Robert Winkler currently serves as Vice President of Corporate Development & National Security Programs for Kratos Defense. Additionally, he is a non-resident fellow at the Mitchell Institute, an aerospace power focused think tank in Washington D.C,
Prior to joining Kratos, Robert served as a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee and was the Staff-lead for the Air Land Subcommittee, responsible for legislative oversight of all Air Force and Army programs. Additionally, he was responsible for oversight of all space activities including U.S. Space Force and Space Command, all manned and unmanned aviation in DoD, electro-magnetic spectrum operations, warfighting networks, and hypersonic/counter-hypersonic weapons development for the Department of Defense.
In previous roles, Robert served as the Director of the Weapons Systems Division for the U.S. Air Force Legislative Liaison Office, as Special Assistant to the Director of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), and as an F-16 Weapons Officer and operational commander with assignments in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Robert holds a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Illinois, an M.A. in National Security Policy from American Public University, an M.S. in Strategy and Joint Campaign Planning from National Defense University, and an M.S. in National Security Strategy from the National War College
Congress and the National Security Enterprise