First Sea Lord's Speech
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson
The conference addressed the potential for human-machine combat teaming, implications for force design, disinvestment strategies and people from the year 2035.
The emergence of autonomous and remotely controlled systems as mature weapon systems has taken half a century to arrive, but there are signs that by 2035 such systems will be able to mitigate for scale and mass in warfare. Adversaries are also harnessing these systems: a democratisation of weapons and sensors seems likely.
But different states (and their cultures) will have a different approach to the part played by humans within warfare systems of the future. If the West is to place a warfighter in the driving seat, will this provide the decisive edge in warfare or will it simply slow down decision-making and provide enemies with advantages of pace and tempo?
Speakers
- The Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE MP, Secretary of State for Defence
- Admiral Sir Philip Andrew Jones KCB ADC, First Sea Lord, Royal Navy
- Lord Hague of Richmond, RUSI Chairman
- Dr Theresa Fallon, CREAS, Brussels
- Professor Malcolm Chalmers, RUSI Deputy Director-General
- Admiral Christophe Prazuck, Chief of Staff, French Navy (CEMM)
- Rear Admiral Nils Andreas Stensønes, Chief of Royal Norwegian Navy
- Elisabeth Braw, Control Risks
- Dr John Hemmings, CSIS and Henry Jackson Society
- Oleksandr Danylyuk, Center for Defence Reform, Ukraine
- Dr Martin Murphy, Associate Fellow, RUSI
- Meia Nouwens, Research Fellow - Chinese Defence Policy and Military Modernisation, IISS
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