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.

Developing multiple variants of mid-range, stand-in precision guided munitions suitable for operations in contested environments is crucial. These munitions must be affordable to build high-capacity inventories necessary for the scale of peer-on-peer operations. Mark Gunzinger and Jim Young of Boeing dive deeper into this topic.

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In this Rendezvous episode, we discuss where defense bills stand in Congress, the latest developments regarding the B-21’s first flight, why the T-7’s arrival at Edwards is so important, the latest in spacepower news developments, and wraps with an extensive national security assessment regarding China. As always, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

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JSTARS enabled Air Force battle managers to monitor surface targets, convert data into actionable insights, and exploit a comprehensive command and control system to make more effective decisions. But given the JSTARS retirement, the Air Force is reshaping how it achieves these effects. Mitchell Institute’s Doug Birkey and Lt Col Alex “Big Bobby” Wallis, a former JSTARS battle manager explore this evolution and what it means for the future force.

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In this Rendezvous episode, we discuss what new leadership in the House of Representatives will mean for defense equities on The Hill, the latest developments regarding the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and an extensive national security assessment regarding China, especially given DoD’s newly released 2023 edition of Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.

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Everyone wants new aircraft now, but manufacturing lines can only accommodate so much, so fast—especially with a concurrent surge in demand for commercial airliners. In this episode, hear directly from the individuals deep in the industrial base who literally build the future of airpower—we’ll explore how they contribute, their strengths, and the risks that are in play so that we better understand what it’ll take to ensure we have an industrial base that can meet demand.

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Tim Ryan sits down with Brian “Flasher” Goodman, a seasoned space operator and Guardian; Tom “Pumper” Nichols, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at True Anomaly; and Mitchell’s Charles Galbreath to explore ideas around Competitive Endurance and how it can be applied in today’s contested space domain.

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In this Rendezvous episode, we discuss the national security realities created by a continuing resolution and the looming potential of a government shut down, plus Secretary Kendall’s call for a Department of the Air Force reorganization and the latest developments in spacepower. We consider variables involved in Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment LaPlante’s call for increased defense production and cover Deputy Secretary of Defense Hicks’ initiative termed “replicator,” followed by an update on developments in Ukraine.  

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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 Operations Command.

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