Stephen Dalton

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton is the Chief of the Air Staff.

On Information Operations

In an address to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in February 2009, highlighted Israel's use of social media during the 2009 Gaza conflict:

Accurate and timely information has always been critical to the military, but its importance is increasing as societies become more networked. This is intimately linked to developments in space and cyber-space; as we saw in the conflict in Gaza in early-2009, operations on the ground were paralleled by operations in cyber-space and an info ops campaign that was fought across the internet: the Israeli Air Force downloaded sensor imagery onto 'youtube', ‘tweets’ warned of rocket attacks and the ‘[HelpUsWin.org help-us-win.com]’ blog was used to mobilise public support. The exponential growth in the availability of information means that we must understand how to deliver and protect our national interests in the cyber domain, and although this is clearly a cross- government issue, Defence has a legitimate interest in the development of offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. This requires a cadre of people who can understand and manage the modern networked environment, and are comfortable with the concept of information as a capability in its own right.