King's College London

Pål Jonson, Minister for Defence for Sweden and War Studies PhD alumni, delivered a keynote address which he opened by saying it was "great to be back at King's", before speaking about the path to Sweden joining NATO and the war in Ukraine.

When asked by Iain Martin, Director of the conference, about why Sweden didn't seek to join NATO sooner, the Minister said that for many people the concept of military non-alignment is "ingrained into Swedish identity” but that the war in Ukraine has "shown the difference between partnership with and membership of NATO. NATO supports its partners but defends its allies." 

Earlier in the day, Former Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Hague moderated a panel on Air, Space and AI. Panellists discussed how the war in Ukraine is shaping and being shaped by technological developments, with Christian Brose, Chief Strategy Officer at Anduril Industries noting that when it comes to tech advancement, the war in Ukraine has taught us lessons regarding speeds of application. Dr Ulrike Franke, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations predicted that Ukraine could become a drone exporter in the future as new systems are being tested and used rapidly in the country.

Professor ‘Funmi Olonisakin, Vice President (International, Engagement & Service) at King’s College London joined a panel in the afternoon to discuss command and leadership in the 21st Century, moderated by Deborah Haynes, Security and Defence Editor at Sky News. 

Former Commanding General US Army Europe, Ben Hodges said "Ukraine is going to win the war, there is no doubt about that. What we don’t know is what happens in the Kremlin afterwards." On a future after the war in Ukraine, Luke Coffey, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute said we need to start thinking about this now, noting that “history has the ability to collapse time. Historians will look back and determine that February 24 2022 was the final act of the collapse of the Soviet Union”. 

During a discussion on future risks, which was moderated by broadcaster, Adam Boulton, panellists explored topics including energy and climate change, as well as pandemics, nuclear threats and the global locations defence should look to focus on. 

Speaking on energy transition Professor Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University said there won't be "risk-free energy" but that there would be "whole new geopolitical risks from the energy revolution". Whilst Dr Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo examined the threat of nuclear war from Russia. 

Future stars from the School of Security Studies shared insights from their PhD research during a breakout session, discussing a wide range of themes pertinent to defence and security; including the needs and motivations for space strategy, India's foreign and defence policies, military organisation in the South American states and analysis of RAF combat air acquisition programme. 

The conference concluded with an 'In Conversation' event with Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of the Defence Staff, hosted by Professor John Gearson, Head of the School of Security Studies.

During the discussion, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin spoke about how Britain has been supporting Ukraine through both advising on military strategy and providing kit; as well as investment in the British army over the next 10 years and increasing deployability. 

Catch up on the highlights from day 1 of the conference, which saw a keynote address from Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.