Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton Delivers RUSI’s 2024 Lord Trenchard Memorial Lecture
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton KCB ADC FREng, Chief of the Air Staff, delivered the Institute’s annual Lord Trenchard Memorial Lecture.
Addressing an audience of RUSI members and the media in RUSI’s Sir Naim Dangoor Hall, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard reflected on the current strategic environment for the RAF, underscoring the specific threat posed by Russia and the implications of the shifting balance of power to the east due to China's growing economic and military strength.
The Air Chief Marshal’s address marked the eighteenth lecture in this series. The annual lecture provides an opportunity for senior RAF leaders to outline the key contemporary challenges and opportunities in the air power domain.
During his address, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard said:
In my three and a half decades in uniform, I do not think I have seen a more challenging strategic environment… Throughout my whole career, we have largely enjoyed air supremacy, never mind air superiority, at least above about ten thousand feet. That is not going to be the case in the future. It seems clear to me that we are going to need to fight for control of the air. We know that the RAF is one of the most productive air forces in NATO. Where we can make direct comparisons with platforms such as Typhoon, A400M, and C17, we generate more than others, but we can do better. But even so, modest investment in enablers – whether that be weapon stockpiles, ground support equipment, spares, or additional aircrew of groundcrew – will allow us to increase output from our platforms.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton KCB ADC FREng, Chief of the Air Staff
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