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The programme looks at the current and future capabilities and limitations of airpower. The ability to deliver force from the air with unrivalled precision, at great range and in a matter of hours almost anywhere in the world has been the greatest Western military trump card since the late Cold War. However, declining defence budgets, long development and procurement timescales and rapid proliferation of technology are threatening the ability of the United States and its allies to control the skies in many parts of the world. The programme also explores the doctrinal, strategic and ethical implications of novel technologies such as lasers, railguns, autonomous weapons systems and multi-spectral detection systems.
Current areas of research focus
- UK and NATO Combat Airpower: examining the platforms, tactics, weaponry and support enablers required to maintain NATO’s most important asymmetric advantage. Particular areas of focus include the F-35 Lightning II, Team Tempest, the future capability mix of the RAF and the latest and projected combat air platforms being developed overseas.
- Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) Systems Proliferation: examining the effects of the continued proliferation of modern A2/AD systems to counter Western dominance in the air environment such as the S-400 and S-300VM/V4 air defence missile systems deployed by Russia in Syria and sold to Iran.
- Current Air Operations: Analysis of current operations being undertaken by the UK, NATO and other air forces such as the Russian and Saudi Air Force, including over Syria, Iraq, Yemen, the on-going Baltic Air Policing mission and NATO Quick Reaction Alert.
- Global trends in Air & Space Power: understanding how different nations build air forces and apply air and space power in terms of doctrine, training and capabilities.
- Space Services & UK National Security: exploring the rapid expansion of space activities around the world, analysing the UK's reliance on space services and looking at options to increase the resilience of this sector at a time of rapid change.
- Air Power, Information Superiority & Cyber Security: analysing the role of air forces in an age of information both in terms of military advantage but also military vulnerability. The programme also examines the perception of air power and the relationship between air power and influence activities.
- The Ethical and Legal Implications of Unmanned or Remotely Piloted Systems: understanding the benefits of remotely piloted systems while addressing public and political concerns about conducting operations from a distance.
Contacts
A Case for Replacing the RAF’s Sentinel R.1 Fleet with Additional P-8A Poseidon Aircraft
RUSI Defence Systems, 13 May 2020
Justin Bronk
The Sentinel R.1 Airborne Standoff Radar aircraft are superb and relatively efficient aircraft which provide critical airborne intelligence gathering services for joint commanders around the world. However, as a small and bespoke fleet they are expensive and vulnerable to cuts. A highly classified US Navy radar pod for the P-8 Poseidon could give the RAF a more efficient solution.
Tags: Air Power and Technology, Equipment and Acquisitions, Martial Power Programme
German Decision to Split Tornado Replacement is a Poor One
RUSI Defence Systems, 26 March 2020
Justin Bronk
If the reported intention to replace Germany’s ageing Tornado fleet with a mix of up to 90 Eurofighters, 30 Super Hornets and 15 Growlers is correct, the Luftwaffe will be getting the worst of all previously mooted outcomes
Tags: Air Power and Technology, Germany, Military Sciences
"Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, said the Ministry of Defence’s traditional approach “is to assume long-range ballistic missiles are tipped with WMD [weapons of mass destruction], which are dealt with by the nuclear deterrent.
“However, there is a recognition that a power such as Russia might use conventionally tipped ballistic missiles to weaken our ability to respond in a crisis.” "
‘Britain is exposed to the threat of missile attacks’
In The News, 14 February 2020 Tags: Air Power and Technology, Military Sciences
"“I’d say we should have been paying more attention to Chinese systems alongside the Russian ones,” Justin Bronk, a researcher at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute, told the National Interest. “Not because the latter aren’t still superior, but because of the threat trajectory of the former. China will eventually catch up to and then surpass Russian missile and sensor technologies; and with a much more capable air force and economy than Russia.”
"
Stealth Killer? China’s Air Defenses Are Surpassing Russia’s Anti-Aircraft Weapons
In The News, 14 February 2020 Tags: Aerospace, Air Power and Technology, Military Sciences
"Justin Bronk, a research fellow for Airpower and Technology at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI), tells Al Jazeera that the use of remotely piloted drones is an extremely efficient way to provide surveillance and attack options over long periods of time in permissive airspaces.
"The basic technology behind creating something that flies as a remotely flown drone with weapons capability is not particularly challenging so we're seeing China is, in fact, one of the biggest exporters now of armed drones," Bronk explains. "
How drones have come to dominate the battlefield
In The News, 2 February 2020 Tags: Aerospace, Air Power and Technology, Military Sciences
Modern Russian and Chinese Integrated Air Defence Systems: The Nature of the Threat, Growth Trajectory and Western Options
Occasional Papers, 15 January 2020
Justin Bronk
This Occasional Paper provides an assessment of technological and strategic trends in Russian and Chinese integrated air defence systems.
