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 staffer, Church brings an insider’s view of how national security priorities, procurement, and industrial competition with China are evolving.

He shares how AV is doubling down on robotics, drones, and lasers following its merger with BlueHalo, and why the company’s investments in internal R&D are outpacing much of the defense industry. Steve and Church also dig into lessons from Ukraine, U.S. homeland defense policy challenges, and what’s next for programs like Golden Dome and directed-energy systems.

This episode unpacks how the defense industrial base is changing and what the next generation of defense companies are getting right.

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