Associate Director, Space Technology and Integration Laboratory
Walter M. Wirth, Jr. has a variety of duties including strategic planning, business development, proposal management, and research and development management for CNSS-related technologies.
Prior to joining SRI, Wirth was an active duty Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army. His final assignment was as a professor of system acquisition management at National Defense University. Earlier, he was the Military Deputy for the Low Observable Technology Applications Office, Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate, Army Research Laboratory, where he managed counter-sensor developments. He also held a wide variety of assignments within the Army Acquisition and Aviation communities, including managing engineering development programs, system fielding, advanced technology research, commanding Aviation and Cavalry units and instructing at the U.S. Army Aviation Center.
From 1995 to 1997, he was an assistant product manager with the Project Management Office for Aviation Electronic Combat in St Louis, MO, where he managed the engineering and manufacturing development of the Suite of Integrated Radio Frequency Countermeasures (SIRFC) program. He also managed the development and fielding of the Aviation Mission Planning System. Previously, he was assigned to the Project Manager’s Office for Combat Identification, where he directed advanced technology development and demonstrations.
Previously, Wirth was assigned to the U.S. Army Aviation Center, where he taught in the Graduate Branch of The Department of Gunnery and Flight systems, providing academic instruction for the Instructor Pilot Courses, Pre-Command Course, Fixed Wing Qualification Course, and advanced aircraft qualification training. While at the U.S. Army Aviation Center, he was also the Chief of Range and Gunnery Operations Branch and acted as Army Aviation’s proponent for gunnery training, training device requirements, and training ammunition resource identification and allocation.
Wirth was commissioned at, and was awarded a BS degree in engineering from, the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York. He holds an MS in systems management from the University of Denver, and an MS in aeronautical engineering from Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. His military education includes the Armor Officer Basic Course, the Aviation Officer Advanced Course, the Army Command and General Staff Officer Course, and Advanced Program Manager Course. He was an attack helicopter pilot, commanded D Company, 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment, and has also been assigned to 4th Squadron, 12th U.S. Cavalry.
Wirth is certified by the Department of Defense in Program Management, Level III and in DoD Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Life-cycle Management.
His membership in professional associations includes the Association of the U.S. Army, the Army Aviation Association of America, and the Association of Old Crows.
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