Episode Summary

In episode 28 of the Aerospace Advantage, Next Generation Air-to-Air Targeting, join host John Baum as he speaks to combat aviators and technical experts about how the game of finding and striking air-to-air targets is rapidly evolving. Modern air combat is increasingly complex, demanding tremendous situational awareness to make split second decisions that will make the difference between life and death. It takes sensors to harvest data and processing power to turn it into actionable information. Adversaries understand the value of information, so they do everything in their power to blind us. That’s what electronic jamming is all about, and it’s why they are pursuing stealth. So, for us to maintain an edge, we need to pursue numerous concurrent pathways of sourcing data so the adversary can’t block us in one move. This episode explores one of those key technologies: infrared search and track, or IRST for short

Credits

Host:  Lt Col John “Slick” Baum, USAF, ret.

Producer: Daniel C. Rice

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Maj (ret.) Heather “Lucky” Penney, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Jim Ni, IRST Product Development Manager, Lockheed Martin

Guest: Commander Eric McQueen, US Navy, Navy Federal Executive Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Guest: Col (ret.) Patrick “Smack” McKenzie, Advanced Targeting Systems, Lockheed Martin

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