Capt Cole Turner is an Instructor in the Department of Astronautics at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He graduated from the Academy in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering and was commissioned as an acquisitions officer in the U.S. Air Force. Since commissioning, he has served in multiple program management roles supporting advanced radar threat systems at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, where he managed the sustainment, software development, and systems integration of major defense acquisition programs valued at more than $1.9 billion. In 2024, Capt Turner was selected for the Academy’s Advanced Academic Degree Faculty Pipeline and attended the Air Force Institute of Technology, where he earned a Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering in 2026. His graduate research focused on reverse engineering spacecraft using artificial intelligence and Systems Modeling Language Version 2 (SysML v2), with additional research in spacecraft image classification using machine learning and synthetic imagery. Following graduation, he joined the Department of Astronautics as an instructor, where he teaches astronautical engineering courses to numerous cadets at the Academy.

M.S., Astronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. (2024-2026)

B.S., Astronautical Engineering, United States Air Force Academy, Colo. (2017-2021)

U.S. Air Force, Joint Threat Emitter Range Systems Program Manager, Responsible for sustainment of radar system and installation of safety piece on deployed systems at over $450M, Hill AFB, Utah (2021-2022)

U.S. Air Force, Advanced Radar Threat Systems Variant 3 Program Manager, Responsible for software development and lead systems integrator contracts for a $1.5B radar threat system in TMRR and EMD phase, Hill AFB, UT (2022-2024)

U.S. Air Force Academy Dean of Faculty Department of Astronautics Instructor, Responsible for leading and instructing cadets in the realm of Astronautical Engineering (2021)

Advanced Academic Degree U.S. Air Force Academy Faculty Pipeline (AAD U.S. Air Force Academy FP) Selectee – Admission to AFIT Master’s Program with follow on instructor duty at the U.S. Air Force Academy (2024-present)

Dean and Athletic Director’s List – Graduated in 2021 with 4 semesters on the Dean’s list and 3 semesters on the Athletic Directors list at the U.S. Air Force Academy (2017-2021)

Quarterly Award – Company Grade Officer of the Quarter, Air Force Lifecycle Management Center out of 10 peers (2024)

Quarterly Award – Small Team of the Quarter, Air Force Lifecycle Management Center (2023)

Presidential Award for Excellence (2013)

Thesis on Reverse Engineering Spacecraft using Artificial Intelligence and SysML v2 (2026)