Photo: Andrew Noh

Missile Defense Agency Director Heath Collins Confirmed to Keynote Air & Space Summit

Now more than ever, a steady leader in missile defense is critical for the U.S. to remain safe and competitive on the world stage. With conflicts brewing in the Middle East pertaining to nuclear weapons and the U.S. preparing its Golden Dome missile defense system, clear and dedicated leadership is essential in the federal government and military to ensure America has the technology, strategies and resources to retain its hegemony.

Lt. Gen. Heath Collins is exactly that leader, which is why Potomac Officers Club has tapped the influential weapons expert to deliver the closing keynote at our 2025 Air and Space Summit on July 31. Register now for the definitive air and space GovCon conference of the year.

Who Is the Current Director of the MDA?

Lt. Gen Heath Collins was sworn in as the 12th director of the Missile Defense Agency in January 2024. He possesses a wide-ranging knowledge base on electronic countermeasures, space, radar, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, nuclear, fighter, bomber, and missile defense systems. As director, Collins steers the organization’s $11 billion budget and oversees over 9,000 team members.

Collins’ DOD Career

Lt. Gen. Collins has been an active force within the Department of Defense for over 30 years. He joined the Air Force in the early 1990s and has since held positions such as Air Force program executive officer for weapons, Air Force program executive officer for fighters and bombers, deputy director for the Infrared Space Systems directorate and the Remote Sensing Systems directorate and commander of the Space Based Infrared System Space Squadron.

Prior to his appointment as MDA director, Collins held the role of program executive for ground-based weapon systems at the agency.

Wash100 Award

On the heels of his induction as MDA director, Collins received a Wash100 Award in 2024 in recognition of his impact on the government contracting landscape. He was celebrated for his tireless dedication to national security and his partnerships with industry organizations like Northrop Grumman.

Does the U.S. Have a Defense Against Hypersonic Missiles?

With the development of sophisticated missile technology by nations like China, North Korea, Ukraine, and, of course, Israel and Iran, the U.S. is focusing a great deal of energy and efforts on missile defense. The Golden Dome for America project is one example of this. The project will be led by Gen. Michael Guetlein of the U.S. Space Force, who, like Lt. Gen. Collins, will deliver a keynote address at the 2025 Air and Space Summit. (The summit will also feature an industry panel discussion about Golden Dome and how GovCons can get the most out of this huge partnership opportunity.)

But further preparations still will be required to meet the challenges of today’s world.

“As the battlefields in Ukraine and Israel have illustrated, the proliferation of diverse missile systems and the willingness of countries and non-state actors to use them against us and our allies and our friends and partners have made the world more dangerous and unpredictable than ever,” Collins said when he assumed his current role.

Discriminating Space Sensor

One major line of effort in securing U.S. systems superiority is the discriminating space sensor, or DSS, project. DSS will likely play into Golden Dome, as it is part of MDA’s goal to create a space-based missile tracking layer. Defense News reported that Collins and his team are aiming to launch DSS by 2029.

If all goes according to plan, DSS will help the U.S. identify complex ballistic missile targets. It is being engineered to discern what is an actual missile target and what is a countermeasure unleashed by an adversary to confuse American sensors.

“Every time they fly over Ukraine or Israel, they can pick up whatever happens. We believe this is the technology that’s the baseline for our ability to hold any hypersonic weapon under custody in the future,” Collins remarked.

DSS will work in tandem with the hypersonic- and ballistic-tracking space sensor, a.k.a. HBTSS, an undertaking by MDA alongside the Space Development Agency. They will do the same for DSS, which is currently in the prototype phase. HBTSS underwent a number of satellite tests on orbit last year.

Hear From Heath Collins at the 2025 Air and Space Summit

Learn more about DSS and other modern missile advancements directly from Lt. Gen. Collins in his keynote address at the 2025 Air and Space Summit on July 31. Hear from high-level government speakers while also networking with representatives from GovCon industry leaders like Kepler, SAIC, BWX Technologies, Intelsat, Arcfield and many more.