Interviews

Brigadier General Todd Balfe is the Fighter Capability Special Advisor in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and was one of the key speakers at the 2024 Air Dominance Summit. Balfe earned his pilot wings in 1988 and, following an initial assignment as a jet flying instructor, flew the CF-18 for many years. He amassed 4500 flight hours, including more than 2500 hours in the CF-18, and participated in three NATO deployments to the Balkans, culminating with the Operation Allied Force air campaign in Kosovo in 1999. His non-flying assignments include two tours with NORAD in the U.S., multiple staff positions in Ottawa, and a year-long deployment with NATO’s International Security Assistance Force Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan.

In Brigadier General Balfe’s current role he serves with the RCAF Fighter Capability Office overseeing F-35 transition, weapons procurements and Operational Training Infrastructure Enterprise Modernization. During his session at the Air Dominance Summit last May, Brigadier General Balfe spoke about the Royal Canadian Air Force’s next generation air superiority efforts but before that, he sat down with IDGA to discuss RCAF’s air capabilities priorities, how the transition to the F-35A is going, and more.

Admiral (Ret.) William “Bill” Gortney retired from the Navy as the sixth commander of United States Northern Command and the 23rd commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Following his retirement, he accepted the role of chairman for IDGA’s Air Dominance Summit.

This year’s Air Dominance Summit will take place May 13-14 in Henderson, Nevada, and will be the latest iteration of the summit that Admiral Gortney will chair. The event will discuss loyal wingman programs like the Collaborative Combat Aircraft and sixth-generation fighter programs, including the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance, the Navy’s FAXX, and international programs like FCAS and GCAP. Speakers will also cover sustainment of current systems including the F-35, reflect on current conflicts, and explore innovation in air supremacy.

Before the event, IDGA sat down with Admiral Gortney to discuss the history of air dominance, international collaboration, and what he’s looking forward to at this year’s conference.

Our content editor had the privilege of sitting down with leaders in the US Air Force to discuss the Air Force’s acquisition process and its impact on air dominance efforts.

Read insights from Colonel Timothy M. Helfrich, Colonel John Cummings and Colonel Glendon C. Whelan into:

• What agile acquisition is and how it compares to traditional and rapid acquisition
• The challenges that arise when managing the acquisition process of an air fighter program such as Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD)
• How important collaboration is between departments and teams in the Air Force for the success of agile acquisition 

As potential competitors make advancements in the air domain, we must advance our training to ensure the evolving threat landscape is appropriately met. Brigadier General Robert G. Novotny (Ret.) delivers an interview which highlights how the U.S. plans to keep its edge to outpace the adversary. In this interview, he covers:

• Priorities for Aggressor Training
• How to drive readiness and prepare for air warfare
• How Aggressor Training has evolved
  

As Ukraine and Russia continue in their struggle to assert air superiority, IDGA’s sister organization, Defence iQ, was fortunate enough to interview fighter pilot “Juice” and Air Force Spokesperson, Colonel Yuriy Ignat. This interview provides a crucial overview of:

• How Ukraine prepared for Russia’s air campaign
• Insight into how pre-war assessments were misleading
• Current requirements of the Ukrainian Forces in order to urgently generate greater combat air capability