The Mitchell Institute’s Aerospace Nation Podcast

Air Marshal Johnny Stringer, Deputy Commander of NATO’s Allied Air Command, discusses NATO's evolving security landscape, 5th Generation technologies like the F-35, and the importance of combined joint all-domain command and control in modern battle space. The podcast explores NATO's challenges post-Cold War, strategic expansion, ballistic missile defense, Russian GPS jamming, and the balance between new fighter development and existing aircraft acquisition.

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies invites you to enjoy Aerospace Nation with Lt Gen David A. Harris, Deputy Chief of Staff, Air Force Futures, Headquarters, United States Air Force. Lt Gen Harris shared his thoughts on developing Air Force strategy and concepts, delivering an integrated force design, conducting strategic assessments of the operating environment through wargames and workshops, and achieving timely and effective operational capabilities required for tomorrow’s Airmen to fight and win. Bottom line, the Air Force is in the middle of a generational evolution when it comes to developing operational concepts, fielding technologies, and pursuing new levels of force integration. Lt Gen Harris leads the crafting of the future force design that keeps U.S. airpower well ahead of the threat. This is a video you will not want to miss!

The Mitchell Institute hosted its Third Annual Spacepower Security Forum on March 27, 2024—Washington DC’s premiere gathering of spacepower leaders. The insightful discussions shed light on the key trends in national security space and what they portend for the defense community as a whole. The closing keynote speaker was MG Brian W. Gibson, Director, Strategy, Plans, and Policy U.S. Space Command.

The Mitchell Institute hosted its Third Annual Spacepower Security Forum on March 27, 2024—Washington DC’s premiere gathering of spacepower leaders. The insightful discussions shed light on the key trends in national security space and what they portend for the defense community as a whole. The third panel comprised Brig Gen Devin R. Pepper, Deputy Commanding General, Operations, and Vice Commander, Space Operations Command; Dr. Kelly Hammett, Director & PEO, Space Rapid Capabilities Office; Robert “Otis” Winkler, Vice President, Corporate Development and National Security Programs, Kratos Defense; Mike Neylon, Director, Space Protection & Control, Raytheon; and Dr. John “Patsy” Klein, Senior Fellow and Strategist at Falcon Research, Inc., Adjunct Professor at George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute, and Georgetown University’s Strategic Studies Program. Moderated by Col Charles Galbreath, USSF (Ret.), Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies, Mitchell Institute Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence.

The Mitchell Institute hosted its Third Annual Spacepower Security Forum on March 27, 2024—Washington DC’s premiere gathering of spacepower leaders. The insightful discussions shed light on the key trends in national security space and what they portend for the defense community as a whole. The second panel comprised Lt Gen Douglas A. Schiess, Commander, U. S. Space Forces-Space and Combined Joint Force Space Component Commander; Maj Gen Gregory Gagnon, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence, United States Space Force; Brig Gen James Smith, Assistant Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear; Scott Forney, President, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems; and Kevin Giammo, Director of Space Surveillance and Environmental Monitoring, Northrop Grumman. Moderated by Lt Gen David A. Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Dean, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

The Mitchell Institute hosted its Third Annual Spacepower Security Forum on March 27, 2024—Washington DC’s premiere gathering of spacepower leaders. The insightful discussions shed light on the key trends in national security space and what they portend for the defense community as a whole. Fireside chat with Dr. John F. Plumb, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy and Gen Kevin P. Chilton, USAF (Ret.), Explorer Chair, Mitchell Institute Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence

The Mitchell Institute hosted its Third Annual Spacepower Security Forum on March 27, 2024—Washington DC’s premiere gathering of spacepower leaders. The insightful discussions shed light on the key trends in national security space and what they portend for the defense community as a whole. The first panel comprised Dr. Derek Tournear, Director of the Space Development Agency; Col Scott Klempner, Deputy PEO, Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power, Space Systems Command; Joe Laurienti, CEO, Ursa Major; and Johnathon Caldwell, Vice President & Deputy General Manager, National Security Space, Lockheed Martin. Moderated by Maj Gen Larry Stutzriem, USAF (Ret.), Director of Research, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

The Mitchell Institute hosted its Third Annual Spacepower Security Forum on March 27, 2024—Washington DC’s premiere gathering of spacepower leaders. The insightful discussions shed light on the key trends in national security space and what they portend for the defense community as a whole. The opening keynote speaker was Gen B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force.

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies invites you to enjoy our rollout for our newest paper: The Need for Collaborative Combat Aircraft for Disruptive Air Warfare by Mark A. Gunzinger, Director of Future Concepts and Capability Assessments and a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, with Maj Gen Lawrence A. Stutzriem, USAF (Ret.), Mitchell's Director of Research, and Bill Sweetman. This discussion featured Robert Winkler, Vice President, Corporate Development and National Security Programs, Kratos Defense, and Curtis Wilson, Senior Director, Emergent Missions, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. The event was moderated by Lt Gen David A. Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. This report is a product of the Mitchell Institute’s wargames and related research that involved expert participants from the Air Force warfighter communities, defense technologists, and industry. It strongly supports the Air Force’s proposition that CCA will help mitigate the Air Force’s existing—and growing—capability and capacity gaps that threaten its ability to achieve air superiority in a conflict with the pacing threat. However, while CCA may provide affordable mass to bolster an otherwise dwindling inventory of crewed combat aircraft, CCA combined with crewed 5th and future 6th combat aircraft have the potential to disrupt China’s A2/AD operations and then deny and impose costs as called for by the National Defense Strategy. The stakes for creating this new, hybrid force design have never been higher, given China’s unchecked campaign to field new A2/AD weapon systems and proliferate them to other actors that threaten the security of the United States and its allies and friends.

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies invites you to enjoy the rollout for our newest policy paper: The Quantum Advantage: Why it Matters and Essential Next Steps by Heather Penney, Senior Resident Fellow. She was joined by Dr. Michael Hayduk, Deputy Director, Air Force Research Lab Information Directorate and Laura Thomas, Chief of Staff, Infleqtion. The event was moderated by Lt Gen Dave USAF (Ret.) Deptula, Dean of the Mitchell Institute. Quantum information science and technology (QIST) is a major focus of defense innovation, yet few in the defense community really understand what is needed to mature these technologies into valuable warfighter capabilities. U.S. policy makers often jump to quantum computing when speaking of QIST advantages. Yet, other quantum applications are advancing at a pace that can fix known defense vulnerabilities and capability gaps within the next five years—things like timing, navigation, sensing, and radio frequency reception. Because many applications are defense specific, DoD needs an investment strategy that goes well beyond research and development. This series of reports by Heather Penney helps to demystify the science behind quantum technologies, explain why securing a lead in this field matters to warfighters, and recommend next steps U.S. defense leaders should take to achieve a quantum advantage.