Defence Secretary keynote speech at the Air and Space Power Conference 2019
Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt speaks about the Royal Air Force and the space domain
Firstly, I want to pay tribute to the Chief of the Air Staff and say thank you. When I first met Stephen I was MinAF and he helped shape the ambition that was in the 2015 SDSR.
He secured that equipment programme but he has always known that it was secondary to investing, developing and looking after our people.
Sir Stephen, the diversity of the force, the longevity of service, the excellence of the operation are testament to that. You understand the importance of this because you바카라 사이트檝e seen just about every side of life there is to the RAF. Your father was in the RAF. You gained your pilot바카라 사이트檚 licence in the Air Cadets - how important that organisation has proved to be in the lives of so many! He went on to a most distinguished career winning the DFC and being knighted in the process, perhaps all of this made more special by his service at so many lower levels.
Stephen, I share your priorities, which is why decent pay, an end to lawfare and a focus on forces families have formed much of my two months at the MOD as Secretary of State.
We need the best people, we need diversity of thought and great leadership, to recognise, attract and retain talent, for personnel to be at their best.
Training is incredibly important. But the RAF 바카라 사이트� like all the services 바카라 사이트� is about something much more - inspirational leadership. This is needed because the demands we make of our people are so great. We challenge them on all four axes - physically, spiritually, intellectually and yes, emotionally.
You don바카라 사이트檛 need me to tell you that we live in changed times. It바카라 사이트檚 not enough that we have technical change, creating capabilities at lightning speed. It바카라 사이트檚 not enough that we have massive political change. This is as true domestically, as it is geopolitically. It바카라 사이트檚 not enough that we have massive economic change 바카라 사이트� with global flows of capital promoting multilateral mergers and acquisitions of our civilian support organisations. It바카라 사이트檚 no wonder that national governments with their bureaucratised, traditional structures are struggling to cope.
I can바카라 사이트檛 stop any of these changes and nor can any of us. What I can say though is that national, governmental and commercial advantage all comes down to one thing 바카라 사이트� how fast and how adaptable our response is and how we are able to use the great strengths we have as a nation to project power and use our influence to best advantage.
The challenge of this age is that the threats are complex, multilateral, asymmetric and constantly changing. Even the last SDSR underestimated the speed at which the threats we face today would develop. And that means the task facing our military is growing enormously.
But the biggest threat to us is not the Russians or Daesh, but potentially, our own political thinking. Throughout history we바카라 사이트檝e seen this. We know about the stagnation of the Western Front in World War One. The folly of fixed defences in World War Two. We바카라 사이트檝e also seen the change from air-launched, strategic deterrents, to submarine-based ones. And the importance of combined service operations in recovering the Falklands.
For each generation, the lesson must be learnt. Our forces implement our political thinking on the battlefield. If that thinking is outdated, then their weapons will be, too.
When we바카라 사이트檙e not operating 바카라 사이트渉ot바카라 사이트� we lose the emphasis on adaption and innovation. We must ensure in 바카라 사이트渃ooler바카라 사이트� times we continue to learn and drive towards becoming even more effective and prepared. This applies as much to politics as it does to economics.
Another threat to our forces is short-term financial thinking. And this is not just in the shortcomings of equipment. Investment in our military is a long-term investment in social mobility, in education, in industry, policing, medicine and international diplomacy. The MOD doesn바카라 사이트檛 have a KPI of Total Shareholder Returns because it바카라 사이트檚 balance sheets runs over decades. And Space is a perfect example of this. It underpins everything from the development of the computer chip to the internet.
We owe our military so much 바카라 사이트� and not just because of the past. It바카라 사이트檚 also one of the most exciting places to be for the future. It바카라 사이트檚 also an investment in the pride our country feels today. To understand this, we need to be situationally fluent. We have to recognise that nationalist politics are returning us to the nation state at the same time as commercial economics are moving us in the opposite direction.
Capital is becoming ever more international, while politics is becoming ever more local. I make no value judgment of this. I바카라 사이트檓 signpost, not a weathervane. It바카라 사이트檚 the supranational regional bodies receding, we바카라 사이트檙e returning back to the age of national resilience, but international cooperation remains vital. And if we바카라 사이트檙e to adapt to this new age we need to enhance our strategic thinking.
We need to remember that while Defence keeps the peace, it, and all the components of our National security, also strengthens our global ties and helps our prosperity. So we must ensure that we assist the decision makers responsible for our national security.
So much of the work of the intelligence services is reliant on the contributions that defence makes. In the future, I want our offer to be more comprehensive in this respect Which is why I바카라 사이트檝e recently introduced a new situational awareness briefing at the MODs weekly drumbeat, briefing Defence ministers바카라 사이트n what바카라 사이트檚 going on in the wider world.
We need to be aware, not just of aggressive acts, or changes in territory or defence procurement. But in financial flows, mergers and acquisitions, markets, prices, health, human security and the resulting impact on our interests.
