The Comparative Defense Studies Program at the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies presents: "Operating in a Contested Environment: U.S. Advantages of Stealth" with Col. Robert S. Spalding III, Colonel United States Air Force.

Moderated by Stephanie Neuman, Director, Comparative Defense Studies Program, Member, SIWPS.

Robert S. Spalding III, U.S. Air Force, was most recently vice commander of the 509th Bomb Wing based at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, where he was responsible for preparing and maintaining United States' only B-2 wing. He also commanded the 509th Operations Group where he launched B-2s to protect civilians during Operation Odyssey Dawn. His previous tours include military assistant to the deputy assistant secretary of defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs where he led a search team to China. During the surge, Colonel Spalding deployed and led security for the top five leaders in Iraq. He received his BS and MS from Fresno State, his PhD from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and speaks Chinese-Mandarin as well as Spanish. Mr. Spalding will present a brief history of stealth aircraft design from Have Blue to todays Joint Strike Fighter and an overview of the challenges involved in operating and maintaining stealth aircraft. He will also describe what an Integrated Air Defense System is and how stealth aircraft can be used to defeat it. Finally, he will cover the current anti-access/aerial-denial environment and will speculate about possible new technologies to deal with it. Following the discussion there will be an opportunity for Q&A.

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