Aerospace Advantage

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies is proud to present the Aerospace Advantage, with veteran fighter pilot and Senior Resident Fellow Heather “Lucky” Penney as the host.
Every week, Heather “Lucky” Penney will take listeners into the world of aerospace power and help the audience understand what it takes to fly and fight in the sky, while also protecting America’s interests in space. Whether talking to top generals, standing on a flight line full of combat aircraft, looking at a rocket being prepared for launch, or hearing from those who have laid it all on the line in defense of the nation—this podcast will afford unprecedented access and insight into where the combat aerospace community is going and why.

John “Slick” Baum chats with former U-2 pilot Maj Gen H.D. “Jake” Polumbo, USAF (Ret.), the highest-ranking officer to fly the Dragon Lady in combat, and long-time experienced MQ-9 pilot Lt Col Johnny Duray, who has risen through the ranks as a line pilot to a commander in the RPA world. This episode focuses on the ISR evolution by exploring the U-2, a Cold War icon manned ISR aircraft, and the uncrewed ISR mission through the lens of the MQ-9 Reaper, which can execute ISR, while also employing kinetic strike capabilities and a range of other functions.

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John “Slick” Baum chats with Scott Forney, the President of Electromagnetic Systems at General Atomics, along with Col Charles Galbreath, USSF (Ret.), and Maj Gen Larry Stutzriem, USAF (Ret.), from our Mitchell Institute team. The Space Force is developing its satellite constellations to meet new mission demands, evolving their architecture to address a rapidly burgeoning threat environment. No longer does the Space Force want to be overly reliant on large “fat juicy target” satellites, which, if destroyed or incapacitated, would yield outsized impacts to broader mission functions.

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In this Rendezvous episode, we discuss where Congress stands when it comes to passing an actual defense budget We also discuss how the 2024 election cycle will impact the national security debate throughout the course of the year, including support for Ukraine. We talk about the Sentinel program, Lockheed Martin’s latest projection for TR3/ Block 4, spacepower trends, Ukraine, instability in the Middle East, continued issues with Iran and North Korea, plus China’s aggression in the Pacific,

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Mitchell Institute’s John “Slick” Baum chats with national security expert Maj Gen Cameron Holt, USAF (Ret.), founder of the Quantum Industrial Coalition Paul Stimers, and Mitchell Institute’s Heather Penney about one of the top topics in defense innovation.

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In this Rendezvous episode, we discuss what to expect from Congress, Ukraine, the Department of the Air Force’s proposed reorganization. We also identify technologies we should track in 2024, spacepower trends and China.

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Mitchell Institute experts discuss the potential for collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) to increase the lethality, survivability, and capacity of the Air Force’s air superiority forces for operations in highly contested environments.

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