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.

Ellen Chang is a deep-tech investor focused on the maritime and space domains. 

She is Managing Director at CapZone Impact Investments, and Co-Founder and Co-President of Wharton Aerospace.

She served the U.S. Navy as an Intelligence Officer, later working on JP Morgan’s aerospace team and founding a B2B aviation parts sourcing startup. 

She spent 12 years at Northrop Grumman, holding leadership roles across systems engineering, program management, and advanced systems, with work spanning autonomous air and space platforms.

This episode covers:
- Deep tech investor insights.
- Drone adoption and reducing cognitive load.
- Why manufacturing scale, not just innovation, wins wars.

00:00 - Intro
01:07 - Taiwan’s defense strategy: Standing on their own vs. US support
03:07 - Geopolitics and the "Chip Deal": China’s path to self-reliance
04:42 - The ITAR debate: Should the US "drown the world" in American tech?
05:23 - Why the US struggles with "trinkets," motors, and batteries
06:39 - Economic Statecraft: Lessons from the Great Depression & WWII
08:01 - Revitalizing the Maritime Sector: US vs. China’s $90B investment
09:48 - Partnering with allies to accelerate manufacturing speed
12:00 - Is American innovation too arrogant? Lessons from South Korea
13:08 - The "Hard Tech" Founder Profile: MIT, Stanford, Palantir, and SpaceX
14:59 - Ellen’s investment philosophy: De-risking the "Go-to-Market"
16:23 - Advice for young people entering the "Defense Tech Rage"
17:59 - The Wharton Effect: Why MBAs and Vets are moving into defense
19:36 - Defense Tech as an emerging asset class
21:01 - AI Infrastructure: Data center risks and 2-year backlogs
23:11 - The Future of Autonomy: Adoption challenges in the "System of Systems"
25:01 - Lowering the "Cognitive Load": Designing tech for the 18-year-old warfighter
26:49 - Moving the Bureaucracy: Using safety arguments to improve UI/UX
28:04 - Closing Remarks

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.

Ellen Chang is a deep-tech investor focused on the maritime and space domains.

She is Managing Director at CapZone Impact Investments, and Co-Founder and Co-President of Wharton Aerospace.

She served the U.S. Navy as an Intelligence Officer, later working on JP Morgan’s aerospace team and founding a B2B aviation parts sourcing startup. 

She spent 12 years at Northrop Grumman, holding leadership roles across systems engineering, program management, and advanced systems, with work spanning autonomous air and space platforms.

This episode covers:
- Taiwan and China geopolitics.
- Ukraine War as a preview of future drone warfare.
- Why Taiwan rapidly built a domestic drone industry.

00:00 - Teaser
01:05 - Introduction: Meet deep tech investor Ellen Chang
01:42 - Ukraine as the "Spanish Civil War" precursor to WWII tech
02:38 - Ukraine's decentralized "factory" model vs. US Bureaucracy
04:04 - The Lobbying Game: Why startups need lobbyists early
05:28 - Ellen’s Journey: Growing up in Taiwan in the 60s
06:46 - Career Path: Navy Intelligence, Banking, and Northrop Grumman
08:04 - Leaving the Primes: The early days of DJI and 3D Robotics
09:36 - Re-industrializing America: Opportunity Zones and Shipyards
10:24 - Taiwan’s economic rise and export-oriented history
12:32 - Reshoring manufacturing: Decoupling from Shenzhen and Guangdong
13:55 - The Generational Divide: Taiwanese Identity vs. Reunification
15:50 - Galvanizing Identity: Lessons from the 2014 invasion of Ukraine
17:02 - Successors of Industry: The US-educated "Second Generation"
18:58 - Invasion Scenarios: The geography and defensibility of Taiwan
20:56 - Building a native drone industry from scratch in two years
23:08 - Legacy: Protecting democracy for the next generation

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.

Chad McCoy is a Co-Founder and the Chief Growth Officer at Firestorm Labs. He’s a Special Operations Veteran and retired Chief Master Sergeant from the United States Air Force’s 24th Special Tactics Squadron.

The convo covers:
-Importance of a military background as a defense tech founder.
-Speeding up DoD adoption.
-Firestorm’s strategy.
-Winning the Pacific.

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.