In this episode of Drone Wars, host Dan Magy sits down with Aaron Jacobson, Partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and the lead investor in Firestorm's Series A. Aaron pulls back the curtain on what top-tier venture capitalists look for when investing in the future of robotics, autonomy, and defense technology.

Aaron shares his unique journey from a young gamer obsessed with StarCraft and EverQuest to a leading investor shaping the future of deep tech. He reveals the critical lessons he learned from working on a DARPA-funded robotics project and why he believes the most effective solutions are often the simplest.

Join us as we explore the massive geopolitical and technological shifts that are forcing the U.S. and its allies to rethink military strategy, and why Aaron believes the "Zergling rush" — overwhelming an adversary with mass-produced, low-cost, attritable systems — is no longer a video game fantasy, but a strategic imperative.

Twitter: @aaronej
LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronejacobson/)
NEA Website: www.nea.com

www.launchfirestorm.com/

Timestamps:
00:00 - The Biggest Mistake in Robotics
00:26 - Introducing Aaron Jacobson, Lead Investor from NEA
01:05 - From Gamer to Tech Geek to Venture Capitalist
02:07 - The DARPA Robot That Changed Everything
02:51 - Why I Joined NEA: The Dream Job for a Tech Futurist
04:06 - What is NEA? A Venture Firm Built for Generational Companies
05:39 - The Most Important Question: What Were Your Favorite Video Games?
06:18 - How StarCraft Explains the Future of Warfare
07:29 - The "Zergling Rush" Strategy for Modern Defense
08:17 - Where Do Autonomous Systems Fit in Today's World?
09:55 - How Robots Will Reshape Global Industries
10:07 - My Controversial Take: Humanoid Robots Are a Mistake
11:38 - How a VC Picks a Winner in a 10-Year Arms Race
14:34 - The Investment Thesis for Defense-First Technology
15:23 - Why Now? The Geopolitical Shift Forcing Innovation
19:10 - The #1 Thing I Wish I Knew When I Started in Venture Capital
20:40 - My Prediction for Autonomous Systems in the Next Decade
23:20 - Why We Chose to Invest in Firestorm
25:48 - Where to Find and Follow Aaron Jacobson
26:11 - Outro

#DroneWars #DefenseTech #VentureCapital #NEA #AaronJacobson #Firestorm #MilitaryTechnology #Robotics #AutonomousSystems #UAS #Drones #Investing #Podcast #StarCraft #AI #FutureOfWarfare

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.

In Part II of our interview with Sam Bendett, Dan Magy continues the deep dive into how unmanned systems are transforming modern warfare—this time, focusing on the maritime domain. 

Sam explores how commercial tech is enabling smaller nations to rival traditional naval powers, why large legacy systems like aircraft carriers may soon be vulnerable, and how even civilian cargo ships could be weaponized through modular drone-launch systems. They also discuss the implications of proxy conflict, containerized drones, and how global shipping may be the next front in the drone war era.

Timestamps:
01:04 – Maritime drones go global: Taiwan, Turkey, Saronic
03:00 – Aircraft carriers vs. $200K boats: The power shift
05:30 – Ghost fleets: Modular, hidden, and fast
08:00 – When navies finally adapt: The “incident” theory
10:15 – Iran & China’s DIY drone carriers
13:30 – Civilian ships as drone platforms: The ethical gray zone
16:00 – Global shipping under threat: Red Sea to piracy-proof tankers
19:00 – Defense primes for commercial fleets?
20:30 – Proxy war, satellite intel, and global coordination

Twitter/X: @SamBendett
LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-bendett-06996018/)

#DroneWarfare #UkraineWar #RussiaMilitary #FPVdrones #UnmannedSystems #SamBendett #Firestorm #DronePodcast #ElectronicWarfare #MilitaryTech #DefenseTech #UGV #USV #NATO #DroneTactics #DroneSwarm

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.

Today, Dan Magy welcomes back Sam Bendett, open-source intelligence expert and senior fellow at CNA, for a hard-hitting breakdown of how drone warfare is evolving at breakneck speed. 

Sam explains how Ukrainian innovation and Russian industrial adaptation are reshaping military doctrine, what happens when thousands of drones are unleashed in a single night, and how the rise of unmanned systems is exposing weaknesses in NATO’s readiness. 

From North Korean pilots learning drone tactics to France's nuclear umbrella, no geopolitical thread is left untouched.

Timestamps:
01:30 – Russian assault tactics using forward-launched FPV drones
04:20 – Drone knowledge proliferation and global risk (cartels, terrorists)
06:00 – Ukraine’s evolving defenses and Russia’s drone manufacturing scale
07:40 – 500-drone salvos: Russia’s strategic plan to overwhelm defenses
09:00 – NATO’s vulnerability and unpreparedness for high-scale drone warfare
10:40 – Ukraine’s air defense strategy and Russia’s increasing volume
12:10 – Poland’s high-tech border wall and broader European response
13:15 – France offers nuclear umbrella amid U.S. NATO uncertainty
14:45 – Why unmanned systems can’t fully replace manned operations

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.