Tags: Aerospace, China, Air Power and Technology, Russia, Military Sciences, Profession of Arms, Martial Power ProgrammePages
UK Ministry of Defence Announces Ambitious Plans for Space
Commentary, 30 July 2019Alexandra Stickings
The UK has recently announced a number of new military space initiatives, showing that it is taking this strategic environment seriously. While these are welcome developments, questions persist over the UK’s broader space ambitions.
Aerospace, United States, Air Power and Technology, Defence Spending, Equipment and Acquisitions, Military Sciences, Defence Management, Defence Policy, UK, UK Defence Policy, Technology, UK Defence
The P-8 Poseidon for the UK
Commentary, 14 July 2016Justin Bronk
The British government has confirmed that it is ordering nine Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to fill the gap in UK capabilities left by the retirement of the Nimrod MR2 and cancellation of the follow-on Nimrod MRA4 in 2010.
Aerospace, Armed Forces, Air Power and Technology, Defence Spending, Military Sciences, UK, UK Defence
RAF air strike on British citizen: A high risk strategy
Commentary, 7 September 2015Michael Clarke
On 7 September 2015 the British prime minister controversially announced that two British citizens had been killed in RAF drone strikes. The point is not so much that they were British but that he was targeted in an area that the UK does not currently regard, legally, as an operational theatre of war for UK forces.
Air Power and Technology, Defence, Industries and Society, Syria, UK, Law and Ethics, UK Defence Policy, Terrorism, Terrorism, UK Defence, Europe, Middle East and North Africa
To Defeat Daesh Start with Their Strategy
Commentary, 6 July 2015Jonathan Githens-Mazer
Defeating Daesh means more than air campaigns and counter-extremism: it means understanding, and working to counter their strategy and their resonance.
Aerospace, Air Power and Technology, Iraq, Syria, Information, UK Defence, Middle East and North Africa
Should the UK bomb Daesh in Syria?
Commentary, 3 July 2015Shashank Joshi
Britain’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon is toying with the idea of asking Parliament for permission to expand Britain’s campaign of airstrikes from Iraq into Syria. His impulse should be tempered with a sense of strategy.
Air Power and Technology, Global Strategy and Commitments, International Security Studies, Iraq, Syria, UK, Global Security Issues, UK Defence Policy, UK Defence, Europe, Middle East and North AfricaPages
That's No Moon... That's A Tesla
Multimedia, 9 February 2018The successful and spectacular inaugural launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy this week not only captured public imaginations with its ground-breaking double booster recovery and quirky payload, but also...
Tags: Aerospace, United States, Air Power and Technology, Terrorism and Conflict
General Frank Gorenc: Air Power and the NATO Warsaw Summit
Multimedia, 8 July 2016General Frank Gorenc, Commander Allied Air Command discusses the air power challenges for the Atlantic alliance on the eve of the NATO Summit.
Tags: Aerospace, United States, Air Power and Technology, NATO, Military Sciences, Global Security Issues, Europe
Strategic Developments in 2015
Multimedia, 17 December 2014 Tags: Air Power and Technology, Military Sciences, Global Security Issues, Technology
A Case for Replacing the RAF’s Sentinel R.1 Fleet with Additional P-8A Poseidon Aircraft
RUSI Defence Systems, 13 May 2020Justin Bronk
The Sentinel R.1 Airborne Standoff Radar aircraft are superb and relatively efficient aircraft which provide critical airborne intelligence gathering services for joint commanders around the world....
Air Power and Technology, Equipment and Acquisitions, RUSI Defence Systems, Martial Power Programme
German Decision to Split Tornado Replacement is a Poor One
RUSI Defence Systems, 26 March 2020Justin Bronk
If the reported intention to replace Germany’s ageing Tornado fleet with a mix of up to 90 Eurofighters, 30 Super Hornets and 15 Growlers is correct, the Luftwaffe will be getting the worst of all...
Air Power and Technology, Germany, Military Sciences, RUSI Defence Systems
Modern Russian and Chinese Integrated Air Defence Systems: The Nature of the Threat, Growth Trajectory and Western Options
Occasional Papers, 15 January 2020Justin Bronk
This Occasional Paper provides an assessment of technological and strategic trends in Russian and Chinese integrated air defence systems.
Aerospace, China, Air Power and Technology, Occasional Papers, Russia, Military Sciences, Profession of Arms, Martial Power Programme
The Future of NATO Airpower: How are Future Capability Plans Within the Alliance Diverging and How Can Interoperability be Maintained?
