Episode Summary: In this Aerospace Advantage episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney continues the electronic attack conversation with Dave Harrold and Duane Beaulieu of BAE, plus Mitchell Institute’s Mike Dahm. Electronic Attack is an essential twenty-first century mission capability. The ability to disrupt enemy command, control, communications, radars, and navigation systems allows U.S. forces to maintain a decision advantage, while denying one to the adversary. It all comes down to...

Episode Summary: In this episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with members of the Mitchell Institute team about the what the 2024 election results will mean for spacepower and airpower. Elections always matter, especially given the national security issues currently in play. The world is an incredibly dangerous place: Russia continues its war in Ukraine, China is pressing hard in the Pacific, Iran continues to destabilize the Middle East and shares nuclear ambitions with North Korea,...

Episode Summary: In this Aerospace Advantage episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats about electronic attack with Col JR Smith, commander of the 55th Electronic Combat Group.  Maintaining an electromagnetic-based battlespace advantage is essential for twenty first century mission success. That’s why the EC-130H and the new EA-37B are so important. They execute a mission the Air Force calls Compass Call: disrupting enemy command, control, communications, radars, and navigation systems....

Episode Summary: In this episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats about a key component of the nuclear triad with Chris Adams, sector vice president and general manager for Strategic Space Systems at Northrop Grumman, and Jen "Boots" Reeves, Senior Fellow for Space Studies at Mitchell Institute. The nuclear triad forms the bedrock of America’s national security. The idea is simple: to hold enemy nations at risk to such a degree that they will never cross certain lines. For this to work,...

Episode Summary: In this episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats about the evolution of air battle management with two highly experienced airmen, Lt Col Alex Wallis of the 728th Battle Management Control Squadron at Robins AFB and Lt Col Grant “SWAT” Georgulis, who just wrapped up a stint as the commander of the 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron at Tinker AFB. Air battle management is an essential mission: the combination of highly trained personnel and technology that makes sense of...

Episode Summary: In this episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with China expert Mike Dahm about an important aspect of China’s military modernization: how we perceive such developments. Given the restricted nature of China’s security complex, plus different cultural and political factors between our nations, those in the West must often rely on conjecture and partial information to arrive at various conclusions regarding the scale, scope, and vector of this buildup. This oftentimes...

Episode Summary: In this episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with members of the Mitchell Institute team about the latest defense news from the Beltway and the broader national security community. The Air and Space Forces Association just wrapped up their Air, Space, and Cyber Conference and Mitchell Institute was incredibly engaged. It’s a major annual milestone in the air and space power dialogue. We explore what leaders said and why it matters. This includes a major discussion on...

Episode Summary: In this episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney of the Mitchell Institute team chats with Colonel Jason Herring, commander of the 621st Contingency Response Wing about sustaining airpower at the edge. Whether responding to a humanitarian disaster or facilitating distributed air operations via the ACE construct, success comes down to the airmen facilitating expeditionary operations. This demands special training, a can-do attitude, and the ability to navigate the unexpected...

In this episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney of the Mitchell Institute team chats with Dr Michael Gregg, Director, Aerospace Systems Directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and Chris Flynn Vice President of Military Development Programs at Pratt & Whitney. For decades, the America has enjoyed a near-unrivaled position when it comes to developing and fielding high performance, incredibly reliable military jet engines. No matter how capable an airframe or the associated mission...

In episode 201 of the Aerospace Advantage, Shoot to Kill: The Day America Launched an ASAT, members of the Mitchell Institute team chat with Maj Gen Doug Pearson, USAF (Ret.), the pilot who took “the shot” and directed the F-15 Anti-Satellite Combined Test Force, and Col Jack Anthony, USAF (Ret.), the Operations Officer at Cheyenne Mountain about this incredibly historic mission. At the height of the Cold War, the United States Air Force demonstrated the ability to shoot down a satellite in...

Episode Summary: In episode 200 of the Aerospace Advantage, Spacepower Roles and Missions Debate, Washington Update, and EA-37B Hits the Ramp: The Rendezvous, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with members of the Mitchell Institute team about the latest defense news from the Beltway and the broader national security community. It’s September and D.C. is back in action. We explore what’s next for the defense bills in Congress, a debate that is playing out regarding spacepower roles and...

Episode Summary: In episode 199 of the Aerospace Advantage, Winning Tomorrow’s Fight: Airpower Must Maximize Electronic Attack, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with long-time F-35 pilot and 188th Wing commander Col Jay Spohn, Josh Niedzwiecki of BAE, and 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing commander Col Larry Fenner Jr. about this key aspect of warfighting.  For too long, individuals regarded electronic attack as a bolt-on effect—an afterthought. Traditional forms of kinetic combat...

