Air Commodore Jules Ball OBE

Head of Defence Space Capability Space Directorate, UK MoD

Air Commodore Jules Ball OBE is a fast-jet operator with more than 3000 hours in the cockpit and a breadth of flying experience on both sides of the Atlantic, including an exchange tour with the US Navy and command of an RAF ISR squadron based in Nevada. He has enjoyed operations-facing staff appointments in the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters and at HQ Air, and is a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies where he gained an MA in International Strategy from KCL. Jules has spent his recent years focused on future capability and acquisition, initially at HQ Air and now as the Head of Defence Space Capability in the recently formed Space Directorate at the MOD. Here, he is charged with directing and cohering pan-Defence Space ambition, including the planning and development of the inaugural UK Space Command, as well as drafting the forthcoming Defence Space Strategy.