Stay ConnectedMilitary technology, trends, and national security…presented with unique insights, salt, and wit from combat aviator veterans and industry experts.
Fence in for interviews and anecdotes about the ins, outs, and happenings at the intersection of technology, industry, strategy, and policy of aerospace and national defense.
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Buying a fighter jet is the cheap part.
Mike sits down with Jim Becker, President and CEO of Perfect Point EDM, to talk about the biggest line in any defense program: keeping the fleet flying.
Perfect Point builds the E-Drill, which uses electro discharge machining (EDM) to pull aircraft fasteners. Founded in 2005, it turned a lab curiosity into a fielded tool that removes a rivet in about 30 seconds instead of 10 minutes, with no debris and almost no rework.
Jim's take is blunt. The aircraft modernized, the maintenance tooling did not, and the industry keeps papering over it by leaning on a shrinking pool of skilled mechanics.
Topics include:
Operations and maintenance as the biggest cost in a program
Electro discharge machining applied to fastener removal
Cutting a 10 minute rivet job down to 30 seconds
Eliminating foreign object debris and rework on titanium airframes
Why maintenance tooling never modernized
Winning over risk-averse engineers with the material science case
The shrinking pool of skilled aircraft mechanics
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Chapters
00:00
00:28 intro
02:06 the MRO space
02:53 the founding story
04:38 from the Marine Corps to Boeing
06:10 framing the rivet problem
07:01 tooling stuck in the 60s
07:43 titanium and steel fasteners
08:54 no FOD, no mess
09:46 the three step process
10:27 four to five times faster
10:49 killing the rework
11:52 problems everybody just accepts
13:49 the miracle-worker culture
14:55 the aging workforce
16:49 winning over the engineers
17:32 the launch that fell flat
20:21 SBIRs and the valley of death
21:39 fall in love with the problem
22:09 conventional wisdom that's wrong
24:47 making do with less
26:03 go talk to the mechanics
28:29 the stance he'll defend
30:12 where to learn more
31:03 outro
Test is where new military hardware goes to wait.
Mike sits down with Jenn Wilson, Head of Federal at Nominal, to talk about test and evaluation, the least glamorous gate between a program and the warfighter.
Nominal builds test data infrastructure for hardware. Founded in 2022 by Anduril, Palantir, and Lockheed Martin alumni, it reached a $1 billion valuation in March.
Jenn’s take is that acceleration comes from optimizing what you test for. Cutting test points is the wrong lever.
Topics include:
Test and evaluation as a mission enabler
High rate, multimodal test data
Real-time telemetry and closing the test loop
DARPA CIPHER Forge and digital twins
Closing the sim to real gap
The F-35 crowdsourced flight data program
Knowledge parity between primes and government testers
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Chapters:
00:00
00:32 intro
01:47 why this, why now
02:32 test is not sexy
03:47 test as an afterthought
05:40 more data, less insight
07:18 where the name comes from
07:54 the founding story
10:43 Mike is a user
11:16 streaming telemetry in real time
13:14 design of experiments
15:17 the Fid Labs acquisition
16:31 DARPA CIPHER Forge
19:35 closing the sim to real gap
20:21 the commercial side
23:31 lessons from Ukraine
25:00 F-35 crowdsourced flight data
27:15 fleet bugs found in days
29:07 combined test force
31:50 experimental operations unit
32:34 speeding up test
33:09 the pilot taking fire
34:21 knowledge parity with the primes
35:18 a billion dollar valuation
36:03 hiring at Nominal
#defensetech #podcast #military #testandevaluation #flighttest #digitaltwins #darpa #f35 #autonomy #nationalsecurity #airforce #dualuse #militarytechnology
How do systems operate when GPS disappears?
Mike sits down with Kara Kramer, Vice President ofRaptor Sales at Vantor (formerly Maxar Intelligence), to discuss one of the most important challenges facing modern autonomous systems: operating when GPS is jammed, spoofed, or completely unavailable.
We discuss vision-based navigation (VBN), 3D geospatialintelligence, and why resilient autonomy depends on more than just the drone itself. From electronic warfare to contested operations, this conversation examines how software and spatial intelligence are enabling unmanned operations, and Vantor’s unique approach.
This isn’t just about navigation—coordinate generation and targeting elements are equally important.
Topics include:
• Vision-based navigation
• 3D geospatial intelligence
• Targeting without GPS
BONUS: Kara also shares her professional journey and how she got into the defense industry!
Whether you're building autonomous systems, working indefense technology, or simply interested in where drone technology is headed, this episode provides an inside look at one of the fastest-moving areas in aerospace.
TOGETHER WITH VANTOR.
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00:00
00:01:11 intro
00:01:54 Vantor history
00:03:26 Raptor origins
00:03:59 Vantor backstory
00:05:39 The SpaceX of VBN
00:06:32 Raptor VBN
00:10:11 issues with GPS
00:12:44 pre-GPS terrain nav
00:13:46 the Hub
00:15:20 no hardware?