Whitehall Papers, 18 December 2019Justin Bronk
NATO members are pursuing different paths – this poses new challenges for working together as an Alliance.
Aerospace, Whitehall Papers, Air Power and Technology, NATO, Defence Policy, International Institutions, Martial Power Programme
First Flight of Russia’s S-70 Okhotnik-B UCAV
RUSI Defence Systems, 9 August 2019Justin Bronk
Russia’s first UCAV prototype marks a milestone for the country’s troubled efforts to field truly modern airpower capabilities, and should also be a wakeup call to NATO Allies still publicly opposed...
Air Power and Technology, Military Sciences, RUSI Defence Systems, Martial Power ProgrammePages
Lord Trenchard Memorial Lecture 2018
Events, 4 September 2018This year’s Lord Trenchard Memorial Lecture was delivered by Air Marshal Edward Stringer CB CBE MA BEng RAF, Director General Joint Force Development and Defence Academy, UK Ministry of Defence.
Aerospace, Air Power and Technology, UK
POSTPONED - Film Showing: Les Chevaliers Du Ciel (Sky Fighters)
Events, 18 April 2018Noted for it's spectacular air combat sequences this film screening will feature a short introduction to modern air combat with Justin Bronk, Research Fellow for Airpower.
Aerospace, Air Power and Technology, Military Sciences, Europe
Lord Trenchard Memorial Lecture 2017
Events, 4 October 2017This year’s Lord Trenchard Memorial Lecture be delivered by Air Marshal Stuart Atha CB DSO MA BSs RAF, Deputy Commander Operations, Royal Air Force.
Aerospace, Air Power and Technology, UK, UK Defence
The Untold Implications of Remote Warfare
Events, 28 February 2017RUSI is pleased to host the fourth RUSI-Ditchley Foundation roundtable, part of a series of events designed to bring the discussions at Ditchley conferences to a wider audience.
Aerospace, RUSI International, Air Power and Technology, Defence Policy, Technology
Assuring Access to Space
Conference, 13 July 2016We are on the cusp of a new space era. New technology poised to make dramatic changes to how and why we use space, and with increasing competition both in military and commercial spheres, the world...
Air Power and Technology, Military SciencesPages
"“I’d say we should have been paying more attention to Chinese systems alongside the Russian ones,” Justin Bronk, a researcher at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute, told the National Interest. “Not because the latter aren’t still superior, but because of the threat trajectory of the former. China will eventually catch up to and then surpass Russian missile and sensor technologies; and with a much more capable air force and economy than Russia.” "
Stealth Killer? China’s Air Defenses Are Surpassing Russia’s Anti-Aircraft Weapons
In The News, 14 February 2020 Tags: Aerospace, Air Power and Technology, Military Sciences
"Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, said the Ministry of Defence’s traditional approach “is to assume long-range ballistic missiles are tipped with WMD [weapons of mass destruction], which are dealt with by the nuclear deterrent. “However, there is a recognition that a power such as Russia might use conventionally tipped ballistic missiles to weaken our ability to respond in a crisis.”"
‘Britain is exposed to the threat of missile attacks’
In The News, 14 February 2020 Tags: Air Power and Technology, Military Sciences
"Justin Bronk, a research fellow for Airpower and Technology at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI), tells Al Jazeera that the use of remotely piloted drones is an extremely efficient way to provide surveillance and attack options over long periods of time in permissive airspaces. "The basic technology behind creating something that flies as a remotely flown drone with weapons capability is not particularly challenging so we're seeing China is, in fact, one of the biggest exporters now of armed drones," Bronk explains."
How drones have come to dominate the battlefield
In The News, 2 February 2020 Tags: Aerospace, Air Power and Technology, Military Sciences
"A combination of procedural failures, human error and confirmation bias in a crisis may explain the Iranian shoot down of PS752"
Iran crisis: Stress, fear and incompetence are the most likely culprits for Tehran air disaster
In The News, 10 January 2020 Tags: Air Power and Technology, Iran
"Drones may one day develop the capacity to carry out targeted killings in swarms. But militaries are not certain to adopt such technology, says Jack Watling, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. Their reluctance would be more about expense than ethics. “If you think about the logistics of having a lot of sophisticated drones that can pick out individuals, process the data, communicate with each other, navigate a city … there’s a lot of moving parts to that and it’s very expensive,” Watling says."
Are drone swarms the future of aerial warfare?
In The News, 4 December 2019 Tags: Air Power and Technology
The UK’s Integrated Review Has Restarted: Are Key Questions and Assumptions Still Valid?
Open Skies Clouded by Sham and Ambiguity
Western Way of War: Professor Frank Hoffman