The Mitchell Institute’s Aerospace Nation Podcast

The Future Fighter Force Our Nation Requires: Building a Bridge

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies invites you to listen to the release of its new Research Study, The Future Fighter Force Our Nation Requires: Building a Bridge, by Heather Penney, Senior Resident Fellow.

The U.S. Air Force’s fighter force is in crisis. After three decades of canceled, curtailed, and delayed investment in fighter aircraft modernization, the nation now finds itself with a small, fragile air superiority force. This is not just an Air Force problem, for no form of joint power is viable without control of the sky. Ships at sea, forces on the ground, space control centers, cyber facilities, logistics hubs, and more are simply not survivable when subject to high-intensity attacks from the sky.

Join us to better understand the options the Air Force has to modernize the fighter force in the near term, plus factors it should consider over the long run. There is no silver-bullet answer—this is a matter involving both capability and capacity, and any viable path forward requires a comprehensive set of investments.

 

Read the report: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/the-future-fighter-force-our-nation-requires-building-a-bridge/

Aerospace Nation: Gen Mark D. Kelly, Commander of Air Combat Command

Aerospace Nation: Understanding American Voters’ Perceptions Regarding Strategic Nuclear Deterrence

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies invites you to listen to our Aerospace Nation where we discuss our latest research, Understanding American Voters’ Perceptions Regarding Strategic Nuclear Deterrence.

For as long as any of us can remember, the debate surrounding strategic nuclear deterrence has been incredibly predictable. The arms control community, on the one hand, and advocates for the nuclear triad, on the other, continue to wield their tried-and-true talking points. You could read a newspaper article from the early 1980s and see many of today’s most popular arguments in play almost word-for-word. However, the security environment, public priorities, and technology have evolved markedly.

Mitchell Institute launched this research effort in partnership with Seven Letter Insight to understand where public perceptions really stand regarding strategic nuclear deterrence far past what the headlines, op-eds, and political comments convey. Understanding public opinion is exceedingly important given the scale and scope of the triad modernization. As a democracy, America’s national security investment will fundamentally reflect what the public desires. The results we discovered were quite surprising. Please join as we share this new data, explain how the research was conducted, and discuss broader implications.

 

Check out our website! 
https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/aerospace-nation-understanding-american-voters-perceptions-regarding-strategic-nuclear-deterrence/ 

Nuclear Deterrence Forum: Lt Gen Thomas A. Bussiere

The Mitchell Institute invites you to listen to our Nuclear Deterrence & Missile Defense Forum event with Lt Gen Thomas A. Bussiere, Deputy Commander of United States Strategic Command. Gen Bussiere discusses the threat of Chinese and Russian Nuclear stockpiles, the U.S. nuclear modernization effort, the future of U.S. nuclear deterrence and other topics. Lt Gen (Ret.) David Deptula, Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, moderates the discussion and facilitates audience Q&A.

Nuclear Deterrence and Missile Defense Forum: Dr. Stephen Blank

At its Nuclear Deterrence & Missile Defense Forum, the Mitchell Institute hosts Dr. Stephen Blank, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Research Institute.  Dr. Blank discusses how nuclear capabilities influence Russia’s international behavior, its strategic objectives, and its overall nuclear policy & doctrine.

Nuclear Deterrence and Missile Defense Forum: Maj Gen Michael Lutton

The Mitchell Institute invites you to listen to our virtual Nuclear Deterrence & Missile Defense Forum event with Maj Gen Michael Lutton, the Commander of the Twentieth Air Force and previous Deputy Director for Nuclear and Homeland Defense Operations of the Joint Staff. Maj Gen Lutton discusses the need for U.S. nuclear modernization, how our competitors such as China and Russia are changing the nuclear deterrence landscape amongst and other topics. Doug Birkey, Executive Director at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, moderates the discussion and facilitates audience Q&A.

Visit our website! https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/

Nuclear Deterrence Forum: Gordon Chang and Rick Fisher

The Mitchell Institute invites you to listen to the Nuclear Deterrence Forum event with Mr. Gordon Chang, an East Asia expert, and the author of numerous books on China, and Mr. Rick Fisher, a Senior Fellow on Asian Military Affairs at the International Assessment and Strategy Center. Mr. Chang and Mr. Fisher discuss ongoing Chinese nuclear missile silo developments, China's nuclear arsenal and its impact on geopolitics, and China's ambitions with Taiwan, among other topics.

Download Slides: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/nuclear-deterrence-forum-gordon-chang-and-rick-fisher/

 

Visit our website!

https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/ 

 

Spacepower Forum: Gen David "DT" Thompson, Vice Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force

The Mitchell Institute hosts a Spacepower Forum event with General David "DT" Thompson, Vice Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force. General Thompson discusses the continued buildout of the U.S. Space Force, including how the Space Force is preparing to defend against adversary advancements in counterspace technologies, ongoing efforts to consolidate space acquisition, and the service’s role in supporting DOD’s JADC2 strategy. Maj Gen (Ret.) Larry Stutzriem, Director of Research for the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, moderates the discussion and facilitates audience Q&A.

Speed is Life: Accelerating the Air Force’s Ability to Adapt and Win

Success in tomorrow’s conflicts will largely depend on how warfighters are able to harness and adapt software, data, and algorithms at the unit level. The future must be one in which airmen are empowered to evolve software in a highly dynamic, responsive fashion to meet near-term mission demands.

The Mitchell Institute invites you to listen to the virtual event with Dr. Tim Grayson, Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Strategic Technology Office. This event examined Heather Penney’s new policy paper, Speed is Life: Accelerating the Air Force’s Ability to Adapt and Win, which explores this vision and charts a pathway the Air Force and other services must adopt to succeed in an increasingly complex set of threats.

​​​​​​​The old adage, “Speed is life” is no longer just about flying—it’s about rapidly evolving mission tools to fight and win.

Aerospace Nation: Lt Gen David Nahom

The Mitchell Institute hosts Lt Gen David Nahom, the Air Force’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs on Aerospace Nation. Gen Nahom discusses the current budget debates on Capitol Hill and their impact on force readiness and Air Force and Space Force modernization programs. Lt Gen (Ret.) David Deptula, Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, moderates the discussion and facilitates audience Q&A.