The Aerospace Advantage

Episode 95 – The Future of Autonomy and Combat Airpower: Closing the Deal

Episode 95 – The Future of Autonomy and Combat Airpower: Closing the Deal

Episode Summary:

In Episode 95 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, The Future of Autonomy and Combat Airpower: Closing the Deal, host John Baum chats with Heather Penney and Caitlin Lee of the Mitchell Institute, Mike Benitez of Shield AI, and Brett Darcey of Heron Systems in the final episode of our three-part series exploring combat airpower and autonomy. The first episode discussed the necessity of pursuing increased autonomy in combat aircraft, the second episode defined the key aspects and nuances surrounding this technology, and now, in the final episode, we detail what success looks like going into the future from both a human and technological set of vantages. What should we expect in the near-term and what might this operational capability look like years into the future?

Credits:

Host: Lt Col (Ret.) John “Slick” Baum, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Heather Penney, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Caitlin Lee, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Mike "Pako" Benitez, Shield AI

Guest: Brett Darcey, Heron Systems

Links:

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of

Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themitchellinstituteforaero/?hl=en

#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #autonomy #uav #autonomation #aircraft

Thank you for your continued support!

Episode 94 – The Future of Autonomy and Combat Airpower: Building the Tech

Episode 94 – The Future of Autonomy and Combat Airpower: Building the Tech

Episode Summary:

In Episode 94 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, The Future of Autonomy and Combat Airpower: Building the Tech, host John Baum chats with Heather Penney of Mitchell Institute, Mike Benitez of Shield AI, Brett Darcy of Heron Systems, and John Dowdy, who works on aerospace issues at McKinsey, in the second of our three-part series regarding combat airpower and autonomy. During the first episode, we explored what’s driving the quest for increased autonomy in combat airpower. On this episode, we define key aspects and nuances surrounding this this technology, while also working to add clarity between realistic expectations and what will likely remain aspirational for the long term. It’s crucial to understand what’s a prudent expectation versus a sci-fi vision. Guests also explore the challenges that we’re going to need to overcome when it comes to acquiring, building, testing, and fielding autonomy-empowered combat aircraft.

Credits:

Host: Lt Col (Ret.) John “Slick” Baum, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin

Producer: Daniel C. Rice

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Heather Penney, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Mike "Pako" Benitez, Shield AI

Guest: Brett Darcey, Heron Systems

Guest: John Dowdy, McKinsey

Links:

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of

Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themitchellinstituteforaero/?hl=en

#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #autonomy #uav #autonomation #aircraft

Thank you for your continued support!

Episode 93 – The Future of Autonomy and Combat Airpower: Understanding the Imperative

Episode 93 – The Future of Autonomy and Combat Airpower: Understanding the Imperative

Episode Summary:

In Episode 93 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, The Future of Autonomy and Combat Airpower: Understanding the Imperative, host John Baum chats with Mike Benitez of Shield AI, Andrew Van Timmeren of Blue Force Technologies, plus Heather Penney and Caitlin Lee from the Mitchell Institute team about one of the most exciting developments in combat airpower: autonomy. It’s been the subject of science fiction for decades—the ability for aircraft to operate with a level of independent decision making that allows them to execute missions on their own. These are technologies that effectively bring Star Wars’ R2D2 to life. We are going to break this down across three episodes. First, we’re going look at the imperative: why do we need to pursue increased autonomy? In the second episode, we’re going to look at better defining the technology and its applications. We’ll bring it all together in the third episode by considering autonomy’s application in an operational context. Throughout all of these conversations, it is important to recognize that autonomy in the lab is one thing but making it useful and resilient in the battlespace is another. Technology doesn’t exist for its own sake—it’s fundamentally about achieving mission results more effectively.

Credits:

Host: Lt Col (Ret.) John “Slick” Baum, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin

Producer: Daniel Rice

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Mike "Pako" Benitez, Shield A.I.

Guest: Andrew "Scar" Van Timmeren, Blue Force Technologies

Links:

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of

Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themitchellinstituteforaero/?hl=en

#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #autonomy #uav #autonomation #aircraft

Thank you for your continued support!

Episode 92 — A World on Fire, Reducing Civilian Casualties, and a Washington Update: The Rendezvous

Episode 92 – A World on Fire, Reducing Civilian Casualties, and a Washington Update: The Rendezvous

Episode Summary:

In Episode 92 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, A World on Fire, Reducing Civilian Casualties, and a Washington Update: The Rendezvous, host John Baum chats with Lt Gen Dave Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Maj Gen Larry Stutzriem, USAF (Ret.), and Todd Harmer to discuss the air and space topics that you’ve seen in the national security headlines. This week, we explore Washington’s latest moves regarding Ukraine, take-aways from the recent flare up in the Taiwan Strait, whether DoD’s plan to reduce civilian casualties will work, and whether “divesting to invest” is succeeding when it comes to modernizing the Air Force aircraft inventory.

