The Aerospace Advantage

Episode Summary:

AI is one of the hottest topics in defense, especially when it ties to Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). While seeing these new aircraft fly is super impressive, it’s crucial that we think about all phases of the mission, including how warfighters will interact with the CCA agents. To be clear, this goes beyond the tactical user interface during mission execution – we need to be thinking about how we continue to train the autonomy after landing. This means debriefing. How will we debrief CCA after the mission? How should we integrate debriefing CCA with human formations? We must understand how we operated as a team to learn the right lessons for both human pilots and the CCA agents. Joining our host Heather “Lucky” Penney to dig into this are two AI experts: Mike “Pako” Benitez of Shield AI and Ray “Krypto” O’Mara of the Mitchell Institute.

Credits:

Host: Heather "Lucky" Penney, Director of Research, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin 

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Ray “Krypto” O’Mara, Senior Fellow for Airpower Studies, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Mike "Pako" Benitez, Senior Director of Strategic Product Development, Shield AI

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#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #CCA #AI

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney talks to Lt. Gen. David Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Charles Galbreath, Todd “Sledge” Harmer, Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski, JV Venable, and Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, USAF (Ret.) about the top defense issues this month in Washington, D.C. and beyond.

Our team digs into what a new Chief of Staff of the Air Force will mean for the service and the broader defense environment. They also discuss the CCA’s first flight, plus Gen. Adrian Spain’s call for an increased focus on readiness in his new capacity as commander of Air Combat Command. We look at a broad array of spacepower developments—everything from the most recent Starship launch to the X-37B mission and NTS-3.  Added to that, there are also a lot of issues going on with our partners and allies—quite a few are boosting their defense budgets, but some are calling into question buying U.S. systems. What does this mean for the defense ecosystem? We wrap looking at where the Sentinel Program is headed these days and consider the latest with B-21 and B-52 modernization efforts.

Credits:

Host: Heather "Lucky" Penney, Director of Research, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin 

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

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

Guest: Brig. Gen. Houston "Slider" Cantwell, Senior Fellow for Airpower Studies, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: John "JV" Venable, Senior Fellow for Airpower Studies, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Charles Galbreath, Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies, The Mitchell Institute Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence (MI-SPACE)

Guest: Todd “Sledge” Harmer, Senior Vice President, American Defense International

Guest: Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski, Principal, Cornerstone Government Affairs

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#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #rendezvous

Episode Summary:

America’s ability to secure its interests, whether deterring conflict or fighting and wining, demands a robust Air Force. The current security environment will tolerate nothing less. The service has traditionally measured its prowess via capacity, capabilities, and readiness. The Air Force currently lags in each of these three areas. Want proof? The service’s FY 2025 budget request sought to divest 250 aircraft, while only procuring 91. The FY 2026 request seeks to divest 340 aircraft, while only acquiring 76. It is essential that the Trump administration and Congress reverse the service’s decline in capacity, capability, and readiness.

In this episode, Lt. Gen. David Deptula, USAF (Ret.), JV Venable, and Robert “Otis” Winkler discuss these challenges and outline what needs to be done to reset the Air Force. JV just completed a major report on this topic, and the conversation centers around the top findings. The time for concerted action is now.

Credits:

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

Producer: Shane Thin 

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

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

Guest: John "JV" Venable, Senior Fellow for Airpower Studies, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Robert "Otis" Winkler, Vice President, Corporate Development and National Security Programs, Kratos Defense and Security Solutions

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#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #China #readiness

Episode Summary:

This week we’re talking about what it’ll take to project airpower into the heart of the fight in a conflict with China. Most of the time we think about enemy fighter planes, surface-to-air missiles, and AAA, but the biggest challenge might come down to electromagnetic spectrum operations. China has long-studied US warfighting constructs and they know that our forces are highly reliant on networked operations. Whether thinking about command and control, teaming mission assets real-time, or taking advantage of connectivity to space… the American way of war, especially airpower, requires a lot of connectivity. They’ve focused a tremendous amount of energy to degrade and deny this communication. That has huge implications for our forces.

It’s exactly what Mike Dahm investigated in his latest report—Disconnected by Design—Fifth and Sixth Generation Aircraft in Disaggregated Collaborative Air Operations. The concept relies upon a force of fifth and sixth-generation aircraft, plus CCA, that can penetrate adversary air defenses, sensing, coordinating, and executing individual actions at the tactical edge of the battlespace.

Credits:

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

Producer: Shane Thin 

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: J. Michael "JDAM" Dahm, Senior Fellow for Aerospace and China Studies, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Col. Russell "Big" Badowski, Assistant Professor, Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, National Defense University

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#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #China #fifthgenerationaircraft

Episode Summary:

During the Cold War, all eyes faced north anticipating a Soviet attack across the North Pole. The U.S. Air Force was front and center operating air defense radars and sitting alert. Decades later, America finds itself coming full circle. Modern airborne threats like cruise and hypersonic missiles, plus long-range drones threaten the homeland. Maj. Gen. Pete Fesler, USAF (Ret.), Maj. Gen. Larry Stutzriem, USAF (Ret.), and Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, USAF (Ret.) discuss how to ensure we’re prepared for these threats.