Episode Summary: In this episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with Robert Lightfoot, president of Lockheed Martin Space; Greg Ulmer, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and Mitchell Institute’s Charles Galbreath. Read defense news headlines and you’ll see a distinct trend: a drive to sunset airborne missions and move them to space—especially for functions like intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. In fact, the trend has been in play since the end of the Cold War. At...

Episode Summary: In episode 197 of the Aerospace Advantage, Mission Command: Leveraging the American Cognitive Advantage, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with Lt Col Fritz “Plugger” Glojek, recent fellow at the Mitchell Institute, and Lt Col Nicholas “Badger” Underwood of Air University’s LeMay Center about how we can best empower Airmen to fly and fight.Conflict in the Western Pacific will challenge US Command and Control. Despite significant effort and progress with efforts like...

Episode Summary: In episode 196 of the Aerospace Advantage, What’s Up With NGAD? Understanding The Stakes, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with members of the Mitchell Institute team about the Air Force’s recent pause for its future air superiority program. What does this mean? Why does it matter? What possible courses of action might the Air Force might pursue?Whether talking about long-range strike, airborne ISR, electromagnetic spectrum functions, or air superiority—all of this will...

Episode Summary: In episode 195 of the Aerospace Advantage, E-7 on Contract, Space Force Reorg, F-35 Deliveries Resume: The Rendezvous, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with members of the Mitchell Institute team about the latest defense news from the Beltway and the broader national security community. Recent weeks have been a whirlwind. F-35 deliveries resumed, the commander of Air Combat Command backed F-22 Block 20s, and NGAD is paused…for now. The Sentinel program also moved forward...

Episode Summary: In episode 194 of the Aerospace Advantage, Battlespace Connectivity: Key to 21st Century Warfighting, host Heather “Lucky” Penney and Mitchell Senior Fellow J.V. Venable explore the topic of tactical networking with Galt Aerospace CEO John Kohut.Bottom line: information sharing and data exchange are the key to combat success in future conflicts. Whether discussing concepts like Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) or collaborative combat aircraft...

Episode Summary: In episode 193 of the Aerospace Advantage, Ready to Fight All Night: High-Tempo Airpower Generation, Heather “Lucky” Penney discusses  how to maximize airpower sorties with Mitchell Institute Fellow Lt Col Gary “Plugger” Glojek, and Lt Col Matthew “Doubled” Jensen, the director of the experimental operations unit responsible for advancing Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) sortie generation and employment concepts. If a conflict erupts in the Pacific, airpower...

Episode Summary: In episode 192 of the Aerospace Advantage, Want to Win? You’ll Need Digital Engineering, Heather “Lucky” Penney explores this technology and its application with Air Force Research Lab AI lead Dr. Amanda Bullock and Mitchell Institute Visiting Senior Fellow Brian Morra.The speed and complexity of modern warfare is increasing at an unprecedented pace. To maintain our competitive edge, the Department of Defense must be able to rapidly develop, field, and sustain...

Episode Summary: In episode 191 of the Aerospace Advantage, Chinese Spacepower, NGAD Turbulence, and Congressional Update: The Rendezvous, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with members of the Mitchell Institute team about the latest defense news from the Beltway and the broader national security community.Recent weeks have been packed with defense developments. China is pressing hard in space—with numerous lines of effort underway. Our experts discuss what this means and why it matters....

Episode Summary: In episode 190 of the Aerospace Advantage, Orbital Warfare: Train Like You Fight, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with Lt Col Jessica “Thumper” Getrost, Commander of the 57th Space Aggressor Squadron; Lt Col Matt “BC” Bejcek, former Commander of the 98th Space Range Squadron; and Mitchell Institute Senior Fellow Charles Galbreath about threats facing our satellites and the importance of preparing Guardians for warfighting. There’s no question about it: adversaries will...

Episode Summary: In episode 189 of the Aerospace Advantage, Fighting the Air Base: Decisive Combat Sortie Generation Under Fire, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with Mitchell Institute experts Mike Dahm and Mark Gunzinger about a key aspect of modern operations in an era of peer competition. U.S. Air Force commanders must be prepared to fight their frontline air bases like any other weapon system to generate the combat airpower critical to the success of future joint force operations....

Episode Summary: In episode 188 of the Aerospace Advantage, Front Line Air Mobility Revolution: 317th Airlift Wing Conversation, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with 317th Airlift Wing Commander Col Thomas Lankford. Based at Dyess AFB and equipped with C-130Js, the men and women of the 317th are executing their missions in one of the most transformational eras regarding air mobility. After three decades of operating in relatively permissive environments, much of it in regionally focused...

Episode Summary: In episode 187 of the Aerospace Advantage, Spectrum Warfare: Freedom to Attack, Maneuver, and Defend, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing commander Col Joshua Koslov. Electromagnetic spectrum operations are critical to the success of any modern combat mission. With the growth of sensors, processing power, and connectivity—a tremendous range of effects can be netted through this realm. This includes attack, protection, and support functions....