In the second half of this Drone Wars conversation, Dan Magy continues with Brett Harrison and Shaun Moore to dig into what sets Turn AI apart from defense incumbents and Silicon Valley hopefuls alike. This episode shifts focus from tech specs to team dynamics, culture, and strategic edge—how a fast, focused startup can outmaneuver giants.

They explore what it takes to build critical infrastructure from scratch, what it means when Big Tech starts referencing your patents, and why passion, speed, and real-world experience can’t be bought. If Part I showed the problem, Part II shows the path forward.

Whether you're scaling a defense startup or trying to understand what makes disruption in this space real, this one delivers hard-earned insight with operator clarity.

Timestamps:
00:00 – GPS Dependency and Over-Reliance
00:58 – Real-World Experience vs. Big Companies
03:25 – Company Culture and Decision-Making
06:12 – Customer Response and Passion
06:41 – Global Market and Security Concerns
11:53 – Impact on Logistics and Society
14:12 – Lessons Learned and Future Plans
15:02 – Critical Infrastructure and Public Education
18:55 – Final Thoughts and Contact Information

#DroneWarsPodcast #TernAI #GPSAlternative #MilitaryTech #AutonomousVehicles #AIInnovation #DefenseTech #SignalResilience #StartupCulture #CriticalInfrastructure

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.

In this episode of Drone Wars, Dan Magy is joined by Brett Harrison and Shaun Moore, co-founders of Tern AI, for a deep dive into one of the biggest hidden vulnerabilities in modern life—our overdependence on GPS. Drawing from elite military operations and hard-earned lessons in AI innovation, they lay out why signal-based navigation is no longer reliable—and what it means for warfighters, civilians, and the future of autonomy.

They unpack how GPS failures are already affecting real-world operations, from lost Uber drivers to compromised military missions, and explain why most "solutions" are just different flavors of the same fragile system. If you're working in autonomy, logistics, or national security, this episode is a critical look at the next battlefield: positioning.

Whether you're a founder, policymaker, or defense insider, this one is full of real-world urgency and sharp technical insight.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction and Background of Participants
01:50 – GPS in Modern Tech and Why It’s Failing
04:30 – Brett’s Journey: From Special Ops to Real Estate to Defense Tech
07:30 – Sean’s Start in Facial Recognition and Startup Lessons
13:20 – The Shot That Started Tern AI
17:59 – Why GPS Dependency is a National Risk
18:15 – Building Positioning Without Signal
18:31 – Military and Commercial Applications
20:38 – Future Plans: Scaling Across Vehicles, Terrain, and Use Cases

#DroneWarsPodcast #TernAI #GPSAlternative #MilitaryTech #AutonomousVehicles #AIInnovation #DefenseTech #SignalResilience #StartupCulture #CriticalInfrastructure

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.

In Part II of this candid Drone Wars conversation, Dan Magy is joined once again by James Cross and Chris Donaghey to dig into one of the most pressing problems in modern warfare: how to scale effective defense technologies fast enough to matter.

From next-gen laser systems to why small companies rarely survive the primes, this episode explores the gritty realities behind mission kills, demo culture, and why venture-backed defense tech often loses despite superior capabilities. The discussion also unpacks the economics of defense investing, the limitations of VC, and how to build a layered counter-drone strategy that works.

A must-listen for anyone at the intersection of autonomy, emerging tech, and national security.

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro Recap: Cockroaches, Lasers, and Global Threats
1:22 – There’s No Silver Bullet
2:30 – Mission Kill vs. System Kill
4:05 – From Garage Opener to Battlefield Laser
6:15 – Are Our Adversaries Building This Too?
7:45 – Scaling Up: From Demos to Deployment
9:00 – Why the Primes Wait to Buy
10:30 – Defense Tech’s Generational Divide
12:19 – The Most Exclusive Club on Wall Street
15:35 – The Primes’ VC Playbook
19:20 – Why Strategic Capital Matters
23:46 – What’s Next? Robots, Autonomy, and Moore’s Law on the Battlefield
25:06 – Lessons from the MRAP Era

#DroneWars #DefenseTech #MilitaryInnovation #UnmannedSystems #EmergingTech #Firestorm #Autonomy #CounterDrone #LaserWeapons #SiliconValleyDefense

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.

In this episode of Drone Wars, Dan Magy is joined by defense investors and Silicon Valley Defense Group founders James Cross and Chris Donaghey for a high-octane discussion on the present and future of military innovation. From production bottlenecks to geopolitical realignments, the trio explores what it will take to actually deliver at scale—and at speed.

They talk about why hardware is hard, the myth of acquisition reform, and how Europe and Asia are carving out their own defense ecosystems. They also break down the real reasons VCs suddenly care about defense tech, and why manufacturing—not code—might be the ultimate moat.

Whether you're a founder, policymaker, or defense insider, this one is full of brutal truths and sharp insights.

