A New CSAF, CCA Airborne, and Starship Success: The Rendezvous — Ep. 253
06 September 2025

A New CSAF, CCA Airborne, and Starship Success: The Rendezvous — Ep. 253

The Aerospace Advantage

About

Episode Summary:










In this episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney talks to Lt. Gen. David Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Charles Galbreath, Todd “Sledge” Harmer, Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski, JV Venable, and Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, USAF (Ret.) about the top defense issues this month in Washington, D.C. and beyond.


Our team digs into what a new Chief of Staff of the Air Force will mean for the service and the broader defense environment. They also discuss the CCA’s first flight, plus Gen. Adrian Spain’s call for an increased focus on readiness in his new capacity as commander of Air Combat Command. We look at a broad array of spacepower developments—everything from the most recent Starship launch to the X-37B mission and NTS-3.  Added to that, there are also a lot of issues going on with our partners and allies—quite a few are boosting their defense budgets, but some are calling into question buying U.S. systems. What does this mean for the defense ecosystem? We wrap looking at where the Sentinel Program is headed these days and consider the latest with B-21 and B-52 modernization efforts.










Credits:


Host: Heather "Lucky" Penney, Director of Research, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies


Producer: Shane Thin 


Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey


Guest: Lt Gen David A. Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Dean, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies


Guest: Brig. Gen. Houston "Slider" Cantwell, Senior Fellow for Airpower Studies, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies


Guest: John "JV" Venable, Senior Fellow for Airpower Studies, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies


Guest: Charles Galbreath, Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies, The Mitchell Institute Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence (MI-SPACE)


Guest: Todd “Sledge” Harmer, Senior Vice President, American Defense International


Guest: Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski, Principal, Cornerstone Government Affairs



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