Air Vice-Marshal (Retd) Bruce Hedley

Former Director Joint Warfare UK Armed Forces

He joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1985 and commenced his operational career flying the Harrier GR3 with IV (Army Cooperation) Squadron at RAF Gütersloh, Germany. He qualified as a Weapons Instructor on the Harrier GR5 and was subsequently posted to 3(Fighter) Squadron at RAF Laarbruch. From 1993, he displayed the Harrier GR7A for two years before being posted to Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in the United States, where he flew the AV-8B with VMA 214. Over the course of five frontline tours on the Harrier—interspersed with two years in Fast Jet Junior Officer Manning—he amassed over 3,000 fast jet flying hours. Operationally, he supported Operation WARDEN over Northern Iraq, DELIBERATE FORCE over Bosnia, BOLTON and SOUTHERN WATCH over Southern Iraq, and Operation TELIC, where he led reconnaissance missions. As Officer Commanding 3(Fighter) Squadron, he led the deployment of GR7A operations to Kandahar, Afghanistan for Operation HERRICK, and returned on multiple occasions. As a Group Captain, he served as the Force Effects Coordinator and Director of Communication with II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. Under Joint Force Harrier, he trained Royal Navy personnel, enabling the formation of 800 NAS and their deployment aboard HMS Illustrious. He subsequently held the position of Joint Targeting Effects within Joint Capability at the Ministry of Defence, before promotion to Group Captain and assignment as Deputy Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of the Defence Staff. In 2009, he assumed Command of RAF Valley, where he introduced the Hawk T Mk 2 into fast jet training, advancing the delivery of the new Military Flying Training System. Upon further promotion, he was appointed Commandant of the Air Warfare Centre and Director of the Joint Electronic Warfare Operational Support Centre. During this tenure, he restructured Air Test and Evaluation, led RAF Intelligence, established an Information Warfare Division, and developed the RAF Cyber Strategy—always with a focus on supporting the Warfighter on operations. Following completion of Higher Command and Staff Course, he was appointed Director Joint Warfare in May 2016. In this role, he was responsible for the development, exercising, and evaluation of UK Armed Forces capabilities to ensure preparedness against current and emerging threats. He helped shape the Future Force Concept—integrating Cyber, Space, Sea, Land, and Air domains through information advantage. This approach contributed to a fundamental shift in UK Defence towards greater synergy and integration with Other Government Departments, intelligence services, and international partners. He also conceived and delivered the jHub innovation capability, accelerating the adoption of relevant technologies. Alongside his business as a Defence Consultant Bruce is the founder and CEO of 2nABLE Ltd, a start-up which has successfully delivered its first contract to Defence, enabling accelerated learning in flying training.