Brigadier General (USAF, Retired) James “Cliffy” Cluff is an internationally recognized expert in the field of airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations, remotely operated/autonomous vehicles, and the capabilities needed to defeat them. He is currently the Aviation Program Director at Montana Statue University’s Gallatin College.
Brigadier General Cluff graduated from the US Air Force Academy and attended intelligence officer training at Goodfellow AFB, Texas. He earned his pilot wings at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, and flew multiple variants of the F-16 Fighting Falcon in three operational assignments. Possessing a reputation for transformational leadership, he was hand-picked by senior USAF leaders in 2006 to assist in leading the nascent remotely piloted aircraft enterprise during its rapid growth. Over the next fifteen years, he brought innovation and operational focus to the community, helping to grow the enterprise to a truly global force. In his last active-duty assignment, he served as the senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for all elements of the Joint Force’s airborne intelligence capabilities and sensitive reconnaissance operations.
Upon his retirement from the USAF, he brought his technical, collaboration, and leadership skills to the commercial, research, and education sectors. He is a founding Partner and Chief Operating Officer of the consulting firm SOAR BEYOND, a Disabled Veteran-Owned and Woman-Owned small business headquartered in Gallatin Gateway, Montana. He has performed in a senior advisor/analyst role for several consulting and management consulting firms including Jones Group International, Kearney Middle East, Deep Water Point, Cortland Advisors, and Victory Six Advisors. He is an Advisory Board member for Jaxon.AI, Fortem Technologies, and the Aviation Unmanned Vehicle Museum. James is an adjunct research staff member at the Institute for Defense Analyses, a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), where he specialized in working with our partners in the Indo-Pacific region to further develop and enhance their ISR, uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), and Counter UAS capabilities. He is routinely invited to present at major US and international defense shows and conferences.
He is a Certified Flight Instructor-Instrument and holds a commercial pilot certificate with instrument, single engine, and multi engine ratings. He is also a Part 107 FAA-certified sUAS pilot.
