Earlier this month, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS) named Robert Winkler, former Professional Staff Member for the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services and staff-lead for the Air Land Subcommittee, as the company’s Vice President of Corporate Development & National Security Programs.
In this role, Winkler will focus on developing strategies for aligning Kratos’ development efforts with U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Congressional, and Executive Branch priorities, as well as communicating the value of Kratos’ low-cost, high-performance technology, solutions, and breakthroughs to national defense and governmental leaders.
Winkler has more than 25 years of military and legislative experience. In his most recent position with the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Winkler was responsible for oversight of all U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army programs, as well as DoD space activities, including U.S. Space Force and Space Command, manned and unmanned aviation, electro-magnetic spectrum operations, warfighting networks and hypersonic/counter-hypersonic weapons development within the Pentagon.
“I have been tremendously impressed by the innovation I have seen across Kratos and, particularly, in the strategically critical areas of Tactical UAVs, space systems and hypersonics,” said Winkler. “Kratos’ work with affordable drones, such as the Valkyrie and Mako, is changing the way the national security community and the world at large are thinking about warfighting in an unmanned world. In the space domain, Kratos’ OpenSpace virtual ground system technology is the most advanced solution I have seen that directly addresses growing management and operating concerns as space becomes a more crowded and contested environment. I am excited about the future of Kratos and to join the team.”
“We could not be more pleased to have a professional with Bob’s stature and reputation join Kratos,” said Ben Goodwin, Kratos’ Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. “The depth of his knowledge and his experience not only in the missions, systems, and technologies where Kratos is focused, but also the inner workings of both the Pentagon and Congress, will advance the applicability of Kratos’ affordable, leading-edge solutions toward meeting defense needs while bending the defense cost curve and increasing warfighter capability.”