Contact: Robbie Ward
Photo by: Kristen Hines Baker
STARKVILLE, Miss.--At Mississippi State Wednesday [April 7], a three-star U.S. Air Force general said the university will assist in a "continual partnership" to help with some highly specialized research.
Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula was among others on campus to discuss mission needs related to research technologies required for developing military aircraft controlled by operators in remote locations. He is responsible for helping lead the military branch's programs in policy and planning.
His remarks came on the first of a two-day USAF-sponsored academic conference on unmanned aircraft systems and remotely piloted aircraft. On hand were officials of MSU, host for the event, and other military leaders, members of Mississippi's congressional delegation and representatives of aerospace industries.
Deptula said partnerships between the military, academia and industry are essential for the military to successfully advance in changing global challenges.
"We want to tap intellectual capital in universities," he said. "We have a common goal, the defense of our nation."
Deptula's duties include policy formulation, planning, evaluation, oversight, and leadership of Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. He reports directly to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.
Deptula specifically cited Mississippi State as a key resource to assist with research because of its capabilities. The university's aerospace engineering department and its Raspet Flight Research Laboratory long have been involved in national aviation research and its relationship to economic development.
Two private companies focused on remotely piloted aircraft--Stark Aerospace and Aurora Flight Sciences--started at the Raspet Lab before relocating to the Golden Triangle Regional Global Industrial Aerospace Park in Lowndes County. Columbus, the county seat, also is home to Columbus Air Force Base.
Deptula and other military leaders at the conference spoke about the need to integrate remotely piloted aircrafts into each of the key Air Force missions. They said issues related to safety, security and other factors require partnerships with researchers at universities such as MSU that have expertise in the field to help achieve these goals.
"You have three different groups who can form effective partnerships," Deptula said. "This is a good fit."
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R) and U.S. representatives Travis Childers (D) and Gregg Harper (R) also were in attendance at the conference. Each has pledged support for economic development and national defense efforts that would help enhance the Golden Triangle region.
David Shaw, vice president of MSU's Office of Research and Economic Development, said the conference also is enabling considerable networking opportunities between university researchers and military leaders.
Robert J. Moorhead, director of MSU's Geosystems Research Institute, said he and other researchers on campus look forward to assisting where MSU research and Air Force objectives overlap.
"We're learning about what their priorities are," Moorhead said. "And they can learn what our skill sets are."