We are delighted to receive S&D PLuS funding for our project. We will be pursuing innovative solutions to an increasingly pressing problem: how can the space industry engage in more effective and ethical collaboration with Indigenous communities around the world? As the world’s major powers increasingly conceptualise space as a war-fighting domain, and a source of tremendous power and profit, what are the risks and implications for communities here on Earth? Our team will undertake a series of interdisciplinary consultations, case studies and workshops to create a draft framework for collaboration in our New Space Age."
Dr Jeni Mitchell, Lecturer in War Studies Education
09 July 2025
King's academics collaborate with Australian and US researchers to tackle security and defence challenges
Academics from the departments of War Studies and Engineering and the School of Politics and Economics have been awarded research project funding to collaborate with Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to tackle pressing global security and defence issues.
King’s, ASU and UNSW are partners in the PLuS Alliance, a collaboration aimed at solving global challenges. The PLuS Alliance offers an annual Security & Defence PLuS Seed Grant Scheme specifically designed to advance practical, policy-relevant solutions to pressing security and defence needs, including – but not limited to – priorities for AUKUS (the security alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.)
Following a competitive application process, eight innovative research collaborations have been funded, four of which are co-led by King’s academics. The selected projects span critical areas; from space to artificial intelligence, supply chains and great power competition.
The projects
- Establishing Guidelines for Successful Collaboration Between the Space Industry and Indigenous Communities (Dr Jeni Mitchell, Department of War Studies, School of Security Studies, SSPP)
- Strength and Energy Storage: Integrating Mechanical Defence Requirements into Next Generation Solid State Batteries (Dr Laura Lander, Department of Engineering, NMES)
- Fortifying Defence: A Strategic Blueprint for Trusted Semiconductor Supply Chains in AUKUS (Professor Harris Makatsoris, Department of Engineering, NMES)
- Navigating Great Power Rivalry Under the Conditions of Global Uncertainty (Professor Samuel Greene, School of Politics & Economics, SSPP)
Funded teams will meet in person to progress their research, co-develop a white paper for submission to government and defence stakeholders, and generate broader impact through public engagement.
Dr Jeni Mitchell, of the Department of War Studies, explained how the funding will specifically help her team's aims:
The longer-term aim of the seed grant scheme is to serve as a launchpad for sustained collaboration. After the initial seed funding, if strong early progress is acknowledged it can lead to further “Stage II” investment beyond the first year. For example, from last year’s scheme, three projects co-led by King’s academics have been awarded funding into 2025 to deepen and expand their collaborative work.
Stage II Trilateral Projects
- Emerging Norms in the Space Domain – Online Database (Dr Mark Hilborne, Defence Studies Department, School of Security Studies, SSPP)
- Hacking Defence Training Simulation Architecture for Military Ethics Learning (Professor David Whetham, Defence Studies Department, School of Security Studies, SSPP)
- Understanding Integrated Deterrence: A Framework for the AUKUS Context (Professor Andrew Corbett, Defence Studies Department, School of Security Studies, SSPP)
About Security & Defence PLuS
S&D PLuS is the flagship programme of the PLuS Alliance – a global partnership which combines the strength of three leading research universities on three continents – King's, ASU and UNSW – to solve global challenges. S&D PLuS deepens this alliance, advancing research, education and policy to support statecraft in the spirit of the 2021 AUKUS trilateral agreement.
In this story
Lecturer in War Studies Education
Lecturer in Engineering
Professor of Sustainable Manufacturing Systems
Professor of Russian Politics
Senior Lecturer in the School of Security Studies
Professor of Ethics and the Military Profession
Senior Lecturer in Defence Studies Education