Layne Merritt has 39 years as an aerospace professional. He started with 22 years as an Army helicopter and airplane pilot, conducting military operations worldwide. As an experimental test pilot, he led the early work on what is now the CH-47F Chinook.
Layne then served as Chief Engineer at PEO Aviation, and as Chief Engineer and Deputy Director at the DEVCOM Aviation and Missile Center, where he worked to connect technology to new military capability — notably the Joint Multirole Technology Demonstrators, Operations in Degraded Visual Environment, and Launched Effects.
After 34 years with the Army, Layne joined industry as Chief Technology Officer at Elbit America and VP/GM of Airborne Systems at IntelliSense Systems. He has done extensive work internationally and with NATO.
At LuftCar, Layne creates defense opportunities with special focus on US and NATO military mission needs.