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.

Heather “Lucky” Penney and Col Patrick Williams explores one of the most important make-or-break factors in warfare: weather. Environmental conditions control when and how we employ military power…and what enemies can do to us.

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In this Rendezvous episode, we discuss recent top defense leadership changes, Ukraine, Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s defense budget guidance, the latest Minuteman ICBM test launch, next generation advanced propulsion, and we provide a spacepower update. 

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Bottom line: the Air Force’s pilot corps is now too small to sustain a healthy combat force that can prevail in a peer conflict and meet the nation’s other national security requirements. Heather “Lucky” Penney discusses her new paper, "Want Combat Airpower? Then Fix the Air Force Pilot Crisis" with Lt Gen Gus Guastella, USAF (Ret) and Lt Gen Marc Sasseville, USAF (Ret).

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In this Rendezvous episode, we discuss air and space power issues through the congressional lens, and how that may affect individual programs, broader strategy, and budget considerations. We also explore recent, increasingly direct remarks about resource needs by former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen David Allvin.

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