Reflections from the Royal United Services Institute Land Warfare Conference 2025
A highly insightful few days at RUSI’s Land Warfare Conference 2025, themed “Unlocking Advantage”, with presentations and discussions from senior military leaders, NATO partners, UK civil servants, and defence experts. As ever, it was a valuable opportunity to connect with stakeholders and engage in the critical conversations shaping the future of land warfare.
Key takeaways:
-Full UAS integration in the battlespace is no longer a question of if, but how. Throughout the conference, uncrewed systems, particularly attritable and single-use platforms, were consistently highlighted as essential to enhancing army lethality, with the Chief of the General Staff identifying how they will be integrated with conventional equipment to multiply effectiveness.
-Open architecture and data sharing are now firm requirements. Whether for navigation, terminal guidance, or AI-enabled decision-making, platforms must integrate easily into wider systems and be adaptable across operational environments.
-Scalability, autonomy, and user-light operation are becoming non-negotiable. Future UAS must be launchable in multiples, require minimal operator burden, and prove cost-effective in high volumes. Affordability and impact-per-pound are front and centre.
-Sustainment and manufacturing readiness are strategic priorities. Investment in “always on” production facilities was discussed as essential to long-term resilience and preparedness.
-The 20:40:40 capability model (crewed, reusable uncrewed, and one-way effectors) featured heavily and was praised by NATO allies as leading the discussion in UxS integration strategy.
-Lessons from Ukraine reinforced the importance of automated terrain mapping, guidance, and scalable UAS deployment.
-Collaboration with industry was repeatedly emphasised as a route to scale capability, grow exports, and increase national resilience. Flexible, responsive industrial support will be vital in delivering credible, deployable UAS capability.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the dialogue and challenged assumptions. The direction of travel is clear: as military understanding of UAS employment matures, so too does the requirement set, more defined, more robust, and more focused. At Callen-Lenz, we’re proud to be part of this evolution and ready to meet the challenge.
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