00:17:57 how it all works
00:20:47 geo-registered coordinates
00:26:27 Kara's journey in defense
00:28:24 Vantor in Drone Dominance
00:35:19 Vantor partnerships
00:39:02 contrarian takes
00:40:37 fast cheap good triangle
00:42:01 final thoughts
#defensetech #dronetechnology #autonomy #gps #jamming #electronicwarfare #uas #drones #militarytechnology #geospatial #navigation #navigation #pnt #isr #aerospace #defenseinnovation #nationalsecurity #intelligence #intel #military
Anduril Industries raised $5 billion at a reported $61billion valuation—putting a nine-year-old defense tech company in the same conversation as legacy primes that have been building weapons for generations.
How did they do it, what is their strategy, and does the math make sense?
In this episode, Mike and Matthew take a deep dive inside Anduril’s products, revenue, contracts, and business strategy. They break down the Series H raise, the company’s rapid valuation climb, the difference between contract ceilings and booked revenue, and why visible federal obligations onlytell part of the story.
They also examine Anduril’s expanding product portfolio, anddebate the core question behind the company’s $61B price tag: Is Anduril the future of defense industrial production, or is the market pricing in near-flawless execution?
Topics include:
- Anduril’s $5B Series H and $61B valuation
- The gap between reported revenue and visible federalobligations
- Why Special Operations and the Border Patrol matter morethan most people realize
- The $20B Army enterprise vehicle—and why it is a rail, not acheck
- Barracuda, Fury, Arsenal-1, and hyperscale defensemanufacturing
- How Anduril compares to Lockheed, Northrop, GeneralDynamics, RTX, and Palantir
- The bull and bear case for Anduril’s long-term strategy
- What to watch next: IPO timing, task orders, deliveries, andrevenue growth
- The real bet: for Anduril to justify today’s valuation, ithas to grow from a $2B revenue company into a $20B+ revenue company very quickly.
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00:00
00:34 intro
01:20 Premium newsletter!
02:10 Anduril intro
02:26 Matthrew intro
04:32 Anduril 101
06:52 Anduril's fundraising
07:25 the next 24 months
07:38 revenue breakdown
08:23 happenings between the raises
14:10 last 5 years of sales
15:47 counter-UAS
18:22 Steve vs Steve approach
19:14 C-UAS durability?
21:04 Altius
21:52 comparing valuations
23:21 sources of new revenue
23:33 Barracuda
24:08 CCA program
27:28 Lattice
28:20 Eagle Eye
31:18 Golden Dome
35:08 Anduril's strategy
38:53 next acquisition?
41:25 wrap-up
What does it actually take to get new technology into thehands of warfighters—and why is it still so hard?
In this episode, Mike sits down with the co-founders ofDcode, Meagan Metzger and Meg Vorland, to unpack the reality behind defense innovation, acquisition reform, and the flow of capital into the sector.
Dcode operates at a unique intersection—working withstartups, investors, and the Pentagon—giving them a rare, inside-out view of how the system really works.
We break down why most acquisition reform efforts fallshort, whether recent policy changes are hitting the right targets, and what conventional wisdom in defense innovation is simply wrong.
If you’re trying to understand how defense actually getsbuilt, funded, and fielded—this is the inside baseball.
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00:00
00:44 intro
01:19 Dcode origin story
04:55 founders, funders, and fighters
09:27 acquisition reform
12:32 risk vs the no-monster
15:58 buying speed vs rigor
16:44 contracting officer shortage
17:55 bigger worse contracts
21:04 defense catalyst
21:57 leadership and training
23:05 the bigger picture
25:33 budget line-item consolidation
28:16 pass a budget
30:41 investing in companies
36:05 misconceptions
38:28 colors and fallout
39:33 conflicts of interest
41:03 RAIC
41:30 300
42:12 pilot programs
46:42 fielding
47:29 magic wand
48:49 crystal ball
50:19 outro
All modern hardware depends on good software, but in theU.S. military, most software sucks.
Rob Slaughter, co-founder and CEO of Defense Unicorns, joins the show to unpack why this is happening and what they are doing to fix it.
We dive into the rise of “software as a weapon system,” therole of open-source software in national security, and how Defense Unicorns is building an air-gapped, platform-agnostic software delivery model designed for real-world military environments.
This episode is a must for anyone in defense. You’ll learn a ton about software—we guarantee!
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00:00
00:43 intro
01:09 Defense Unicorns name
04:28 origin story
06:38 the 3 I's
08:46 software sustainment burden
09:13 wrong incentive structure
12:31 software as a weapon system
14:39 rising tech debt
16:18 open source
18:46 open is more secure?
20:43 SBOM
22:24 solutions
23:05 fighter jet software updates
24:43 submarine software
25:52 UDS
27:05 disconnected software
28:34 Chinese software underneath US systems
30:48 competition
33:43 crystal ball
35:15 $136M fundraise
37:56 magic wand - fixed price contracts
40:14 McDonald's ice cream
#AI #Technology #Tech #Innovation #Cybersecurity #youtube #Military #DefenseTech #MilitaryTech #Startup #Software #Business
This is the untold origin story of the Fury CollaborativeCombat Aircraft (CCA), as told by those who lived it.
