More than 60 air and space chiefs from around the world have gathered in London as the 2026 Global Air and Space Chiefs’ Conference opened at the Institution of Engineering and Technology on Savoy Place, with Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth telling a packed and noticeably buoyant room that the world’s air forces are the first responders in a security environment more volatile than anything seen in decades.
The two-day conference, run by the Air and Space Power Association, is themed around dominating the skies and beyond through agility, integration and readiness, with sessions spanning the renewed importance of nuclear deterrence, space, integrated air and missile defence and the lessons of current conflicts. Smyth, the former Harrier pilot from Lurgan who became the RAF’s first UK Space Commander before taking over as Chief of the Air Staff last August, was welcoming allies, industry and academics to the event for the first time as its host.
“The global security environment is arguably more complex and volatile today than we have seen in many, many decades,” he told delegates, pointing to persistent conflict in Eastern Europe and the Middle East alongside escalating tension in the Indo-Pacific. “The geopolitical tremors we see around the world today are directly impacting our own operational realities, demanding that we act quicker, demanding that we think different, demanding that we change the status quo, and that we innovate at an unprecedented pace.” The pace of change in digital capability, artificial intelligence and autonomy was, he argued, both the greatest challenge facing air forces and their greatest opportunity, though technology counts for nothing without the conceptual framework, the people and the training to employ it.
The purpose of the gathering, Smyth said, is to push beyond cooperation towards seamless integration across every operational domain, because no single nation can secure itself alone. “The alliances and personal friendships forged in this room during peacetime are exactly what will sustain our joint operations in times of crisis and conflict,” he said, adding a line that drew nods around the hall: “You cannot surge trust.” Trust, he argued, is built in rooms like this one, through honest debate and shared learning, and he encouraged delegates to challenge the panels and ask the hard questions over the two days ahead.
Air Marshal (Ret’d) Greg Bagwell, President of the Air and Space Power Association and a former Deputy Commander Operations, opened proceedings by noting a buzz around this year’s event, which marks the tenth run in partnership with the IET, and pointed delegates towards the association’s new booklet, World War 3.0, which uses ten UK-based vignettes to explain to the public what air and space power would mean in a future conflict. “It’s not really a book for the people in this room,” he said. “It’s a book for the people outside who either don’t get it, don’t believe it, or are yet to understand it.”
Word War 3.0. Sounds like a rollicking good read. I wonder if it has a happy ending.
I think It ends with the entire Human race being wiped out, thus leaving “Spock” to rule the UKDJ site, If he can stay awake and not hurt his head.
🥱🥱🥱🛌🛌🛌🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Any Idea where we can get a copy ?
Look up Air and Space Power Association booklet, World War 3.0
download it from –
https:
//airspacepower
.com/aspa-e-books/
Reuters reporting that Canada has officially joined as an observer to GCAP and it will be announced next week. They won’t contribute money to the project but will have access to infomation and provide flight simulators.
Yes been doing the rounds for a few months now, which I alluded to a few times here, even hints out of the Canada camp more recently. Fact is Tempest is absolutely made for the Canadian scenario, large stealthy aircraft with very long legs exploiting internal long range missiles allowing it to cruise their skies and protect the enormous expanse of the high north, closing targets at great speed when required, while offering an offensive capability against Russia at a new level and whole new potential vectors to defend against. Potentially their worst nightmare. Buying Gripens now with a small detachment of F-35s makes acquisition of Tempest next decade as things stand, for a very potent capability from wherever the threat comes and preserves independence. However they will want some build capability in their own airframes as they are (if all goes as planned) setting up a Gripen production line to regenerate internal military capability.
Very good news for the RCAF/Canada and gives them a path towards 6th gen. It will only a matter of time before Canada will fund this.
The US may not share their 6th gen fighter with allies.
I’ve also been skimming Winston Churchill’s 1936 speech to Parliament: ‘The locust years’, on UK appeasement and inaction – how unprepared UK was, for war.
It makes chilling reading and might well have been written yesterday. Politicians have the same attitudes now as they did in 1939. A couple of quotes from many more, relevant to today’s situation:
“The Government simply cannot make up their minds, or they cannot get the Prime Minister to make up his mind. So they go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.”
