Ukraine: Back to the Future (of Warfare)?

Date(s):
October 6, 2022, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Location:
Online and at IISS-Americas (2121 K Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20037)

Russia’s war of aggression and the way Ukraine is defending itself may force Western countries, once again, to rethink modern warfare. One key question in this war relates to the roles and effects of Emerging and Disruptive Technologies (EDTs). The use of technologies such as UAVs, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Robotics, and Autonomous systems seems to foreshadow the rise of new approaches. Commercial space and the impact of non-state entities have altered traditional dynamics. And yet, the undisputed effects of traditional artillery and bombardment, along with the importance of anti-armor weapons that date back to the 1970s, raise questions about balancing the force across the spectrum of available capabilities. Finally, the war in Ukraine underlines the importance of the human factor in leveraging whatever technology and platforms are available.

How might the war in Ukraine shape how military planners, politicians, and the commercial sector, think about the future of warfare and assessing military capability?

This hybrid event will take place on Thursday, Oct. 6th, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. EDT followed by lunch from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. EDT.

If you would like to attend in person, please send us an email at and note any dietary restrictions: IISS-AmericasEvents@iiss.org

If you cannot attend in person, we invite you to register to attend virtuallyhttps://iiss.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_j0vSpIobQP2GBB0XBMy5QQ

 

Speakers

Michèle Flournoy is a distinguished professor of the practice in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, co-founder and managing partner of WestExec Advisors, and former co-founder and chief executive officer of the Center for a New American Security, where she currently serves as chair of the Board of Directors.

Flournoy served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from February 2009 to February 2012. She was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense in the formulation of national security and defense policy, oversight of military plans and operations, and in National Security Council deliberations. She led the development of the Department of Defense’s 2012 Strategic Guidance and represented the Department in dozens of foreign engagements, in the media and before Congress.

 

Franz-Stefan Gady is a senior fellow at IISS focused on future conflict and the future of war.

Gady has advised militaries in Europe and the United States on structural reform and the future of armed conflict. Prior to joining the IISS, he held various positions at the EastWest Institute, the Project on National Security Reform, and the National Defense University. He conducted field research in Afghanistan and Iraq, where, among other things, he embedded with the Afghan National Army, NATO forces, and Kurdish militias. Gady has also reported from a wide range of countries and conflict zones as a journalist.
 

Major General Borys Kremenetskyi has served as the defense attache at the Embassy of Ukraine to the United States of America since 2020. 

He previously served as defense and air attache at the Embassy of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, as head of the Ukraine side of the Joint Ceasefire Coordination and Control Centre (Eastern Ukraine), and as defense adviser for the Mission of Ukraine to the EU. He has also served as the first deputy chief for the Military Cooperation and Peacekeeping Operations General Directorate, General Staff, for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was head of the Euro-Atlantic Integration Department, General Staff, for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and staff officer at the Cooperation and Regional Security Division, NATO International Military Staff.

 

Lawrence Rubin is an associate fellow at IISS and associate professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

His research interests include Middle East politics and international security, with a specific focus on intra-regional politics, non-state actors and nuclear proliferation. He has held positions at the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy through a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship, the RAND Corporation, and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.