Episodes

Dec. 12, 2025

Building Low-Cost Deep Strike Weapons for Modern War | Mike Weigand

Mike Weigand, Founder and CEO of Aventra Defense Systems, joins the show to unpack a radically different approach to long-range strike and mass precision. Aventra Defense Systems Mike Weigand on LinkedIn Aventra is building l...

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Nov. 28, 2025

The Rare Earths Problem: Inside America’s Supply Chain Fight | Drew H…

Drew Horne, founder and CEO of GreenMet, joins the show to break down the rare earth crisis and what the United States needs to do to remain competitive. He previously led critical minerals policy work inside the White House,...

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Nov. 14, 2025

Defense Production, China, and American Power | Morgan Murphy

Morgan Murphy joins the show to talk national security, defense manufacturing, and why he’s running for U.S. Senate in Alabama. Murphy is a 26-year Navy Reserve captain, former Pentagon press secretary, and national security ...

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Nov. 8, 2025

Why True Drone Swarms Don't Exist Yet | Emma Bates

Emma Bates, co-founder and CEO of Cachai, joins the show to break down what true drone swarming actually means and why almost no one has achieved it. Drawing from her background in defense modernization and distributed system...

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Oct. 31, 2025

How to Redefine Battlefield Logistics with 3D Printing | Dan Magy

Dan Magy, co-founder and CEO of Firestorm, returns to the show for a live episode recorded at Battlefield 2027. Firestorm is building deployable, modular 3D printing systems that can manufacture drones, parts, and tools direc...

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Oct. 25, 2025

Jet Engines & Reinventing Oil Systems for Next-Gen Weaponry | Rob Sla…

Rob Sladen is the Chairman and CEO of Zulu Pods, a company pioneering next-generation lubrication and fluid delivery systems for aerospace and defense. Before founding Zulu Pods, Sladen spent 13 years at Pratt & Whitney desig...

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Oct. 17, 2025

The GovCon Game: Relationships and Red Tape | John Ferry

John Ferry returns to the show for one of the most blunt conversations yet about the defense startup ecosystem. From the realities of selling to government and surviving the “valley of death” to the cultural dysfunction insid...

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Oct. 13, 2025

Inside AV Inc: Drones, Directed Energy, and Defense Innovation | Chur…

Church Hutton, Chief Growth Officer at AV Inc. (formerly AeroVironment), joins the show for a deep dive into the future of autonomous systems, directed energy, and defense innovation. A retired Army officer and longtime Hill ...

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Oct. 11, 2025

Autonomous Fighter Drones and the Next Era of Air Superiority | Jeff …

Jeff Wright, founder and CEO of SplashOne Robotics, joins the show to discuss how his company is developing small, purpose-built fighter drones to redefine air superiority. A former Marine and Air Force Special Tactics Office...

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Oct. 3, 2025

Solid Rocket Motors and America’s Hypersonic “Sputnik Moment” | Max V…

Max Vozoff, Chief Technology Officer at X-Bow Systems, joins the show to discuss the urgent challenges and opportunities in America’s solid rocket motor industry.

With decades of experience, including early work a...

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Sept. 26, 2025

FAA, DJI, and the Next Era of U.S. Drone Innovation | Todd Graetz, CE…

Todd Graetz, co-founder and CEO of Aerolane, joins the show to share how his aviation startup is reimagining air cargo with autonomous glider-based aircraft. From his early work launching one of the first large-scale drone pr...

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Sept. 19, 2025

Advanced Radar Detection, Modular Sensing, and Dual-Use Innovation | …

Jon Dandrow , CEO of Radenso and Strikeman, joins the show to talk about building advanced radar detection systems, modular sensing hardware, and consumer-to-defense innovation. From hacking traffic cameras in his college yea...

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Sept. 12, 2025

Modular Jamming, AI Detection, and the Rise of DroneShield | Matt McC…

Matt McCrann, U.S. Navy veteran and CEO of DroneShield US, joins the show to talk about the evolving fight against drone threats. From handheld jammers like the DroneGun MkIV to advanced sensor fusion and AI-powered RF detect...

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Sept. 5, 2025

From Industrial Robots to Defense Infrastructure | Troy Demmer, Gecko…

Troy Demmer is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Gecko Robotics, the industrial tech company behind wall-climbing inspection robots and the full-stack software platform reshaping how we manage critical infrastructur...

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Aug. 29, 2025

The Reality of Selling to the Pentagon | Mike Canty

Mike Canty, co-founder and CEO of Armaments Research Company, joins the show to discuss the future of defense tech and the realities of building hardware startups for the Pentagon. A former Army major, Mike now leads ARC in d...

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Aug. 22, 2025

The Future of Drone Swarms and Counter-UAS | Kyle Hardy & Ashkan Baya…

Kyle Hardy, CEO of Hardy Dynamics, and Ashkan Bayatpour, U.S. Navy Reserve Officer, join the show to break down the future of drone warfare and the challenges of building software for autonomous swarms. We dig into the realit...

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Aug. 15, 2025

Inside Ukraine's Drone War and the Defense Tech Bubble | Patrick Blum…

Defense tech insider Patrick Blumenthal breaks down the latest developments in Ukraine's drone warfare evolution and the Vector vs. RedCat lawsuit shaking up the industry. From Russia's new evasion modules and radar warning r...

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Aug. 1, 2025

Russia’s Next Move: Middle East, Arms, and Influence | Matt Tavares &…

Russia’s ambitions extend far beyond Ukraine. In this episode, we’re joined by two experts with deep regional and strategic insight: former Army intelligence officer Matt Tavares, and Anna Borshchevskaya, Senior Fellow at The...

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July 25, 2025

Reinventing Radar: Building the Future of ISR from Space | Andrew Pet…

Andrew Peterson is the co-founder and CEO of Array Labs, a startup building 3D imaging radar satellites to compete with billion-dollar airborne ISR platforms at a fraction of the cost. In this episode, Andrew breaks down why ...

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July 18, 2025

Fundraising, Focus, and Failure: Hard Truths About Defense Startups |…

Kirsten Bartok Touw is the co-founder and Managing Partner of New Vista Capital, a venture firm focused exclusively on aerospace, space, and defense. In this episode, Kirsten joins to talk about investing in dual-use tech, st...

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July 11, 2025

Building Unmanned Warships for the Navy | Austin Gray, Blue Water Aut…

Austin Gray, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Blue Water Autonomy, joins the podcast to break down the future of autonomous naval warfare. From unmanned ships that carry large payloads to the technical and political c...

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July 7, 2025

Autonomous Boats and the Future of Naval Warfare | Paul Lwin, HavocAI

Paul Lwin is the co-founder and CEO of HavocAI, a defense startup building collaborative autonomous surface vessels. In this episode, Paul breaks down the company’s tech stack, their strategic approach to naval warfare, and h...

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June 27, 2025

The Future of the Army: Autonomy, AI, and Combat Innovation | General…

General James Rainey leads the U.S. Army’s effort to prepare for the next war. As the Commanding General of Army Futures Command, he’s focused on adapting to a battlefield shaped by drones, autonomy, and AI. In this conversat...

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June 20, 2025

Can the U.S. Still Build Things? Fixing the Industrial Base | Miles A…

Miles Arnone, CEO of Re:Build Manufacturing, joins the podcast to explain why American manufacturing fell behind—and how to bring it back. We dive into defense supply chains, national security vulnerabilities, rare earth magn...

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