Scientific Systems, an industry leader in advanced autonomy and artificial intelligence for defense applications, today announced that former U.S. Air Force acquisition and technical officer Randy “Waldo” Walden has joined the company as a strategic advisor. Mr. Walden will offer guidance to Scientific Systems as it operationalizes collaborative autonomy for the warfighter across a range of multi-domain crewed and uncrewed technology.
In previous roles, Mr. Walden was a member of the Senior Executive Service and Director and Program Executive Officer for the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, in the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Among his accomplishments were directing development of both the B-21 long-range stealth bomber, as well as the Common Mission Control Center (CMCC) for the Air Force. Both efforts are pathfinders for digital software acquisition, demonstrating an agile approach to quickly fielding warfighter capability. He’s since held an advisory role at the Pentagon and is a member of the Aerospace Corporation’s Board of Trustees.
“With extensive experience in rapid acquisition and technology development, we’ll be leveraging Randy’s insights to provide advanced autonomy to the warfighter, ultimately enhancing the capabilities and effectiveness of Air Force operations,” said Kunal Mehra, president of Scientific Systems. “His guidance will be vital in ensuring that thousands of autonomous systems will be equipped with AI-enabled collaborative mission autonomy.”
“Scientific Systems has been on my radar for over a decade,” said Mr. Walden. “I’ve been heavily impressed with their advanced capabilities, which will serve the Air Force well as it links its sensors to shooters as part of the JADC2 framework. I’m excited by the possibilities of getting state of the art autonomous capability fielded, alongside crewed platforms to give our nation a decisive advantage.”
Following the recent announcement of retired Air Force General Charles “Corky” Corcoran as strategic advisor, plus the addition of Mr. Walden, Scientific Systems is building a strong team of advisors to advance its vision of autonomy for any mission.
Mr. Walden graduated from Christopher Newport College, Newport News, Virginia. Soon after, he was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force and served more than 20 years in acquisition and technical roles. He was a flight test engineer with Air Force Material Command at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland, and Nellis AFB, Nevada. During his tours as a flight test engineer, Mr. Walden participated in the development, ground and flight-testing of numerous aerospace weapon systems. He holds a master non-rated aircrew badge.
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