Credits:

Host: Lt Col (Ret.) John “Slick” Baum, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Lt Gen (Ret.) David Deptula, Dean, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Maj Gen (Ret.) Larry Stutzriem, Executive Director, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Col (Ret.) Todd "Sledge" Harmer, Senior Vice President, American Defense International

Submit Your Questions:

mitchell@afa.org

Links:

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of

Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themitchellinstituteforaero/?hl=en

#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #usaf #rendezvous #ukraine #taiwan #china

Thank you for your continued support!

Episode 91 — Quantum Technology and Defense: Understanding the Imperative

Episode 91 – Quantum Technology and Defense: Understanding the Imperative

Episode Summary:

In Episode 91 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, Quantum Technology and Defense: Understanding the Imperative, John Baum and Mitchell Institute’s Heather Penney are joined by Dr. Max Perez, an engineer at Cold Quanta, and Dr. Andrei Shkel, a professor of engineering at UCI, to demystify this important capability and understand how it applies to future defense applications. We hear it all the time in conversations regarding future defense technologies: quantum is going to be critically important. But what does that actually mean and where will we likely apply this technology? Where does the US stand relative to China in the race to operationalize quantum? What’s the cost of coming in second in this competition? The podcast delves into these key questions and more. This is an important conversation with top experts that you won't want to miss. It’s all about looking past the buzzwords and cutting to the key issues in play.

Credits:

Host: Lt Col (Ret.) John “Slick” Baum, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin

Producer: Dan Rice

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Heather Penney, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Dr. Max Perez, Engineer, Cold Quanta

Guest: Dr. Andrei Shkel, Professor of Engineering, University of California, Irvine

Links:

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of

Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themitchellinstituteforaero/?hl=en

#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #quantum #technology #futuredefense #future

Thank you for your continued support!

Episode 90 — Crisis in the Pacific: What Just Happened between China and Taiwan?

Episode 90 – Crisis in the Pacific: What Just Happened Between China and Taiwan?

Episode Summary:

In episode 90 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, Crisis in the Pacific: What Just Happened between China and Taiwan?, Mitchell Institute’s Executive Director Douglas Birkey is joined by Brian Hart, a fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies' China Power Project; Thomas Corbett, a Research Analyst at Bluepath Labs; and Dan Rice, Mitchell Institute’s Research Analyst, to discuss what we can learn from China's recent military activity around Taiwan and the broader international response. As anyone reading the headlines knows, this was a big deal with tremendous implications for the international community writ large. This episode hosts an expert conversation to dig into the details regarding what occurred, why it's important, and important takeaways to better understand future Chinese military aspirations.

Credits:

Host: Douglas Birkey, Executive Director, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Brian Hart, Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies' China Power Project

Guest: Thomas Corbett, Research Analyst, Bluepath Labs

Guest: Daniel Rice, Research Analyst, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Links:

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of

Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themitchellinstituteforaero/?hl=en

#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #China #Taiwan #Geopolitics

Thank you for your continued support!

Episode 89: Hypersonic Strike: Insider Perspective

Episode 89 – Hypersonic Strike: Insider Perspective

Episode Summary:

In Episode 89 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, Hypersonic Strike: Insider Perspective, John Baum engages with one of the industry teams involved with designing, building, and testing next generation hypersonic strike technologies. Peer threats, particularly those posed by China, demand a new set of enhanced strike options. Hypersonic technology is a key factor in this equation. Defense leaders know this and have launched numerous programs, committed significant funding, and maintained a consistent focus to transition developmental technologies to the operational realm. This is a marked departure from decades’ worth of an inconsistent, wandering approach to maturing hypersonic technology. After tremendous progress in the 1960s thanks to programs like the X-15, the nation effectively ceded decades of potential hypersonic progress due to a lack of clear goals, strategic program portfolio, and dependable funding. Now, with peer competition stressing US defense strategies, CONOPS, and technical capabilities in ways not seen since the Cold War, it’s time to reclaim the hypersonic advantage. This is a difficult proposition given the need to innovate on numerous fronts, develop a new generation of talent, relearn lessons, and produce urgent results amidst tremendous pressure for success. This episode provides an inside perspective regarding what it’s like to be on this journey, better understand the technology, the people behind these efforts, and why it’s so important hypersonics enter America’s operational arsenal as soon as possible.

