This webinar has already taken place, but you can still listen to his pre-prepared remarks on the Chief Disruptor Podcast.

The Strategic Defence Review 2025 (SDR) has now been released, and all of its recommendations have been accepted by the UK government. This is to be supported by a new partnership with industry that maximises internal and industrial expertise, accelerates acquisition processes, manages risk and cost, and engages a wider set of suppliers.

Specific recommendations for the Royal Air Force include that it:

• Must stay at the leading edge of combat air’s evolution, through the transition from exclusively crewed combat air platforms to a Future Combat Air System (FCAS) with a mix of crewed, uncrewed, and increasingly autonomous platforms, integrated into the UK’s digital targeting web
• Must further enhance its agility and adaptability to build greater warfighting readiness
• Must drive greater productivity to enhance its resilience

The report further recommended that in the Space Domain the MOD:

• Should invest in the resilience of UK military space systems with a focus on space control, decision advantage, and capabilities that support the ‘Understand’ and ‘Strike’ functions.
• Should seek partners to develop a next-generation, overhead, persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability in support of Integrated Air and Missile Defence in the Euro-Atlantic. This should provide the ability to sense, warn of, and track threats in the Euro-Atlantic.

But what does this actually mean for the Royal Air Force? How and when will these changes be implemented? And what does it mean for industry and other external stakeholders? To find out, and pose your questions, register to join this, the third of our Strategic Defence Review interactive webinars on 4 September with Air Marshal Paul Lloyd CBE, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff.

Air Marshal Paul Lloyd CBE, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff

Having attended a local comprehensive school and RAF Air Cadets, Air Marshal Lloyd gained a First-Class Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from Manchester University and joined the RAF in September 1991.  He worked on Hercules C-130 at RAF Lyneham, and Tornado GR1/4 aircraft at RAF Brüggen, TTTE RAF Cottesmore and 14 Sqn, RAF Lossiemouth, which included overseas exercises and detachments to the Gulf on Op TELIC.  In August 2009, he became Officer Commanding Engineering and Logistics Wing at RAF Marham, overseeing RAF Marham’s first deployment to Afghanistan. He was also the engineering lead for the Tornado GR4 contribution to operations over Libya under OP ELLAMY.

In August 2011, he was posted to the Ministry of Defence, providing MoD senior management and Ministers with specialist advice on air, space and cyber issues. Promoted to Group Captain in September 2012, he took up the post of Chief Engineer and Type Airworthiness Authority within the Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) Project Team at Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S). He supported Reaper on Operations, brought Watchkeeper and Scan Eagle into Service with the British Army and Royal Navy respectively, and authorised the flight-testing of Taranis, a UCAS demonstration vehicle.

In August 2016, promoted to Air Commodore, he took up the post of Head Typhoon Delivery Team in DE&S, where he was responsible for the capability development and in-Service support of Typhoon and the Battle of Britain aircraft. Having supported Typhoon operations on Op SHADER, he successfully led Project CENTURION, the major international upgrade programme that integrated new weapons and capabilities on Typhoon, allowing Tornado to retire from RAF Service. This major programme gained the BAE Systems Chairman's Gold Award and Minister for Defence Procurement's Acquisition Excellence Awards overall winner in 2019.

In January 2021, he was promoted to Air Vice-Marshal as Director Support and the Chief Engineer of the RAF, also leading on the development of Defence’s Aviation NetZero strategy.

In September 2023 he was appointed Acting Air Marshal and took over his current role as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff.

Air Marshal Lloyd gained a MSc from the University of Oxford in Major Programme Management, a master’s degree in Defence Administration from Cranfield University and an MA in Defence Studies from King’s College London.  He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, also overseeing the annual Universities Aerospace Challenge. He was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in The Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2020.