“The Army lacks almost every weapon which is required for the latest form of modern war. Where are the anti-tank guns, where are the short-distance wireless sets…(to train on)”
It appears “what goes round, comes round” with out politicians.
Where’s my tinfoil hat…?
“with our…”
It is sadly sobering how people don’t learn from history and believe times today are different. As we live in an information age, where there are no more secrets, as everything is on camera or recorded. So no Nation can organise its force build up in secret as “we’d see it”! But as Russia proved to the World, today’s information age is not a given and can be easily fooled.
I still have a number of hats, just in case!
Do you really live in information age when most journalists are uncultured disguised activists?
Warfare is one of oldest human activities, so how many of them are interested in it? and how a person can be of culture professing at same time no interest about one of the oldest human activities?
Sadly too true!
Well, change a few items on the shopping list and its as true now as it was then.
Stupid comment, worthy of that little faggot Jim
Haven’t they banned you yet David?
Good grief man, I know you’re angry, but your short bloke syndrome, isn’t mine or Jim’s fault…
Perhaps consider some counselling ?
I suspect it’s the only thing he has left in life. Sad really. Tell you what though, those annoying spam adverts had more insightful content than poor David can manage.
True, one has to feel some pity regarding the obvious attention seeking I suppose…..
I don’t think UK governments can be accused of geopolitical appeasement. Far from it. They have taken a solidly pro-Ukraine stance under every PM since Boris. If any PM took a Putinist approach, they’d immediately find themselves admiring their Liz Truss memorial prize from the back benches. This time the inaction is down to cowardice in the face of an enemy they haven’t bothered to understand: Neoliberal economics. Their appeasement is of the markets and of the rich and powerful. By accepting Reeves’s fiscal rules, Burnham lost his first major engagement before even entering Parliament.
Geez that is somewhat scary, the attitude sounds worrying familiar. The anti war faction was of course as strong back then as now which doesn’t help, though it could be argued re-armament was a lot easier to achieve then than now due to all manner of reasons beyond that. But fact is it did take place if belatedly and was done greatly in secret (one of those reasons) in a way impossible now. But so much of the problem then was that so much that had been designed post WW1 was governed by treaty considerations and this proved rather more damaging to Britain than to Germany (as they ignored it to a great degree) so we had problematical new battleships (along with modified old ones) and built totally treaty limited aircraft design like the Battle (that even Fairey said was obsolete post Treaty and wanted to update to a twin), simply because the production line was there and could be produced quickly. You can feel the panic and indecision. In many ways our run down of our capability in recent decades, due to similar overly optimistic attitudes to peaceful coexistence against the facts, has left us equally debilitated and with confused thinking. How insightful are those comments from Churchill on the resulting unfocused intellectual mindset in such conflicting circumstances. Sounds like panic paraded as rationality.
The anti tank gun capability (or lack thereof) was a crucial factor, that I hadn’t realised was even being highlighted pre war. Clearly Churchill had at least some technological understanding of modern warfare too then. It took us till the end of 42/early 43 with the 17pdr to truly sort that out though the 6pdr held the line reasonably against lesser armoured German units. But the former simply transformed it once it started to be introduced in the desert, for even outflanking manoeuvres were suddenly potentially suicidal as we had found against the 88s with frontal attacks too often. Not having something like the bazooka and initially rejecting it was equally short sighted.
except people in 1940s had experienced WW1 first hand and didn’t want to go through another -> desperate to find peaceful alternatives
whereas we have not known any wars, just some things we see a few minutes on the news far away -> oblivious
one is excusable/understandable, the other is irresponsible
World War 3 according to the RAF. It’s like the other services don’t exist.
Effers couldn’t even get the Falklands back and now they’re winning a world war on their own (eyes roll).
WW3 will not originate out of Russia. They have the 2nd, or 3rd largest, best Air force but can not beat Ukraine who have 3rd class warplanes from the old USSR. It would be a great interest if gathering issues reasons why Russia is losing their war, especially the air domination.