Abstract

Rapid technological change has often seemed transformational at the time. In the light of the Russo-Ukraine war, it certainly does so now. But a look back at one of the biggest naval battles of the 20^th Century suggests things may be rather more complicated than that. Today’s fleet designers and naval warriors would be wise not to dismiss past experience too quickly. It may not be ‘all different now.’

About the Speaker

Geoffrey Till is Emeritus Professor of Maritime Studies at King’s College London and Chairman of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies. Once Dean of Academic Studies at the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College, he is author of nearly 400 books, chapters and articles. Since 2009 he has been a Visiting Professor, Senior Research Fellow and Advisor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore. He held the Dudley W. Knox Chair for Naval History and Strategy at the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island and is now a Non-Resident Research Fellow at its Hattendorf Historical Center. His Understanding Victory: Naval Operations from Trafalgar to the Falklands was published by ABC-Clio in 2014 and he completed a fourth edition of his Seapower: A Guide for the 21st Century (2018) and an edited version of Bo Hu’s Chinese Maritime Power in the 21st Century (2019). His How to Grow a Navy: The Development of Maritime Power was published by Routledge in 2022. With John Hattendorf, he edited Recovering Naval Power; Henry Maydman and the Revival of the Royal Navy (Routledge, 2023). The 5^th edition of his Seapower book, appears in February 2026.