John Michael "Mike" Dahm

Mike Dahm is a Senior Resident Fellow for Aerospace and China Studies at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. His current focus areas include military air and space technology, Indo-Pacific security affairs, and challenges presented by China across the spectrum of competition. Prior to joining Mitchell, Dahm worked for federally funded research organizations, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and then the MITRE Corporation, advising sponsors across the U.S. national security enterprise and supporting advanced research & development programs. 

Dahm served as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer for over 25 years in several diverse staff and operational assignments including combat tours in the Balkans and Iraq. He has focused on Indo-Pacific security matters since 2006 when he was assigned to the U.S. Pacific Command. From 2012-2015, he was the Assistant Naval Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China. In his final tour, he served as the Senior Naval Intelligence Officer for China at the Office of Naval Intelligence. 

Dahm previously taught a graduate course on China’s military capabilities and strategy at the National Intelligence University. He holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California and an M.S. in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University. He has authored a number of widely cited articles on military issues in the Indo-Pacific, most notably for the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute.