19 November 2024.
Jon commissioned into the Royal Air Force as a medical cadet in 1993, having spent his first two years at UCL Medical School, flying up to ‘solo’ standard with the University of London Air Squadron. Following general duties and basic surgical training, he was selected to join the Defence Medical Services (DMS) Orthopaedic cadre, qualifying as a Consultant in 2009. Over the next 12 years, he delivered military and civilian trauma care both as a Consultant at the UK Role 4 – Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and on military deployment.
Jon enjoyed a blended Air Command staff and clinical tour from 2016 to 2018, before being appointed Defence Consultant Advisor for Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery. He played a key role in the innovative DMS Osseointegration service starting in 2014. This service has ultimately allowed many previously wheelchair bound, war-injured service people and veterans to walk unaided. Jon designed the clinical pathway and handed over the surgical care of this cohort of unique patients to the NHS in 2021, thereby securing legacy care for them.
Transitioning from his first career as a DMS Consultant in 2021, Jon is now based in the UAE and works as International SOS Senior Medical Director Government Services International. As the clinical lead for a plethora of capabilities, Jon travels globally offering direct clinical support and elevating capabilities through remote mentoring and clinical leadership, ensuring that even in the most austere environments, excellence in healthcare is never compromised.
Dr Chris Lewis is the Director for Business Growth a Babcock International Group and is an Associate Fellow of RUSI. His research interests cover the military and defence ecosystem, defence industrial strategy, and ambidexterity in defence. Chris has worked in and around the defence ecosystem for several decades. Within industry he delivers senior level leadership to business development, business growth, and strategy across all the domains for UK and International markets.
Chris believes that it is only through collaborative engagement that industry will be able to effectively respond to an ever changing, complex multidimensional environment, and deliver capability to the UK and aligned nations. As such, he is personally driven to understand the needs of defence for the next quarter of a century.
Having earned a Doctorate in Business Growth Strategy (focused on ambidextrous challenges and tensions in the United Kingdom defence and security sector), Chris has an MA in Sales Management (e-procurement in the public sector), and has a first degree in Biochemistry. Prior to his career in industry, Chris served in the British Army with both the regulars and reserves of the Royal Signals.
As the Defence Engagement Manager for Military Sciences, Hamish manages relationships between the RUSI and partners in the military, government, and the defence sector.
Hamish comes from a political background working for members of Parliament including the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer; as well as working on a successful leadership campaign.
Hamish holds a BSc in Government and an MSc in Regulation from the London School of Economics.
Luke Pollard was appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence on 6 September 2025.
He was previously Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defence from 9 July 2024 to 6 September 2025. He was elected as the MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport in July 2024.
Amber was the MP for Hastings and Rye from 2010 to 2019 and held office in cabinet for four years. She was Energy Secretary 2015-16, Home Secretary 2016-18, and Work and Pensions Secretary 2018-19. She played an active role in the campaign to stay in the EU during the Brexit referendum. She now works as a consultant and advisor in the financial and energy sector.
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.
Dr Linus Terhorst is a Research Analyst within the Military Science team where he works on defence procurement and industrial strategy questions and innovation management in defence. Previously, Linus has been a Research Associate at the Freeman Air and Space Institute of the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, where he was the Editor of the Institute’s publications. He has taught various courses at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.
Linus earned his PhD from the Defence Studies Department at King’s College London, investigating German procurement policy formulation processes. He holds an M.A. in International Security from Sciences Po Paris, and a BA in War Studies & History from King’s College London. He is also an elected Associate of KCL. During his doctoral studies, he was a Fellow of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s doctoral college on security and development in the 21st century.
Dr Jack Watling is Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare at the Institute. Jack works extensively with the British and allied militaries on force development and operational analysis. Jack has worked extensively in Ukraine during Russia’s invasion, in Iraq during the campaign to defeat Daesh, in Mali, Rwanda and further afield. He is the Co-author alongside Nick Reynolds of War by Others’ Means: Delivering Effective Partner Force Capacity Building (2021).