Credits:

Host: Lt Col (Ret.) John “Slick” Baum, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin

Producer: Daniel C. Rice

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Eric Knutson, Director at Skunk Works Advanced Systems

Guest: Brian Schappacher, Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon Deputy Program Manager

Guest: Arlen Kostival, Vehicle Systems Engineer

Links:

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of

Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themitchellinstituteforaero/?hl=en

#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #hypersonic #technology

Thank you for your continued support!

Episode 88: Congress’ View on Air Force Modernization, Nukes, and Ukraine: The Rendezvous

Episode 88 – Congress' View on Air Force Modernization, Nukes, and Ukraine: The Rendezvous

Episode Summary:

In Episode 88 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, Congress’ View on Air Force Modernization, Nukes, and Ukraine: The Rendezvous, the Mitchell Institute team gathers to discuss air and space topics that you’ve seen in the national security headlines. This week’s episode focuses on the defense bills moving through the House and Senate. We focus on the future of the F-22, the Hill’s stance on F-35, whether the Air Force’s attempt to pursue “divest to invest” is working, support for the nuclear triad, and Congress’ thoughts on sending airpower to Ukraine.  We also introduce two new voices to the Rendezvous team that you’ll hear from monthly: Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski and Todd “Sledge” Harmer.

Credits:

Host: Lt Col (Ret.) John “Slick” Baum, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin

Producer: Daniel C. Rice

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Lt Gen (Ret.) David Deptula, Dean, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Douglas Birkey, Executive Director, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Col (Ret.) Todd "Sledge" Harmer, Senior Vice President, American Defense International

Guest: Col (Ret.) Anthony "Lazer" Lazarski, Principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs

Submit Your Questions:

mitchell@afa.org

Links:

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of

Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themitchellinstituteforaero/?hl=en

#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #usaf #nukes #ukraine #thehill

Thank you for your continued support!

Episode 87: Welcome to the World’s Biggest Aerial Stage: Airpower at Oshkosh

Episode 87 – Welcome to the World's Biggest Aerial Stage: Airpower at Oshkosh

Episode Summary:

In Episode 87 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, Welcome to the World’s Biggest Aerial Stage: Airpower at Oshkosh, John “Slick” Baum, Doug Birkey, and John "Rain" Waters join us from the AirVenture flightline to discuss what airpower means to the public at large. The annual fly-in at Oshkosh is a legendary event. With over half a million people attending the week-long airshow in Oshkosh, WI, there is nowhere better to see everything from the newest F-35 to a vintage P-40 and everything in-between.  With this year marking the 75^th Anniversary of the US Air Force, airpower is certainly a high-profile topic at this year’s show. Slick and Doug talk to us about what it’s like to participate in the event—flying into the world’s busiest airport, walking the flightline, and meeting legendary aviators. They also catch up with Rain, who flew as an F-16 demo pilot in past AirVentures and learn about what goes into that sort of performance.

Credits:

Host: Lt Col (Ret.) John “Slick” Baum, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Douglas Birkey, Executive Director, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Maj John "Rain" Waters, Air Combat Command F-16 Viper Demonstration Pilot

Links:

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of

Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themitchellinstituteforaero/?hl=en

#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #Airventure #Oshkosh #AirShow

Thank you for your continued support!

Episode 86 - So You Want to be a Thunderbird? Insider Perspectives

Episode 86 – So You Want to be a Thunderbird? Insider Perspectives

Episode Summary:

In Episode 86 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, So You Want to be a Thunderbird? Insider Perspectives, Mitchell Institute’s John “Slick” Baum is joined by John “JV” Venable of the Heritage Foundation, former commander in the Thunderbirds, and Caroline “Blaze” Jensen, former right wing in the Thunderbirds, to reflect upon their years as members of the Air Force’s famed aerial demonstration unit. We all know the public façade—the incredible flying, polished personas, and famed liveries. However, not many people know what it’s like to execute at this intense pace day-after-day on a national stage. This conversation between three veteran Thunderbirds looks at what it’s like to be on the team from an individual perspective. Flying skills are obviously crucial, but it takes a whole lot more to succeed as a member of this group. JV was selected in 1999 to command the Thunderbirds, and was on point for every practice, deployment, and air show for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Blaze flew the right wing position for the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons. Slick flew the left wing position during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, which included an international tour in Asia.

Credits:

Host: Lt Col (Ret.) John “Slick” Baum, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Co-host: Heather “Lucky” Penney, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Daniel C. Rice

Producer: Shane Thin

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Col (Ret.) John “JV” Venable, Senior Research Fellow, Defense Policy, Center for National Defense

Guest: Lt Col (Ret.) Caroline “Blaze” Jensen, National WASP WWII Museum Board Member

Links:

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of

Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themitchellinstituteforaero/?hl=en

#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #Thunderbird

Thank you for your continued support!