The Mitchell Institute’s Aerospace Nation Podcast

The Eighth Air Force is a storied unit with a warfighting history that dates back to the contested skies over Europe in World War II. Today, circumstances and technologies may be a bit different, but the Mighty Eighth’s mission is largely the same: to deter conventional and nuclear threats, and provide national leadership with the means to strike any target around the globe at any time. Maj Gen Jason Armagost is a life-long combat pilot. He began his career in the F-16 and then transitioned to flying B-2s and eventually B-52s. In his current role, he leads the Air Force’s bomber and airborne nuclear command and control forces. He is also commander of the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, which serves as the central command and control node for all operations within Air Force Global Strike Command, orchestrating warfighting and readiness activities for the Commander, Air Forces Strategic. Bombers flying long-range strike missions are one of the most important capabilities in America’s arsenal. It’s a powerful motivator to deter adversaries in times of peace, and it nets powerful results when we’re at war. Only the Air Force possesses these aircraft, they don’t exist in other U.S. or allied service branches. Add refueling tankers, air superiority fighters, and powerful electronic warfare planes, and we’re talking about an incredible force mix that manifests the attributes of true global reach and power.

Listen to the dynamic discussion with Lieutenant General DeAnna Burt, Chief Operations Officer of the United States Space Force, as we explore how the Space Force is driving innovation and integration to stay ahead in today’s contested space domain. From weaving cyber into space architectures and advancing Moving Target Indication (MTI), to sustaining weapon systems, supporting combatant commands, and deepening collaboration with allies and partners – this conversation will highlight how the Space Force is preparing for the future fight.

Integrating space capabilities across Europe and Africa present unique and growing challenges in two complex regions. As Commander of U.S. Space Forces Europe and Africa, Brig. Gen. Jacob Middleton has the lead role in supporting both U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command with space capabilities ranging from intelligence to navigation and communications to space electronic warfare. Join the Mitchell Institute for this important conversation with a Space Force warfighter on the leading edge.

The most important element of any military organization is its people. Within the Space Force, the responsible to train and prepare Guardians rests on Space Training and Readiness Command. To learn more about the STARCOM efforts to prepare Guardians for the warfighting domain of space, the Mitchell Institute is excited to host an in-depth discussion with the STARCOM leadership team, Maj Gen Tim Sejba and Chief Master Sergeant Karmann-Monique Pogue. Together, they are shaping the education, training, doctrine, and testing vital to ensuring Guardians have the skills and equipment to overcome any threat.

As the United States faces increasingly sophisticated threats, the importance of resilient, persistent space sensing has never been greater. Remote sensing, including detecting and tracking missile launches and monitoring weather and the EM spectrum comprises a $23 billion portfolio. Leading this critical mission is Brigadier General (S) Robert Davis, the Program Executive Officer of the Space Sensing Directorate at Space Systems Command. Join the Mitchell Institute for an important discussion on this critical portfolio.

America’s warfighting advantage depends on an innovation edge. Defense Advanced Research Projects  Agency (DARPA) is a key leader in that realm. Created in response to the launch of Sputnik in 1957, DARPA works to ensure America never again faces a strategic technical surprise. Their programs focus on the fundamental research required to establish proof of concept. This work is especially important given the scale and scope of the technology we face in an era defined by peer competition. Join us as we chat with DARPA Deputy Director Rob McHenry to learn more about his team’s current focus areas and key trends they see in the current security environment.

Join us for a conversation with Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE). As a Member of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Bacon chairs the subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation, while also serving on the Tactical Air and Land Forces and the Strategic Forces subcommittees. Rep. Bacon is a retired Air Force brigadier general who served 29 years in assignments including Director of ISR Strategy, Plans, Doctrine and Force Development; command of 55th Wing and the 435th Air Base Wing; Chief of Special Operations and Intelligence Information, Multi-National Force, Iraq; and Commander, 55th Electronic Combat Group. This will be an incredibly informative conversation focusing on defense through a Congressional lens.

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Kelly D. Hammett to the Schriever Spacepower Series. The ability to rapidly develop and field new capabilities is essential to maintaining our nation’s strategic advantage. As head of one of the Space Force’s three acquisition organizations, Dr. Hammett leads the critical mission of delivering groundbreaking operational space capabilities that protect assets on orbit, while also defending joint and allied operations from space-enabled attack.

Join Mitchell Institute’s Schriever Spacepower Series with Lt. Gen. Shawn N. Bratton for a conversation about the newly released Space Warfighting Framework. We will explore specific areas from the framework and how they will shape future Space Force priorities and enhance the understanding of what it takes to secure the space domain.

Join us as we rollout our newest research study, authored by the Mitchell Institute’s Col. Mark A. Gunzinger, USAF (Ret.), Director of Future Concepts and Capability Assessments. The event will feature guest speaker Maj. Gen. Joseph D. Kunkel, Director of Force Design, Integration, and Wargaming, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air Force Futures. The U.S. Air Force is fielding a future counterair force that is sized and shaped to achieve the degree of air superiority required to defeat China in a Pacific conflict. The Air Force is developing collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) as part of that force to achieve its counterair mission requirements. This will require the Air Force and its industry partners to continue to mature technologies that are key to developing CCA that can operate in a highly collaborative fashion with other aircraft. CCA will act as force multipliers that complement—but do not replace—the service’s F-22s, F-35s, and future F-47s. This collaborative combination will pose a diverse threat that is more difficult for adversaries to accurately characterize and counter in highly dynamic, time-compressed operational environments. For these advantages to be realized, they’ll require adequate personnel, fuel, theater airlift, etc. Logistics are a key requirement to inform key performance parameters, including the mix of CCA the Air Force acquires and how they are employed. This report summarizes insights from the third in a series of Mitchell Institute exercises that explored the potential for CCA with autonomous technologies to perform as counterair force multipliers. Its recommendations are derived from the assessments of teams of Air Force and industry planners, operational experts, and technologists on potential CCA use cases and logistics required to generate CCA sorties during a major Pacific conflict.