Why? Because We바카라 사이트檝e moved beyond hot wars or cold wars to a new age of 바카라 사이트榮ombre바카라 사이트� wars conducted in the shadows, on the dark web, in the business world, space and often remote from what we바카라 사이트檝e known of the battlefield. This remains invisible to our patrons most of the time. But it is we who operate in this zone on a daily basis who must ironically have the greatest vision for the future. We have also the greatest readiness.
And part of that readiness requires our partnerships to be deeper and more long-term. So, we must take a new industrial approach to build tomorrow바카라 사이트檚 military success Earlier in my tenure, I outlined how we need to take our industrial partnership forward, to build on the learnings of carrier alliance, and on our operations. In my sea power speech I touched on Building British, buying British to get better at selling British바카라 사이트�
In my land power speech 바카라 사이트� I spoke of fusion of conventional capabilities with cyber바카라 사이트ut more is needed if we are to be as nimble as we need to be in the future바카라 사이트ur new industrial strategy must recognise that nations who protect their commercial systems make them the 바카라 사이트榞o-to바카라 사이트� places for business. Is it any wonder that there is a wholesale exodus of business from jurisdictions where Intellectual Property is routinely stolen?
We are rightly concerned about protecting our goods in the Straits of Hormuz. But in the future data flows will exceed those of physical goods. How are we going to make sure we will protect those goods and that information? My vision is not just for a country which is at peace and where our people walk free from fear, but for a place where all rights of our citizens can be protected바카라 사이트ntellectual property to online identity. Our democracy needs this. And if we are to compete around the world, then global Britain demands this.
We must change Whitehall, our processes to protect the UK as an area in which to conduct business safely and free from interference. And we must join this up with HMGs wider objectives. We need to have orchestrated centres of excellence eg Where is drone HQ for this government? If we can바카라 사이트檛 say where, how do we know we바카라 사이트檙e making the most of the RnD funding, what we are investing - in each service, in each department, company or university? For each sector, I want us to have a clear understanding of how it fits with the UK바카라 사이트檚 prosperity agenda.
So, I am looking at setting up a New entity in the Department to look at the spin offs from Research and Development in Defence
And we should be a leading player in space. It won바카라 사이트檛 just help strengthen our industries. It바카라 사이트檒l also provide an incredible opportunity to capture the imagination of a new generation and encourage them to get involved in aerospace.
Fifty years on from the moon landings we바카라 사이트檙e seeing SpaceX and other private sector individuals and leaders coming into the sector and making use of the technology. From satellite launches to more ambitious projects. It바카라 사이트檚 no longer a matter of if, but when, the first humans will walk on Mars. And this year we might see the first routine tourist flights into space.
Richard Branson is striving to lead that incredible development. Virgin Orbit has already pilots with astronaut wings. It바카라 사이트檚 currently undertaking pioneering research into launching small satellites into space from the wing of a Boeing 747.
And just last week, Virgin Orbit completed a landmark 바카라 사이트榙rop test바카라 사이트� of a rocket at 35,000 feet to test the separation of rocket and aircraft during launch. Science fiction is becoming science fact. One day I want to see RAF pilots earning their space wings and flying beyond the stratosphere.
So today, I can announce we바카라 사이트檙e making a giant leap in that direction by working towards placing a Test Pilot into the Virgin Orbit programme. Sending a bold signal of Global Britain바카라 사이트檚 aspiration바카라 사이트nd showing that if you join our RAF바카라 사이트ou will join a service where you can become an aviator or an astronaut바카라 사이트here you will help push back the frontiers of space and create a launch pad to the stars.
As discussed earlier, the successful military powers of the future are going to be the ones that most easily and quickly assimilate change to their advantage.
Seven years ago, following Lord Levene바카라 사이트檚 review, we established Joint Forces Command. We understood that Defence needed a joint organisation to do the things the services individually could not. We realised too, we needed to strengthen the link between experience in operational theatres and top-level, decision-making.
Since then, JFC has done an incredible job bringing together joint capabilities like medical services, training, intelligence, information systems and cyber operations. It바카라 사이트檚 work has stood the test of time. But our future Joint Organisation must step up to some new challenges바카라 사이트aking on greater responsibility as we adjust to the demands of the future contested environment.
Today we바카라 사이트檙e seeing state and non-state actors alike operating in that 바카라 사이트榮ombre바카라 사이트� zone below the threshold of war바카라 사이트nconstrained by previously accepted norms바카라 사이트sing all tools in their armoury바카라 사이트nd weaponising information바카라 사이트� to catch us off guard to destabilise our societies and our support systems. If we바카라 사이트檙e to respond, we must have strategic integration across the five war fighting domains - land, air, sea, space and cyber.
That바카라 사이트檚 why today I can announce that we바카라 사이트檙e transforming JFC into Strategic Command. Much more than just a name change바카라 사이트his will be a bespoke organisation바카라 사이트upporting Head Office바카라 사이트elping Defence think strategically바카라 사이트ssisting our transformation programme바카라 사이트nd taking responsibility for a range of strategic and defence-wide capabilities. Combined with its oversight of our global footprint, it will continue enabling our operations and providing critical advice on force development.
