''Strategic Leadership'' Seminar Series
Wednesday 14 May, 17.15
Wharton Room, All Souls College, Oxford, OX1 4AL
Scaling Innovation in Defence – an agile approach
Blythe Crawford, RAF & SST-CCW
At a time when we face unparalleled security dilemmas and technology is evolving at a pace where we are challenged to keep up, Defence has been struggling with how to innovate successfully and deliver novel technologies into the hands of the end user at scale. This seminar will examine from both a theoretical and practical perspective, how that might be achieved, taking lessons from recent conflict and the civilian sector.
Air Commodore Blythe Crawford recently served as the Commandant of the Air and Space Warfare Centre. He spent some 15 years flying the Tornado F3 both in peacetime and on operations, while completing staff tours in NATO and the Pentagon. During this time, he completed Masters degrees from Cambridge in International Relations, and Kings College, London, in Defence Studies.
He oversaw the transfer of Typhoon operations to RAF Lossiemouth from RAF Leuchars and deployed as Commander 121 Expeditionary Air Wing, leading OPERATION LUMINOUS, before deploying as XO to the Commanding General, 1st Infantry Division, in Baghdad on OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE. Crawford was awarded an OBE in 2015. Within Joint Forces Command, he led the rollout of ‘Warfare in the Information Age’ and then returned to Washington as the interoperability lead for the Multi Domain Command and Control enterprise, before participating in the development of the USAF’s innovation strategy.
Appointed Station Commander, RAF Leeming, he drove multiple transformation programmes including setting up the RAF’s first innovation hub, RAFX. He was awarded a CBE in 2021 before attending Higher Command and Staff College. He is currently completing a Doctorate in Innovation, Technology and Strategy at Durham University, where he is also a Professor in Practice. He is currently a visiting fellow at the Changing Character of War Centre.
Seminars at 17.15, Wharton Room, All Souls College, Oxford, OX1 4AL.
All are welcome, no need to book.
