Dr Lee Willett is Head of the Maritime Studies Programme, in the Military Sciences Department at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies. Previously, he was responsible for the Military Capabilities Programme and the research and conference components therein, before a recent Departmental re-organization led to the creation of several new programmes, including the Maritime Studies Programme.

The Maritime Studies Programme is a research-led programme which provides analysis, conducts research, contributes to RUSI’s publications, and convenes meetings, seminars and conferences on issues relating to the maritime operational environment and maritime security, including development, concepts and doctrine, military capabilities, personnel, moral and legal issues (including reserves), command and force structures and organization, and logistics.

Under the Maritime Studies Programme, Dr Willett is undertaking the following tasks at present:

• Research on maritime strategy, operations and equipment capability issues, especially in relation to the Royal Navy. In recent work on the Royal Navy, Dr Willett has been studying the future of the Submarine Service, the role of the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM), and the challenges in generating concepts and capabilities to support Maritime Security Operations (MSO).
• Analysis of key acquisition issues for the maritime environment, and in the UK in particular. Here, he is focused on defence acquisition and maritime industrial strategy issues, and the challenges for delivering key future Royal Navy programmes such as the Future Carrier, Future Surface Combatant and Astute-class submarine
• Assessment of the issues surrounding the future of nuclear deterrence and, for the UK in particular, the debate surrounding the replacement of its Trident strategic deterrent
• Media analysis on maritime and broader defence issues, including the UK Tomahawk programme, the contributions of coalition navies to combat operations (including recent operations in Afghanistan and Iraq), major naval news stories (including the Russian submarine Kursk, the Russian nuclear-powered cruiser the Peter the Great, the Royal Navy submarine HMS Trafalgar, the Royal Canadian Navy submarine HMCS Chicoutimi, and the 2005 Trafalgar bi-centennial celebrations) and on major defence policy and acquisition debates (including the future of the UK strategic deterrent, the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programmes, defence acquisition and industrial policy, and future programmes such as Joint Strike Fighter, the Future Carrier, the ASTUTE-class submarine, and the Future Rapid Effects System).

Dr Willett also is a member of the publications Editorial Board for the Royal Australian Navy’s Sea Power Centre-Australia (SPC-A).

Prior to joining RUSI, Dr Willett was Leverhulme Research Fellow at the Centre for Security Studies at the University of Hull and was seconded to the Naval Staff Directorate in the Ministry of Defence as a Research Associate. He holds a BA in International Relations, an MA in War Studies and a doctorate on Tomahawk’s role in US-Soviet strategic arms control.