Colonel Timothy M. Helfrich

Colonel Timothy M. Helfrich is the Senior Materiel Leader for Advanced Aircraft and Director of the Agile Development Office, which fall under the Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Air Force Materiel Command. He leads a team of nearly 300 military, civil service, and contract support personnel to develop the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Family of Systems, which includes the NGAD Platform and the Collaborative Combat Aircraft programs, along with other advanced aircraft capability development activities.

Col Helfrich was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He received his commission from the United States Air Force Reserve Officer Training Course, Detachment 220 at Purdue University in May 2002. He has served in a variety of acquisition positions at an Air Logistics Center, the Air Force Research Laboratory, a flight test squadron, Air Staff, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and a classified program office. He served in key acquisition leadership roles as the Materiel Leader for the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node and the Senior Materiel Leader for Cyber Systems. Col Helfrich has combat experience from Operation IRAQI FREEDOM where he was the Detachment Commander for a joint flying unit, and from Operation INHERENT RESOLVE where he served as the SOCCENT Forward Headquarters Commandant.