Tim Spaulding

About Tim Spaulding

An active duty Air Force officer: fighter pilot, test pilot, engineer, program manager and strategic leader. I’ve led combat missions in the F-15E, trained pilots as an instructor, and designed and flown test of all types — from envelope expansion, to radar software and weapons evaluations—on aircraft from the King Air to the F-35.I’ve worked across programs large and small, including creating the T-X program and the source selection methodology that would lead to the T-7A Red Hawk, now entering serviceI led the 412th Operations Group, the Air Force’s most diverse operational unit where we routinely operated 17 primary types of aircraft including the KC-46, MQ-9, F-22, F-35, B-2, and B-52 across a complicated and critical range and airspace complex stretching hundreds of miles. I led the B-21 program for more than three years through its public rollout, first flight, and initial manufacturing milestones, while pioneering ambitious and creating management techniques to ensure this critical program maintained its momentum instead of becoming ‘business as usual.’Presently serving as the Air Force Program Executive for Bombers, leading a team of more than 1100 professionals across multiple locations to support the Air Force’s long-range strategic fleet. We ensure the B-1, B-2, and B-52 remain operationally ready for conventional and nuclear missions today, and apply and manage $50B of investment to modernize the aircraft for tomorrow’s threats.I build leaders, form strategy, and set ambitious goals….then form, inspire, support, and lead the teams that accomplish them.Truman Scholar in the class of

Experience

1. Program Executive Officer - Bombers

   United States Air Force

   Aug 2025 — Present

   Air Force executive leading a team of more than 1100 responsible for modernization and sustainment of the US Air Force’s strategic air fleet, composed of B-1s, B-2s, and B-52s.

Education

• Harvard Kennedy School

  MPP, International Security Studies

  2001 — 2003

• United States Air Force Academy

  BS, Physics

  1997 — 2001

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  MS, Aeronautics and Astronautics (Course XVI)

  2001 — 2003

• USAF Test Pilot School

  M.S., Flight Test Engineering

  2010 — 2011

Skills

• Weapons
• Aircraft
• Security Clearance
• Flight Safety
• Military
• Government Contracting
• Systems Engineering
• Military Operations
• Flight Test
• Flights
• Aviation
• Operational Planning
• Defence
• Avionics
• Navy
• Aerospace
• Uav
• Special Operations
• Defence Sector
• Electronic Warfare
• Program Management
• Air Force
• Command
• Engineering Management
• Army
• Defense
• Helicopters
• Dod
• National Security
• Aeronautics
• Top Secret
• Piloting
• C4isr
• Organizational Leadership
• Military Experience
• Military Aviation
• Aircraft Maintenance