Credits:

Host: Heather "Lucky" Penney, Director of Research, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin 

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Maj. Gen. Larry Stutzriem, USAF (Ret.), Executive Vice President, Air & Space Forces Association

Guest: Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, USAF (Ret.), Senior Resident Fellow for Airpower Studies at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Maj. Gen. Pete Fesler, Deputy Director of Operations, Headquarters North American Aerospace Defense Command

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Image Credit: U.S. Department of Defense

#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #ArcticDomain #ColdWar #AirDefense

Episode Summary:

America is running short on munitions. With so many conflicts ongoing, our consumption is outpacing what we can build, and we are digging into their stockpiles to sustain current operations. And to be clear…if America is in a fight, we can’t stop until we win. This episode explores this the munitions gap and what folks are doing to try and fix it. And we’re doing this through a case study approach by speaking with Nick Bucci, vice president of defense systems and technologies at General Atomic EMS. They recently partnered with Rafael to build their Bullseye missile here in the United States. This is important because it’s rapidly adding more domestic munitions production capacity, while also on-ramping in some new capabilities that are important for the modern combat environment.

Credits:

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

Producer: Shane Thin 

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Nick Bucci, Vice President, Defense Systems & Technologies, General Atomic Electromagnetic Systems

Links:

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#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #EMS #AirForce #DefenseIndustry

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney talks to Lt. Gen. David Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Jen Reeves, and Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski about the top defense issues this month in Washington, D.C. and beyond.

Our team digs into the status of the defense bills on Capitol Hill. This includes a discussion on spacepower policy and investment decisions, plus a focus on fighter recapitalization and E-7. We also explore President Trump’s new approach when it comes to Ukraine. The team also discusses recent Air Force and Space Force leadership changes. We wrap by explaining the significance of the latest X-37B mission as well as the US Space Force practicing 'orbital warfare' in its largest-ever training event.

Credits:

Host: Heather "Lucky" Penney, Director of Research, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin 

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

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

Guest: Jennifer Reeves, Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies, The Mitchell Institute Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence (MI-SPACE)

Guest: Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski, Principal, Cornerstone Government Affairs

Links:

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#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #TheHill #Rendezvous #Budget

Episode Summary:

Spacepower is fundamentally reliant on the cyber domain—it is the backbone of connectivity for constellations on orbit, their ground stations, and connectivity to warfighters. Point blank: every bit of data and every command sent to space systems transits the cyber domain. Tackling the challenges of leading cyber and data efforts of the Space Force falls on the small, but mighty team of the S6. From administrative to mission networks and data repositories, ensuring Guardians have reliable, capable, and secure cyber connectivity underpins our nation’s ability to achieve space superiority.

Join Heather Penney as she explores this fascinating topic with Col. Nathan “Crazy” Iven, the acting Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Cyber and Data; and Seth Whitworth, the Associate Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Cyber and Data.

Credits:

Host: Heather "Lucky" Penney, Director of Research, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin 

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Charles Galbreath, Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies, The Mitchell Institute Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence (MI-SPACE)

Guest: Jennifer "Boots" Reeves, Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies, The Mitchell Institute Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence (MI-SPACE)

Guest: Col. Nathan “Crazy” Iven, acting Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Cyber and Data, USSF

Guest: Seth Whitworth, Acting Deputy S6 (DCSO for Cyber & Data), USSF

Links:

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#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #SpaceForce #Space

Episode Summary:

As America’s interests in space grow and humanity ventures further from Earth, the need to have Guardians in space to secure and protect U.S. interests will likely stand as an emerging requirement. We’ve seen this with every form of exploration: human presence will be interlinked with national standing, economic expansion, setting norms, and guarding security interests. That said, there’s a lot on the Space Force’s plate and they don’t have the resources to cover down on all their currently assigned missions. Balancing future investments against current demands is a perennial challenge. Partnerships with commercial organizations may help unravel this Gordian Knot.

Join Heather Penney as she explores this fascinating topic with Max Haot, Chief Executive Officer for Vast, a private U.S. company building next-generation space stations, and John “Slick” Baum.

Credits:

Host: Heather "Lucky" Penney, Director of Research, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin 

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Max Haot, Chief Executive Officer, Vast

Guest: John "Slick" Baum, Vice President of Business Development, Vast

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#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #IndoPacom #MiddleEast

Episode Summary:

The Air Force increasingly needs a broader set of munitions to achieve mission effects in the modern age. Combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq required a specific range of capabilities. Tomorrow’s fights will be different. We need to ensure that we evolve our munitions toolkit to cover these new mission demands. This is especially true when looking at missions in the Indo Pacific—where the threat environment, factors involving range, weather, and mission performance are going to demand a broader range of technical solutions.

Join Heather Penney as she speaks with Raytheon’s Maj. Gen. Jon Norman, USAF (Ret.) about how he and his team are responding to this new paradigm.

Credits:

Host: Heather "Lucky" Penney, Director of Research, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin 

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Maj. Gen. John Norman, USAF (Ret.), VP, USAF Air Power Requirements & Capability, Raytheon Missiles & Defense

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#MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #IndoPacom #MiddleEast