An Imperative
for the Nation

Arlington, VA | January 17, 2023 | The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Looking back at 2022,​​​​​ Mitchell Institute stands proud of the work the team accomplished in 2022. The numbers speak for themselves: 13 research studies and policy papers; 39 Aerospace Nation video panels with the top aerospace leadership; and 49 podcasts delving into key air and space issues. We did this at a time when national security threats continue to grow. This means the

Breaking Defense | January 11, 2023 | Tim Ryan

BBC News | January 2, 2023

Arlington, VA | December 1, 2022 | The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies At the Mitchell Institute, the requirements for effective long-range strike options that bolster our nation’s deterrence and global security writ large have long been a focus of study. In anticipation of the December 2 reveal of the new and highly secretive B-21 stealth bomber, we have prepared a number of resources that delve into why the nation needs a modern long-range stealth

Defense News | December 14, 2022 | Lt Gen Joseph Guastella, USAF (Ret.)

Arlington, VA | December 14, 2022 The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies is pleased to announce that Lt Gen David Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Dean of the Mitchell Institute, now holds the PenFed Chair for Aerospace Studies. This Chair was established to support the mission of the Mitchell Institute as it works to inform national leaders and the public at large about the unique policy options that airpower and space power afford the country. This includes

War on the Rocks | December 9, 2022 | Lt Gen David A. Deptula, USAF (Ret.)

Air & Space Forces Magazine | December 8, 2022

Arlington, VA | January 9, 2023 — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies is proud to announce three new Forum Papers in a series on command and control (C2) by Col Frederick “Trey” Coleman, the commander of the 505th Command and Control Wing. With an Air Force still pondering how it can accelerate change (or lose), as well as grappling with the requirements to realize a Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept, these short

Arlington, VA | December 7, 2022 — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies is pleased to announce a new entry in its Research Studies series, The Next Frontier: UAVs for Great Power Conflict | Part 1: Penetrating Strike by Caitlin Lee, Senior Resident Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and Mark A. Gunzinger, Director of Future Concepts and Capability Assessments at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Only a few years ago, the

Arlington, VA | November 9, 2022 — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies announces a new entry in its Forum Paper series, Hardened Shelters and UCAVs: Understanding The Chinese Threat Facing Taiwan by non-resident fellow Daniel Rice. This analysis of unclassified aerial imagery concludes that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) airfields adjacent to the Taiwan Strait are intended for permanent, sustained operations in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Previous

Arlington, VA | October 20, 2022 — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies is pleased to announce a new entry in its Policy Paper series, The Indispensable Domain: The Critical Role of Space in JADC2 by Tim Ryan, Senior Fellow for Spacepower Studies at the Mitchell Institute Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence. Coming out of the Cold War, the U.S. military possessed the capabilities and capacity to dominate global military operations when and where it

Arlington, VA | October 6, 2022 — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies is pleased to announce a new entry in its Policy Paper series, Five Imperatives for Developing Collaborative Combat Aircraft for Teaming Operations by Heather R. Penney, Senior Resident Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. The Air Force lacks the force capacity, lethality, and survivability needed to fight a peer-level conflict with China. To address these shortfalls, Air Force leaders are

The Air Force’s budget has been less than the Navy and Army’s for the last 30 years in a row. The Army received over $1.3 trillion more than the Air Force between 2002–2021, an average of $66 billion more per year than the Air Force. These sorts of realities repeatedly prompted service officials to pursue “divest to invest” modernization strategies that introduced significant risk and failed to effectively balance modernization, force size, and readiness. Resetting the Air Force to meet the national security demands of today and tomorrow is possible, but it will take forceful leadership at the highest levels of the Department of Defense. Without modernizing our geriatric Air Force and building it to the capacity required by our national defense strategy, the U.S. is a great risk of losing its next major conflict.

Arlington, VA | August 2, 2022 — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies announces a new entry in its Forum Paper series, The Nuances of Air Control in Great Power Competition: What the No-Fly Zone Debate is Missing by Lt Col Dave Cochran, USAF. Ukraine’s request for a “no-fly-zone” in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion sparked a debate in the United States over the use of this policy instrument against a nuclear-armed opponent. It is

Arlington, VA | June 7, 2022 — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies is pleased to announce a new entry in its Policy Paper series, Orbital Vigilance: The Need for Enhanced Space-Based Missile Warning and Tracking by Christopher Stone, Senior Fellow for Space Studies at the Mitchell Institute Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence. Today, both China and Russia are fielding a new generation of hypersonic, low-flying missiles that U.S. ground-based radars are unable to track