The Aerospace Advantage

Episode Summary: In Episode 148 of the Aerospace Advantage, Understanding Hostilities in Space Short of War: Harnessing an Irregular Warfare Model on Orbit, Mitchell Institute’s Tim Ryan chats with Commander John ‘Patsy’ Klein, USN (Ret), a noted spacepower expert; Colonel El Gardner, Director Space Strategy, Policy, and Plans HQ USSF; and Henry Heren about what it means to successfully engage in...

Episode Summary: In Episode 147 of the Aerospace Advantage, No Bucks, No Buck Rogers: Leadership Conversation with Lt Gen Rick Moore, Mitchell’s Maj Gen Larry Stutzriem, USAF (Ret.) explores the fiscal realities facing the USAF. As the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs at Headquarters Air Force, Lt Gen Rick Moore oversees building the budgets that are ultimately submitted to top Departm...

Episode Summary: In Episode 146 of the Aerospace Advantage, Innovating the Spectrum Warfare Edge: Industry Conversation, Mitchell’s Doug Birkey continues our focus on this topic with Josh Niedzwiecki, vice president and general manager of electronic combat solutions at BAE. As we discussed last week with 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing commander Col Joshua Koslov, this technology, the associated conop...

Episode Summary: In Episode 145 of the Aerospace Advantage, Regaining the Spectrum Warfare Advantage: Leadership Conversation, Doug Birkey chats with the commander of the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, Col Joshua Koslov to discuss the current state of this mission area, explain challenges and opportunities, define key concepts, and provide insights on future vectors. Spectrum warfare is a crucial el...

Episode Summary: In Episode 144 of the Aerospace Advantage, Commander Conversation: Royal Canadian Air Force Spacepower, Doug Birkey chats with Brigadier General Mike Adamson, Commander of 3 Canadian Space Division (3 CSD); Brigadier General Chris McKenna, Director General Air and Space Force Development; and Brigadier General Kyle Paul Deputy Commanding General, Transformation, U.S. Space Operati...

Episode Summary: In Episode 143 of the Aerospace Advantage, Decoding China's AI Ambitions: The Rise of Informationized and Intelligentized Warfare, John “Slick” Baum chats with Daniel Rice, China Expert at the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare at Marine Corps University, and Dennis Murphy, who researches the implications emerging technologies will have on international security...

Episode Summary: In Episode 142 of the Aerospace Advantage, A Conversation with Air Marshal Harvey Smyth: Allied Perspective, John “Slick” Baum, Lt Gen Dave Deptula, USAF (Ret), and Gen Kevin Chilton, USAF (Ret) chat with Air Marshal Harvey Smyth, the Royal Air Force’s Air and Space Commander. It’s hard to think about a single time in history when our nation fought alone. It’s no secret why: allie...

Episode Summary: In Episode 141 of the Aerospace Advantage, Building Counterspace Capabilities: Smart Spacepower, John “Slick” Baum chats with Col Eric Felt, USSF Director of Architecture; Matt Fetrow of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office; Arnie Streland of Northrop Grumman; and Charles Galbreath, Mitchell Institute Senior Fellow for Space Studies, about how the Space Force and industry are respo...

Episode Summary: In Episode 140 of the Aerospace Advantage, Congressional Defense Priorities, Allies Boost Modernization, China Realities, and Spacepower Perspectives: The Rendezvous, John “Slick” Baum chats with Lt Gen David Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Washington experts Todd Harmer and Anthony Lazarski, plus Mitchell Senior Fellow for Space Studies Tim Ryan about some of the latest national security d...

Episode Summary: In Episode 139 of the Aerospace Advantage, Flying and Fighting Against the Odds: A Cold War Perspective, John “Slick” Baum chats with Col Robert Graham, USAF (Ret.) about the 500+ combat sorties he flew across four combat tours during the Vietnam War. Surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), anti-aircraft artillery (AAA), air bases under attack, high pilot attrition, tremendous tactical an...

Episode Summary: In Episode 138 of the Aerospace Advantage, Maintaining the Propulsion Advantage: The Race to Deliver Tomorrow’s Jet Technology, Doug Birkey chats with Mitchell Institute’s Maj Gen Larry Stutzriem, USAF (Ret.), and David Tweedie, GE Edison Works vice president and general manager for advanced products, about a key element of America’s crucial combat aircraft advantage in the sky: e...

Episode Summary: In Episode 137 of the Aerospace Advantage, Fighter Modernization Imperative: Defining the Vector, John “Slick Baum” explores the status of the Air Force’s fighter inventory and a path for reset with Maj Gen Charles “Corky” Corcoran, USAF (Ret.); Lt Col Eric Gunzinger, USAF (Ret.); and Douglas Birkey. The United States faces a fighter aviation modernization crisis that, left unchec...