I바카라 사이트檝e spoken about the contested environment. And the threats that are intensifying across all domains. And in space, too.
When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first set foot on the moon some fifty years ago, operations in space seemed otherworldly. Yet today our Armed Forces depend upon space to provide them global communications, critical intelligence, surveillance and navigation tools, while satellites underpin our national banking, transport and communication networks. And our competitors are doing all they can to disrupt access to these services.
China has tested hit-to-kill interceptor missiles increasing deadly debris and threatening every sovereign space enterprise. Russia is conducting sophisticated on-orbit activities바카라 사이트eveloping missile interceptors to threaten satellites and electronic warfare systems to jam satellite signals. And non-state actors and cyber hackers have the potential to scramble satellite data and manipulate earth observation data to gain advantage.
The UK must be ready to face these dangers. And Defence must play its part. We can, and we will. But we know we cannot compete in this contested and dangerous world alone.
This government has consistently said we must work more with our international partners. This will bring our unique skills in the UK and experience into closer alliances to multiply the effects we can have.
That바카라 사이트檚 also why today I can announce we have become the first international partner in the US-led Operation Olympic Defender. This will be an international coalition formed to strengthen deterrence against hostile actors in space and prevent the spread of space debris in orbit. In the next 18 months, the UK will be sending eight people to the Combined Space Operations Center in California to support this operation.
But space is not just fraught with incredible dangers, it바카라 사이트檚 also a domain of incredible opportunity that we must seize with both hands. So today I바카라 사이트檓 also announcing we바카라 사이트檙e investing 拢30m to launch a small satellite constellation within a year. These small, low orbiting satellites can be sent into space more cost-effectively than their predecessors and can be fixed or replaced more quickly. The programme will eventually see live high resolution video beamed directly into the cockpit of our aircraft providing pilots with unprecedented levels of battle awareness.
To support this state-of-the-art system, the RAF has founded Team ARTEMIS, a transatlantic team of UK and US defence personnel to launch the constellation and undertake research into the wider military uses of small satellites. Given the vastness of the challenge, this might seem a relatively small-scale initiative. But effectively we바카라 사이트檙e planting the acorns from which the future oaks will grow. Critically, British industry is already a world-leader in these innovative technologies.
Last year we invested 拢4.5 million in the Carbonite 2 spacecraft which has already sent detailed imagery and footage back to Earth from orbit. One UK company alone based in Surrey is making 40% of the world바카라 사이트檚 small satellites. So this is a bold statement by the MOD. Showing our determination to invest in our Global Britain, taking military capability further and faster and demonstrating our ambitions are not limited to the skies.
So, the modern security environment is contested, congested, competitive and entangled. But the UK is changing. And defence is changing too. And, alongside our investment in space, we바카라 사이트檙e investing in air in a big way. Bringing more F-35s online and into the fight.
But just as we바카라 사이트檙e not na茂ve about today바카라 사이트檚 threats, nor are we complacent about what바카라 사이트檚 to come. That바카라 사이트檚 why we are ahead of the pack in developing a new capability바카라 사이트he Tempest바카라 사이트hat will take to the skies within the next two decades.
Our Typhoons and F-35s will deter our enemies today. The Tempest will make them doubt their future. But, every part of the Defence machine, needs to keep pace with the modern world if we바카라 사이트檙e to keep deterring tomorrow바카라 사이트檚 dangers.
Upgrading our Typhoons and arming them with Storm Shadow cruise missiles, Meteor air-to-air missiles and the Brimstone precision strike weapon is also part of this.
I won바카라 사이트檛 go exhaustively through the complete inventory바카라 사이트t would take too long to list바카라 사이트ut it바카라 사이트檚 worth touching on just some of the capabilities coming on stream.
Poseidon Maritime Patrol aircraft바카라 사이트ble to patrol thousands of miles of the North Atlantic without rest while bringing hundreds of jobs to that region.
Our five E-7s바카라 사이트eplacing our current E-3D Sentry바카라 사이트iving us the finest airborne early warning systems around. And within a year, swarming drones able to confuse and overwhelm enemy air defences.
In other words, in the face of growing threats, we will continue to take the bold action that바카라 사이트檚 necessary. Investing now to stay ahead of the pace of technological acceleration - strengthening our strategic command of the battle space. Reinforcing our commitment to the space arena바카라 사이트nd laying the foundations for our future industry바카라 사이트nd by joining together with our allies to defend our sovereign interests - whether in the skies or in the upper atmosphere - making sure that바카라 사이트ome what may바카라 사이트ritain will be ready to face the future confident of our success.
So we need strategic thinking. We need true situational awareness. We need new strategic partnerships and a new industrial strategy. All fused by a new Strategic Command to deploy new capabilities.
And we should remember that all our military personnel fight with weapon systems, but also the civilian structures, organisations and infrastructure we give them. All of this - all of it - is the product of a previous generation바카라 사이트檚 political thinking. So it바카라 사이트檚 not just helpful if the thinking is clear, joined-up and far-sighted. Young lives are depending on it, so the thinking better be more than good. It better be bloody brilliant.