Highlights
- The University of Arizona College of Engineering is partnering with the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance on a new program called Advanced Education in Terrestrial Operations and Space.
- The eight-month program runs July 16 to Feb. 20 and targets 12 to 18 agency-sponsored students at $10,000 tuition each.
- It is the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance's third academic partnership, following programs with USC and the University of Hawaii.
- The program follows UA's January announcement of a partnership with Precise Systems to compete for up to $151 billion in Golden Dome contracts.
The University of Arizona College of Engineering and the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance are launching a new eight-month program to train military officers and civilian leaders on the country's most pressing national security challenges, with tuition funded by participants' sponsoring agencies.
The program, called Advanced Education in Terrestrial Operations and Space, runs July 16 to Feb. 20 and will enroll 12 to 18 students at $10,000 per student. It is the nonprofit think tank's third academic collaboration, following partnerships with the University of Southern California and the University of Hawaii.
David Hahn, dean of the College of Engineering, said the program is designed for speed. "The threats are changing weekly, monthly, daily. So, we have to be able to be nimble, to innovate very quickly, and you know, academia can do that," he said.
Riki Ellison, founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, pointed to low-cost drone swarms as a central challenge. "Our ability as a nation and as a world to be able to defeat low-flying drones that are cheap, in massive scale is a challenge right now," Ellison said. He cited damage to American bases following Iran's drone and missile attacks during Operation Epic Fury and Russia's recent strikes on Ukraine.
Curriculum will cover space domain awareness, drones, Golden Dome, and optics, with capstone projects that could yield physical prototypes or policy studies. Hahn described the effort as a bridge-building exercise rather than a revenue play.
The program is not UA's first move in defense research. In January, the university announced a partnership with defense contractor Precise Systems, Inc., to compete for up to $151 billion in Golden Dome contracts, a proposed system designed to destroy hypersonic, cruise, and ballistic missiles. The launch was also covered by 12News and azcentral.
The program opens for participants July 16.
Sources
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- aztechcouncil.org retrieved 27/05/2026 18:36
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 27/05/2026 18:36. Every claim traces to a source.