Episode Summary: In Episode 136 of the Aerospace Advantage, It’s Time to Reset the Force: Leadership Conversation with Lt Gen Mike Loh, Director of the ANG, Doug Birkey explores the modernization challenges facing the Air National Guard and the Air Force as a whole with Lt Gen Mike Loh, along with Mitchell Institute’s Lt Gen David Deptula, USAF (Ret.) and Heather Penney. The Air Force’s fighter in...

Episode Summary: In Episode 135 of the Aerospace Advantage,  Hill Update, Budget Caps, Space Trends, and Ukraine Perspectives: The Rendezvous, Doug Birkey chats with Lt Gen David Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Washington expert Todd Harmer, and Mitchell Senior Fellow for Space Studies Henry Heren about some of the latest national security developments. Our conversation begins by exploring recent news from...

Episode Summary: In Episode 134 of the Aerospace Advantage, Charting the Future: Innovating and Building Next Gen UAVs, Douglas Birkey explores the future of uncrewed combat aviation with Mike Atwood, Senior Director of Advanced Programs at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. UAVs have been a fixture in the U.S. airpower arsenal for over two decades. However, evolving operational demand, paired...

Episode Summary: In Episode 133 of the Aerospace Advantage, Spacepower and the Commercial Realm: Insider Perspective, Douglas Birkey chats with Even Rogers, CEO of True Anomaly, a former Air Force weapons officer and a contributing author of the inaugural Space Force doctrine; Steve Kitay, Senior Director of Azure Space at Microsoft and a former Deputy Assist Secretary of Defense for Space Policy...

Episode Summary: In Episode 132 of the Aerospace Advantage, Humans Are More Important Than Hardware: SOF Truth #1, John “Slick” Baum chats with longtime AFSOC pilot Col Sarah Brehm, veteran defense leader Mr. Jim “Hondo” Geurts, and AFSOC Special Tactics Officer Lt Col Steve Cooper about the United States Special Operations Command’s core values, what they call SOF Truths. These tenets have define...

Episode Summary: In Episode 131 of the Aerospace Advantage, Defense and the Budget Deal, Hill Update, ANG Fighters, and Space Trends: The Rendezvous, John “Slick” Baum chats with Lt Gen David Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Doug Birkey, Todd Harmer, Anthony Lazarski, and Charles Galbreath about some of the latest national security developments. Our conversation begins by exploring the new budget deal and it...

Episode Summary: In Episode 130 of the Aerospace Advantage, F-16s and Beyond: What’s Next for Ukraine?, John Baum chats with Mitchell Institute’s Lt Gen Dave Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Maj Gen Larry Stutzriem, USAF (Ret.), and Doug Birkey about building out Ukrainian airpower. It all comes down to breaking out of the land-centric war of attrition by striking key battlefield targets, gaining situational...

Episode Summary: In Episode 129 of the Aerospace Advantage, Kill Chains: From 5th Gen to JADC2, John Baum chats with Mitchell Institute’s Heather “Lucky” Penney about what it means to secure battlespace effects in the 21st century. Combat aircraft don’t fly sorties for the sake of getting time in the air. It’s all about empowering the broader strategy. That might involve ensuring a munition hits t...

Episode Summary: In Episode 128 of the Aerospace Advantage, The B-21 Imperative: America’s Deterrence Bomber, John Baum chats with Maj Gen Larry Stutzriem, USAF (Ret.) and Col Mark Gunzinger, USAF (Ret.) about the USAF’s newest combat aircraft. The ability to conduct long-range strikes anywhere, anytime in large numbers has been a decisive U.S. military advantage for more than 70 years. Today, thi...

Episode Summary: In Episode 127 of the Aerospace Advantage, A Conversation with Rep Rob Wittman (R-VA): Congressional Insights, John Baum and Lt Gen Dave Deptula, USAF (Ret.), chat with one of the leading national authorities on defense. After three decades of sole superpower status, the United States finds itself stretched thin as it struggles to deal with the rapid rise of an assertive China and...

Episode Summary: In Episode 126 of the Aerospace Advantage, F-35 Update: Test Flight Perspective, John Baum discusses what happens when an F-35 rolls off the production line and executes its first flights with Lockheed Martin F-35 test pilot Tony “Brick” Wilson and J.R. McDonald, Vice President for F-35 Business Development. Back in December, the Mitchell Institute met with the key folks who are b...

Episode Summary: In Episode 125 of the Aerospace Advantage, Fighters on the Brink: ANG Flightline Perspective, Doug Birkey discusses a looming capacity cliff with Maj Gen Paul Rogers, the Adjutant General of the Michigan National Guard; Brig Gen Tim Donnellan, Commander of the Idaho Air National Guard; along with Lt Gen Dave Deptula, USAF (Ret.) and Heather Penney of the Mitchell Institute. The Ai...

See our Spacepower Security Forum coverage here! Episode Summary: In Episode 124 of the Aerospace Advantage, Spacepower Security Forum: Key Takeaways, Doug Birkey chats with Tim Ryan and Charles Galbreath of Mitchell Institute’s Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence about our second annual Spacepower Security Forum. This event provided one-stop shopping of key space topics by space leaders. Fr...