Recording: RUSI Land Warfare Conference 2023

Land Warfare Conference 2023, run in partnership between the RUSI and the British Army’s Chief of the General Staff, brings together the land forces community from across the UK’s partners and allies worldwide to address the conceptual challenges of the future.

This year’s conference focused on the lessons from Ukraine, the future demands placed on alliance members through NATO, the requirements for a future force, and how the military can recruit the right talent and build an appropriate relationship with the defence industry to deliver it. The conference explored how armies must mobilise not just to win the fight today but to secure tomorrow.

Day One: Opening Keynote

General Sir Patrick Sanders KCB, CBE, DSO, ADC Gen, Chief of the General Staff of the British Army

Day One: Closing Keynote

The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP – Secretary of State for Defence

Day One

Keynote Opening Remarks

Chair: Sir David Lidington KCB CBE, RUSI Chair
Speaker: Gen Sir Patrick Sanders KCB CBE DSO ADC Gen, Chief of the General Staff, British Army

Session One: Lessons from Ukraine

Chair: Professor Tracy German – Reader in Defence Studies, King’s College London
Speakers:
Andriy Zagorodnyuk – Chairman, Centre for Defence Strategies
Lt Gen Sir Ralph Wooddisse KCB CBE MC – Commander Field Army, British Army
Michael Kofman – Director Russia Studies Programme, Center for Naval Analysis

Session Two: NATO's New Force Posture

Chair: Dr Rebecca Jensen, Assistant Professor, Canadian Forces College
Speakers:
Maj Gen Matthew Van Wagenen - DCOS Ops, SHAPE
Lt Gen Sir Nick Borton KCB DSO MBE - Commander Allied Rapid Reaction Corps
Maj Gen Greg Anderson – Commanding General, 10th Mountain Division, US Army
Lt Gen Pasi Välimäki – Commander Land Forces, Finnish Army

Session Three: Mobilising Industry

Chair: Professor Justin Bronk – Senior Research Fellow for Airpower and Technology, RUSI
Speakers:
Lt Gen Sharon Nesmith – Deputy Chief of the General Staff, British Army
Louise Atkinson – Managing Director, Defence Equipment, Babcock
Alex Cresswell – CEO, Thales UK
Wendy Gilmour – Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment, NATO

Keynote Closing Remarks

Chair: Dr Jonathan Eyal – Associate Director, RUSI
Speakers: The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP – Secretary of State for Defence

Day Two

Opening Keynote Address

Chair: Professor Malcolm Chalmers – Deputy Director General, RUSI
Speakers: The Rt Hon James Heappey MP – Minister for the Armed Forces

Session One: The Future Force

Chair: Shashank Joshi – Defence Editor, The Economist

Speakers:
Dr Jack Watling – Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare, RUSI
Maj Gen James Bowder OBE – Director of Futures, British Army
Dr Alex Alderson OBE - Head of Land Systems, Saab UK
Professor Nina Kollars – Cyber and Innovation Policy Institute, US Naval War College

Session Two: The Skills for Tomorrow

Chair: Paul O'Neill CBE – Director Military Sciences, RUSI
Speakers:
Lt Gen Ian Cave CB – Commander Home Command, British Army
Maj Gen John Kline – TRADOC, US Army
Marianne Green – Partner, Deloitte
Capt Nicola Turrell – Programme CASTLE, British Army

Session Three: Integrating the Force

Chair: Fred Hargreaves OBE – Director of Strategy - L3Harris
Speakers:
Brig Gen Herve Pierre – Commander 9 Marine Infantry Brigade, Armee de Terre
Col Patrick Moffett – Commander, Multi Domain Task Force 2, US Army
Sarah Randall – Head of Business Development, TacCIS, General Dynamics
Rob Bassett Cross MC - CEO and founder, Adarga

Session Four: The Wider Utility of Land Power

Chair: Dr Sidharth Kaushal – Research Fellow Sea Power RUSI
Speakers:
Maj Gen (Retd) Mick Ryan AM – Author 
Professor Nina Wilen – Director, Africa Programme, Egmont Institute for International Relations
Gen Pierre Schill – CEMAT, Armee de Terre

Closing Remarks

Chair: Dr Jack Watling – Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare, RUSI 
Speaker: Gen Sir Patrick Sanders KCB CBE DSO ADC Gen – Chief of the General Staff, British Army