Scott Bledsoe and Joe Murray join Mike to talk about Fury’s very beginning—way back to 2016.
Now known as Anduril’s YFQ-44, Fury originated as an SBIR project from Blue Force Technologies and may go on to become a poster child of SBIR success stories. But it’s not all good news.
The experience—and the decision to sell to Anduril—motivated Scott and Joe to start a new type of investment fund called the DoD Accelerator.
DoD Accelerator bridges the gap between venture capital and private equity, addressing the ‘funding valley of death’ they faced and the factors that led to the decision to sell their company—and Fury—to Anduril.
This is packed with never-before-revealed details and serves as the backdrop for a broader conversation about the realities of having a company in the defense industry.
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• WOTR High-Low Mix Part I
• WOTR High-Low Mix Part II
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00:00
00:26 intro
01:50 Scott and Joe
07:21 DoD Accelerator
09:51 Fury origin story
11:24 SBIR
16:28 the high-low mix
17:11 writing to understand
18:29 F-117
19:04 no part 3
19:41 red air use-case
24:29 Bandit and ADAIR-UX
25:10 funding and the valley of death
28:04 the capital void
31:11 programs consolidate
32:28 Anduril acquisition
33:37 the small business divide
34:14 DoD Accelerator fit
36:12 Baxter Aerospace example
41:19 the cheat code
44:26 crystal ball
45:17 the prime cartel?
46:32 magic wand - IR&D policy change
49:10 policy hurts start-ups
52:51 DoD Accelerator focus areas
There is a strange set of organizations that live betweenindustry and government called Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs).
They play an important—but largely misunderstood role—in national security.
What better way to understand it all than with a guest who’sone of the most famous pop-culture examples: Christine Fox.
She was the real person who was portrayed as ‘Charlie’,Maverick’s civilian love interest, in Top Gun! She spent 40+ years working as an analyst in UARCs and a civilian leader at the Pentagon, culminating in serving as the acting Deputy Secretary of Defense.
Today, she continues to serve as a Fellow at Johns HopkinsUniversity’s Applied Physics Lab (JHU APL), which is the nation’s largest UARC.
This interview has a ton of inside baseball that you won’t find anywhere else!
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00:00 intro
00:35 Top Gun
01:33 Christine Fox
02:53 origin of FFRFC & UARC
05:36 access to classified info
08:30 tech transfer
11:33 independence
14:42 threat analysis story
16:35 misunderstandings
20:29 software and competition
24:32 fix the gray
27:11 what if they disappear?
27:39 Navy Red Sea support
28:29 hypersonics
30:08 Golden Dome
31:01 whole of nation approach
38:20 2026 resolutions
39:42 closing remarks
Mike sits down with Matt Hawkins and Nick LaRovere,co-founders of Pryzm.
Pryzm is building an Operating System for defense innovation—software that uses AI to generate capture intel to make sense of Pentagon budgets, Congressional legislation, program offices, and much more.
It’s AI to understand the Pentagon.
They help connect the dots between missions, markets, andpeople to power the future of national security.
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• Pryzm homepage https://pryzm.io
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00:00
01:43 intro
02:30 origin story
05:57 disclosure
07:07 2 PMs
08:47 Air Force tanker program
21:47 Golden Dome
28:12 sales vs business development
33:04 proactive vs reactive
34:59 intel to flip the script
37:56 a bubble?
41:18 flat toplines
43:05 requested vs executed
46:38 fundraise
48:27 DIU project
50:58 2026 outlook
55:29 outro
Chris "Snooze" Kurek, Rob “Trip” Raymond, and Erik“EZ” Brine chat with Mike “Pako” Benitez on all things fighter pilot culture—toast, roast, and lore.
Better known as Dos Gringos, Snooze, and Trip put out 4albums of fighter pilot songs that are famous (and infamous) in squadrons around the world. EZ joined the duo to form Operation Encore in 2012, a non-profit that helps veterans get their music into the world.
We dig into a century of fighter pilot history and traditions, from the origins of Dos Gringos, the squadron culture, roll call,Jermiah Weed, the ribbing and roasting, and all the camaraderie associated with military aviation.
They recently brought all of that into their latest venture, Winglore Spirits, and are doing it in a unique way that brings you into the fold.
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00:00
01:47 Dos Gringos
17:22 Operation Encore
24:03 AI music
27:27 The culture and bar origins
34:27 Jermiah Weed
38:13 Winglore Spirits
42:03 Bogey Dope
43:16 Nickel on the Grass
45:29 Winglore squadron
50:42 the Nellis Club
52:02 Dos Gringos concert?
54:45 outro
55:04 Carlos jumps in
56:23 I wish I had a gun like the A-10
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