Timestamps:
0:00 – Kicking Off with Cockroaches in D.C.
1:15 – Being Early in Defense Entrepreneurship
2:40 – Can the DoD Pick Winners?
4:30 – MRAPs, Bureaucracy, and Budget Cuts
6:20 – The ‘Cockroach’ Class and the Illusion of Reform
8:00 – Defense VCs: From SaaS to Strategic Capital
10:15 – Europe Builds for Europe
13:20 – Asia’s Next Move
15:40 – Fiction as Strategy: The Rise of 'White Sun War'
17:15 – Who Runs Out of Robots First?
19:10 – Cost-Plus Contracts and the Scaling Trap
21:00 – Final Thoughts: No Silver Bullet for Small Drones

#DroneWars #DefenseTech #MilitaryInnovation #UnmannedSystems #EmergingTech #Firestorm #Autonomy #CounterDrone #LaserWeapons #SiliconValleyDefense

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.

In this episode of Drone Wars, host Dan Magy sits down with a leading voice in the defense innovation space to unpack the future of military manufacturing. From flying CH-53 helicopters in the Marine Corps to pioneering advanced industrial capabilities at the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), our guest shares a compelling journey through aerospace, entrepreneurship, and public service.

Together, they explore the intersection of autonomy and manufacturing, the fragility of U.S. supply chains, and how we can build a surge-ready domestic ecosystem that rivals our global adversaries. From vertical integration to modularity and infrastructure strategy, this conversation highlights what it will take for the United States to not only compete—but lead—in the next era of unmanned systems.

Travis on Linkedin: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisdemeester/)

Timestamps:

0:00 – A career in defense: aviation, entrepreneurship, and DIU
5:20 – Advanced manufacturing and autonomy: the emerging overlap
10:00 – Policy, risk, and the missing middle in defense innovation
15:00 – Challenges in U.S. supply chains and scaling production
21:40 – Vertical integration, modularity, and surge readiness
25:00 – Lessons from software and the future of infrastructure

#DroneWars #DIU #DefenseTech #AdvancedManufacturing #AutonomousDrones #USvsChina #SupplyChain #ModularManufacturing #FirestormDrones #MilitaryInnovation #RobotsBuildingRobots #DefensePodcast

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.

 In Part II of our interview with Jake Windle, we zoom out from battlefield innovation and into the bigger picture: how the defense ecosystem is evolving, and why venture capital is now a critical tool for national security.

Host Dan Magy and Jake explore what defines "Defense Tech 2.0," how bureaucratic gridlock stalls promising solutions, and why the military must rethink how it evaluates risk. Jake also shares advice for founders looking to work with the DoD and explains how Harpoon Ventures helps bridge the gap between operators and technologists.

This episode offers an honest look at what it takes to build and scale technologies that actually make it to the warfighter—from testing fields to acquisition halls.

Useful Links:

Jake Windle on LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-windle-2196b3109/)
Harpoon Ventures: https://harpoon.vc
BlueHalo: https://www.bluehalo.com
Book: MRAPs: Protecting Soldiers with Technology and Innovation – https://www.amazon.com/MRAPs-Protecting-Soldiers-Technology-Innovation/dp/0160943883

00:00 – Recap of Part I and introduction to Defense Tech 2.0
02:00 – What most defense startups get wrong
05:00 – Why good ideas die in acquisition: incentives, speed, and risk aversion
08:30 – The investor’s role in shaping battlefield innovation
12:00 – Aligning commercial tech with warfighter needs
15:30 – Breaking through DoD layers and making tech deployable
18:00 – Building trust between operators and founders
20:30 – Final thoughts on what’s next for defense innovation 

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.

In Part I of this special two-part episode, host Dan Magy reconnects with an old friend—Jake Windle, former Master Chief at Naval Special Warfare and now a partner at Harpoon Ventures. The conversation kicks off with Jake's transition from elite military operations to early-stage tech, and how he became one of the first to identify drones as a rising threat on the battlefield.

Jake shares the origin story of Citadel Defense and recounts the scrappy, experimental beginnings of counter-UAS warfare—years before it was mainstream. From field tests at Camp Roberts to building rapid prototypes with small teams and limited funding, this episode gives a behind-the-scenes look at how tactical innovation really happens.

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to bring game-changing tech from garage startup to military deployment, this one’s for you.

Useful Links:

Jake Windle on LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-windle-2196b3109/)
Harpoon Ventures: https://harpoon.vc
BlueHalo: https://www.bluehalo.com
Book: MRAPs: Protecting Soldiers with Technology and Innovation – https://www.amazon.com/MRAPs-Protecting-Soldiers-Technology-Innovation/dp/0160943883

00:00 – Welcome and reconnecting with Jake Windle
01:30 – Reflections on NSW missions and transition into defense investing
05:30 – How the drone threat was first identified and Citadel’s beginnings
10:00 – Testing drone defense tech, gaining traction, and securing funding
15:00 – Navigating DoD bureaucracy, cultural challenges, and procurement hurdles
20:00 – Bridging operators and technologists to fast-track innovation

#DroneWars #CounterUAS #DefenseTech #MilitaryInnovation #NavySEAL #CitadelDefense #StartupToBattlefield #UnmannedSystems #TacticalTech #VeteransInTech

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.