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 Low Earth Orbit from an F-15 fighter aircraft. While this did not result in a fielded capability, the lessons related to technology, planning, coordination, and operational execution offer valuable insight into future cross-domain operations. Plus, the context of the Cold War has remarkable parallels to the challenges the United States and its allies must confront in Great Power Competition. In this conversation, we explore this key history with two figures integral to the program’s success.