Our relationship has got to change so that industry comes to us” – Air Vice Marshal Justin Reuter says in DSEI exclusive

Estimated reading time 3 minutes

Air Vice Marshal Justin Reuter CBE, Director of Strategy of United Kingdom Strategic Command (StratComm), joined DSEI Senior Defence Advisor, Air Vice-Marshal (ret’d) Gary Waterfall, to discuss the challenges facing the MoD and industry in achieving a fully integrated force, discussing the role of UK Strategic Command in creating a more integrated defence, the impact of these developments in on industry prospects and the need for a different type of relationship with industry.

AVM Reuter explained that “integration is not interoperability; it is also global, not regional,” highlighting the difficulty of creating a unified and integrated defence structure for the UK and its allies which would have to incorporate myriad new concepts to support security, ranging from cyber and quantum computing to AI and space.

AVM Reuter was keen to point out that at the heart of this integration lies the need for a culture shift within the MoD, saying that “integrating an offensive cyber effect with a space capability, with air or land capabilities, is actually quite difficult to do and requires a change in mindset.” Given DSEI 2021’s theme of ‘Integrated Response to Future Threats,’ AVM Reuter’s remarks are timely and relevant to such a significant event in the industry calendar.

When emphasising the need for a new type of relationship between industry and defence, AVM Reuter stated that “our relationship has got to change so that industry comes to us and says ‘you don’t know you need this, but you really need this,’” demonstrating the value that an event like DSEI has for both industry and government. With reference to government, AVM Reuter mentioned that “we need to be integrated with all levels of government. The military does not act on its own, and defence, with all of its different levers, does not act absent of policy.”

To watch the full discussion on demand, visit: https://www.dsei.co.uk/in-conversation-with

About our guest:

AVM Reuter is the Director of Strategy of the United Kingdom Strategic Command and has a background in air defence weapons systems operation. He has a wealth of experience in the capability and procurement arenas across defence as a whole.

Prior to his appointment as Director Strategy at StratComm earlier this year, he headed up military Strategic Effects in the Ministry of Defence after holding the position of Chief Planner at the Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood, responsible for planning all joint global operations.

He spent a year as UK Air Commander in the Middle East during which time he was responsible across numerous domains of operations of space and cyber in addition to air and liasing with land and maritime forces.