Jackie Barbieri is the CEO and co-founder of WhiteSpace, a defense tech company applying advanced AI to real-world national security and operational challenges.  

Her work bridges AI, defense innovation, and operator-informed design, building systems that perform in contested, real-world environments. 

About Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.

Jarren Reid is the CEO and Co-Founder of Usul, an AI platform that helps companies win government contracts across 60+ nations. Its goal is to build a global marketplace for governments to buy products quickly, starting with defense. 

About Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.

Andy Markoff is a former Special Operations Officer in the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, and currently the Co-Founder and CEO of Smack Technologies, which uses deep reinforcement learning and machine learning to accelerate critical decision-making from the command center to the front lines. 

Dan and Andy discuss speeding up military kill-chains and command decisions for better "decision dominance" in future conflicts, especially amid rising Indo-Pacific tensions.

About Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.

Lito Villanueva is a U.S. Air Force veteran, a communications specialist, and was most recently a combat drone pilot in Ukraine. 

Born in the Philippines and raised in a military family in California, he served in the Air Force before working with the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and supporting Joint Special Operations Command through a Special Missions Unit. 

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lito volunteered on the ground, initially delivering humanitarian aid across the country, before applying his expertise to tactical communications with the International Legion of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. 

In his last assignment before his service ended, Lito was a Team Leader for a drone team in 3rd Regiment Ukrainian Special Operational Forces. 

A combat veteran of multiple wars, Lito now supports frontline efforts in Ukraine in a civilian capacity, applying capital investments in critical technologies, and sharing operational lessons learned with military units and leaders in the United States. 

About Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.

Lito Villanueva is a U.S. Air Force veteran, a communications specialist, and was most recently a combat drone pilot in Ukraine. 

Born in the Philippines and raised in a military family in California, he served in the Air Force before working with the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and supporting Joint Special Operations Command through a Special Missions Unit. 

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lito volunteered on the ground, initially delivering humanitarian aid across the country, before applying his expertise to tactical communications with the International Legion of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. 

In his last assignment before his service ended, Lito was a Team Leader for a drone team in 3rd Regiment Ukrainian Special Operational Forces. 

A combat veteran of multiple wars, Lito now supports frontline efforts in Ukraine in a civilian capacity, applying capital investments in critical technologies, and sharing operational lessons learned with military units and leaders in the United States. 

About Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.

Lito Villanueva is a U.S. Air Force veteran, a communications specialist, and was most recently a combat drone pilot in Ukraine. 

Born in the Philippines and raised in a military family in California, he served in the Air Force before working with the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and supporting Joint Special Operations Command through a Special Missions Unit. 

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lito volunteered on the ground, initially delivering humanitarian aid across the country, before applying his expertise to tactical communications with the International Legion of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. 

In his last assignment before his service ended, Lito was a Team Leader for a drone team in 3rd Regiment Ukrainian Special Operational Forces. 

A combat veteran of multiple wars, Lito now supports frontline efforts in Ukraine in a civilian capacity, applying capital investments in critical technologies, and sharing operational lessons learned with military units and leaders in the United States. 

About Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.

Lito Villanueva is a U.S. Air Force veteran, a communications specialist, and was most recently a combat drone pilot in Ukraine. 

Born in the Philippines and raised in a military family in California, he served in the Air Force before working with the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and supporting Joint Special Operations Command through a Special Missions Unit. 

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lito volunteered on the ground, initially delivering humanitarian aid across the country, before applying his expertise to tactical communications with the International Legion of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. 

In his last assignment before his service ended, Lito was a Team Leader for a drone team in 3rd Regiment Ukrainian Special Operational Forces. 

A combat veteran of multiple wars, Lito now supports frontline efforts in Ukraine in a civilian capacity, applying capital investments in critical technologies, and sharing operational lessons learned with military units and leaders in the United States. 

About Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.

This episode dives into the most prominent shifts in the combat history of UAVs. Dan covers UAV tech from the following eras:  

• Radio-Controlled Aerial Weapons (WWI 1917). 
• Reconnaissance UAVs (Cold War & Vietnam1950s-1970s). 
• UAVs in the 90s (Desert Storm). 
• UAVs in Iraq and Afghanistan (2001-2021). 
• Mass-Scale, Low-Cost Drone Warfare (Russia-Ukraine War, 2022 - Present). 

About Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.

Mike Sims is the Co-Founder and CEO of Empirium, a unified marketplace platform connecting verified buyers and suppliers across aerospace, defense and manufacturing. 

This convo covers:  

• Why China dominates 45% of global manufacturing & how we became dangerously dependent.  
• Building a trusted defense/aerospace marketplace.  
• Amplifying the voices of end-users. 

About Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.

Mike Sims is the Co-Founder and CEO of Empirium, a unified marketplace platform connecting verified buyers and suppliers across aerospace, defense and manufacturing. 

This episode covers:  

• 9/11 moment that made him drop everything to join the fight.   
• Arabic language mastery.  
• Becoming a Marine Raider.  

About Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.