Skyler Bernards
Lt. Gen. Heath Collins is the Director of the Missile Defense Agency. He advises the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering on missile defense programmatic policy, requirements, priorities, systems, resources, and programs.
Heath Collins is a keynote speaker for the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Space Summit. Explore his professional background and contributions here.
Who is Heath Collins?
Lt. Gen. Heath Collins was confirmed by the Senate as the Director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in December 2023. He was a United States Air Force Lieutenant General with over 30 years of experience in acquisition, space, operations, and program management roles across the Department of Defense.
As the MDA Director, Collins oversees the agency’s $11 billion portfolio in developing, testing, fielding, and sustaining missile defense capabilities to defend the U.S. forces, allies, and partners against missile threats.
Heath Collins previously served as the Program Executive Officer for Ground-Based Weapon Systems at the MDA, managing a $3.4 billion portfolio. His space and acquisition experience places him in a good position to oversee the MDA’s efforts on space-based sensors, hypersonic defense, homeland missile defense upgrades, and the Guam defense architecture.
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Catch Heath Collins at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Space Summit
The Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Space Summit is a significant event that addresses the ongoing global race for space dominance. With new technologies, commercial investments, and adversarial threats shaping the future of space, the summit aims to provide an in-depth look at how the United States is responding to these challenges.
The 2024 Space Summit will feature keynote and panel addresses from space experts, government leaders, and industry executives discussing urgent issues and strategies for advancing U.S. interests in space.
WHEN
Tuesday, March 05, 2024
7:00 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Eastern Time Zone
WHERE
Hilton-McLean
7920 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA
As a keynote speaker, Heath Collins will provide perspectives on space-based missile tracking, emerging threats like hypersonic missiles, and MDA’s role in missile defense and space security. His oversight of MDA modernization efforts makes him well-suited to offer insights to industry and government stakeholders.
Register now to join the conversation about navigating the complexities of space technology, ethics, and defense.
Heath Collins Career Journey
Heath Collins started his military journey in 1993 as a missile analyst. In this role, he has developed technical mastery and visionary leadership i, which he leveraged as an Advanced Missile Flight Test Engineer within the Air Combat Command.
Movin forward in his career as the Chief Command and Control Engineer, Milstar Chief Engineer, and Operations Support Flight Commander, Collins shaped the future of military communications and operations. His demonstrated skills further propelled him to lead as Manager of Advanced Satellite Payloads and Chief Vehicle Engineer, where he made a mark on space innovation.
More recently, Heath Collins led the Air Force’s hypersonic weapons programs from 2020 to 2022 as the Weapons Program Executive Officer (PEO). After this period, he managed a $3.4 billion annual portfolio at the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) as the Program Executive.
In December 2023, President Biden appointed him to lead the MDA, where he is responsible for pushing missile defense modernization and development in the Next Generation Interceptor and Guam’s defense architecture.
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