Col. Michael Francis, USAF, Ret. Consultant

Dr. Michael Francis is an aerospace executive and technologist with over 45 years of experience in architecting and leading cutting edge research and technology programs spanning government, industry and academia. He currently serves as an independent consultant in aerospace and related advanced technology subjects. 

Francis is perhaps best known for his pioneering work in unmanned air systems development, having initiated the original Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) and Micro Air Vehicle programs while serving at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the early-90s. Then Colonel Francis also directed the award-winning US-German X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Program through its flight test phase during the same timeframe. He later returned to the Department of Defense (DOD) as the Director for the $4B DARPA-Air Force-Navy Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) Program, the successor to UCAV and the largest unmanned air system development to that point in time. 

Dr. Francis began his professional career as an officer in the US Air Force. Many of his military assignments were centered on research and development, including his first at the U.S. Air Force Academy as a research scientist and professor. He later served as a program manager for advanced fluid mechanics and aerodynamics research at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, establishing the Air Force’s first initiatives in flow control. Following graduation from the Defense Systems Management College, he went on to manage advanced space system development efforts at what is now the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. These included satellite programs for the Strategic Defense Initiative, and later classified space system development efforts. In his last military assignment as the chief architect of the Pentagon’s Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO), Francis led the development of the DOD’s first integrated air and space surveillance architecture in collaboration with the National Reconnaissance Office. 

Following his military retirement in 1997, Francis joined unmanned aircraft industry pioneer Aurora Flight Sciences, where he co-founded and served as the first president of Athena Technologies, a start-up control technology company subsequently acquired by Rockwell Collins. He later held executive and leadership roles in the aerospace industry, serving as an executive with both Lockheed Martin and General Atomics. Francis recently served as the Chief, Advanced Programs and Senior Fellow at the United Technologies Research Center (UTRC), where he created and led its initiative to develop Autonomous and Intelligent Systems. From 2011 until 2015, he also served in the dual role of Program Executive, Optionally Piloted and Autonomous Systems at Sikorsky Aircraft. He guided Sikorsky’s Autonomy R&D program that ultimately led to the MATRIXTM autonomous technology suite and Sikorsky’s Autonomy Research Aircraft (SARA). Francis also helped shape UTRC’s initiative in intelligent robotics and led other projects, including aircraft propulsion-enabled control until he retired in December 2017. 

Dr. Francis holds B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He has served on several major university engineering advisory boards, and currently serves on the NASA Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. He has authored or co-authored more than 40 open literature publications. Francis became a licensed private pilot in 1964. 

Francis’ major awards include the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Wright Brothers Lectureship; Smithsonian Air & Space Museum Trophy (in 1995, for X-31); the German Aerospace Society (DGLR) “Ehrennadel der Deutschen Luftfahrt” Medal; Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Colorado; the AIAA Distinguished Service Award; the AIAA Hap Arnold Award for Aeronautical Program Management; the Israel Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ Von Karman Memorial Lectureship; an Aviation Week & Space Technology Aerospace Laurels Award, and numerous military awards and decorations. In 2016, he was elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. 

Dr. Francis resides in Solana Beach, California with his wife, Barbara.