Paul Garrett Kaminski[2] (born September 16, 1942)[3] is a technologist and former U.S. government official, best known for his leading role in the development of stealth aircraft.
Kaminski was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1942 and graduated from John Marshall High School in 1960. He received his B.S. degree in Engineering Science from the Air Force Academy in 1964. Kaminski earned M.S. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics and in Electrical Engineering from MIT in 1966 and a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University in 1971.[3] His doctoral thesis was entitled Square Root Filtering and Smoothing for Discrete Processes.[2]
Kaminski served 20 years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force, mostly within Air Force Systems Command, rising to the rank of full colonel. Among other Air Force assignments, Kaminski was responsible for test and evaluation of inertial guidance components for the LGM-30 Minuteman missile and terminal guidance systems for the first U.S. precision-guided munitions.[4]
In 1971 Kaminski was assigned to the National Reconnaissance Office and based in Los Angeles.[5] There he led work on a space system and related "unconventional imaging" technology, including the flying of prototypes on low and high altitude aircraft. This assignment, possibly related to the Lacrosse radar satellite, continued until 1976[4][5]
In 1976–77, Kaminski attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. During that time he met Under Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, and became Perry's Special Assistant in 1977. One of his assignments was to assess early work on stealth technology. Kaminski recommended going ahead with the creation of a large program that included, already by 1978, the experimental Have Blue airplane.[1][5][6]
When Perry left government in 1981, Kaminski became Director for Low Observables Technology, with responsibility for overseeing the development, production and fielding of major stealth aircraft systems such as the F-117 (already well underway at the time) and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit (which was just being defined), along with an advanced, stealthy cruise missile and other programs.[5] Kaminski held this position from 1981 to 1984.[4]
Kaminski left the Air Force after 20 years service in 1984. After a decade in the private sector, he returned to government in 1994 as Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Technology) from 1994 to 1997, under by-then Secretary of Defense William J. Perry. In this role, he was responsible for activities with an aggregate annual budget exceeding $100 billion. He is credited with starting the "Revolution in Business Affairs", a Pentagon acquisition reform initiative that was continued by his successor Jacques Gansler.[7]
Paul G. Kaminski receiving the 2006 National Medal of Technology from President George W. Bush
In his first period away from government work (1984–1994), Kaminski joined Perry in Technology Strategies and Alliances, an investment banking and technology strategy business, of which Kaminski eventually became chairman and chief executive officer.[5] Then and subsequently, he has served as a consultant and advisor to a wide variety of government agencies and as chairman, director or trustee of several defense and technology oriented companies.[4][8]
In 1994, Kaminski was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for leadership and technical contributions to stealth technology and military systems. He is also a Fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics.[4][8] Kaminski has been a member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, Chairman of the Defense Science Board, and has served as a member of the DNI's Senior Advisory Group, FBI Director's Advisory Board, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Technical Advisory Board, the National Academies Air Force Studies Board, and the Atlantic Council.
He has been the chief executive officer and president of Technovation Inc. since 1997.[9]
Kaminski has authored publications dealing with inertial and terminal guidance system performance, simulation techniques, Kalman filtering and numerical techniques applied to estimation problems.[4]
Leads the Board of Advisors for AFA’s CyberPatriot program, which inspires K-12 students toward careers in STEM disciplines critical to our nation’s future
National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2006) ("For his contributions to national security through the development of advanced, unconventional imaging from space, and for developing and fielding advanced systems with greatly enhanced survivability. He has made a profound difference in the national security posture and the global leadership of the United States")[10]
Air & Space Forces Association Lifetime Achievement Award ("In recognition of a lifetime of work advancing aerospace power, AFA awarded Dr. Paul Kaminski with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 Air, Space & Cyber Conference. The award was jointly presented by Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, Lt. Gen. David Deptula, Dean of AFA's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies; and Rachel Zimmerman, Director of CyberPatriot.”)[11]
National Aviation Hall of Fame (class of 2020) ("Led many technical aerospace programs, including guided munitions; lead developer of Stealth Technology; and directed F-117 and B-2 Programs”)[12]
Paul Kaminski receives enshrinement into the National Aviation Hall of FamePaul Kaminski delivering remarks at the 2022 National Aviation Hall_ of FamePaul Kaminski in front of the F-117A Stealth Fighter
Honorary Fellow of AIAA (2014) ("For leadership and vision in developing and applying advanced technology to enhance our National Security and National Intelligence capabilities”)[13]
Honorary Fellow of Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) (2021) ("for leading the development of advanced low-observable systems and system-of-systems, including the F-117, the first operational stealth attack aircraft and the tools, training and weapons to effectively employ the systems")[citation needed]
Ronald Reagan Award, US Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency (2011)[14]
William J Perry Award ("in recognition of superb contributions to precision strike systems") (2015)[15][16]
IEEE Simon Ramo Medal, (2015) ("For leading the development of advanced low-observable systems and system-of-systems, including the F-117, the first operational stealth attack aircraft and the tools, training and weapons to effectively employ the systems")[17]
Member of the National Academy of Engineering (1994) ("For leadership and technical contributions to stealth technology and military systems")[18]
AIAA Reed Aeronautics award (2013) ("For leadership and vision in developing and applying advanced technology to enhance our National Security and National Intelligence capabilities")[19]
Fellow of IEEE (1998) (For pioneering contributions to Stealth/Counter-stealth technology and its application which fundamentally changed the nature of warfare and revolutionized design priorities of both offensive and defensive weapons systems and sensors.)[20]
^ abc"Nominations Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Second Session, 103d Congress: Hearings Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate". Vol. 103, no. 873. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1994. pp. 1062–1065. ISBN978-0-16-046386-0.
^David C. Aronstein and Albert C. Piccirillo, Have Blue and the F-117A: evolution of the "Stealth Fighter" (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1997).
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
