In this episode of Micro Journeys, host Daniel Marrujo sits down with Brigadier General John Lloyd for a thrilling discussion about his 40-year Army career. It begins in Lockport, New York, where 17-year-old Lloyd contacts an Army recruiter unbeknownst to his parents. At the time, he had no idea how impactful that one call would become.

The conversation opens with Lloyd detailing the path that led him from private to general. From basic training to a Cold War assignment in Germany and Desert Storm, he tells Dan about how each shaped his career. Later, he shares stories of three of the most demanding recovery missions of his career: The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the submerged M88 in a Lithuanian bog, and the search for two lost soldiers at African Lion 2026 in Morocco, which connected him with Dan. 

Each story shaped his career differently, but the recurring theme of giving families closure is hard to miss. Whether clearing minefields in the Korean DMZ in 1953 or standing on a Moroccan shoreline studying a single cove, Lloyd's work has always been rooted in bringing soldiers home.

What You'll Discover in This Episode

• [01:47] — The newspaper recruiting ad, phone call, and a one-way trip to Fort Leonard Wood that changed Lloyd's life 
• [26:37] — Inside the DMZ demining and joint remains recovery mission at Arrowhead Hill, where ID tags and DNA matching returned fallen soldiers to their countries
• [40:25] — Navy divers descending 20 feet through collapsing mud, an Estonian cadaver dog, and the recovery of the fourth soldier in Lithuania
• [41:01] — Why the Corps of Engineers, not the Navy, led the Francis Scott Key Bridge recovery, and how the channel was cleared in 71 days 
• [48:01] — The cove near Tan-Tan that "kept speaking" to him, and the Air Force pararescue team that found an Army boot at low tide
• [58:32] — Service, grandkids, a house in Florida, and why he'd do all 40 years over again without hesitation

Let's Connect

• Daniel Marrujo

Learn more about TSS: https://tss.llc/micro-journeys-podcast/

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In this episode of Micro Journeys Inside Access, host Daniel Marrujo sits down with Lau Nørgaard, CTO of Sapient Perception, at African Lion 2026 to explore how the company's large-area UAV ISR camera payloads are transforming how the U.S. and its allies map and understand unfamiliar terrain across the African continent. The conversation walks through how Sapient Perception's technology captures massive, high-resolution imagery and processes it in real time, directly inside the drone, to deliver actionable intelligence to warfighters and rescue teams in the field.

The episode dives into a core challenge facing forces operating across the largely unmapped terrain of the African continent: how to build a real understanding of where troops, camps, and logistics can safely be positioned. Traditional UAV camera systems force a tradeoff between zoom and coverage, described as "looking through a straw," where operators can either see fine detail in a narrow area or a wide view with no detail, but not both. Classical large-area mapping solves this offline, but it requires flying a mission, physically retrieving the data, and processing it afterward, a delay that doesn't work when lives are on the line, such as in a search-and-rescue or fast-moving tactical scenario.

The solution centers on large-sensor, high-resolution camera payloads paired with onboard AI inference, processing full, uncompressed image data directly in the payload and transmitting only georeferenced findings, such as vehicles, people, or hazards, back to operators in real time while the aircraft is still in the air.

What You'll Discover in This Episode:

• 02:08 — Lau Nørgaard's introduction to Sapient Perception's large-area UAV ISR payload technology, mapping large areas in real time rather than in post-processed still images
• 03:19 — The cameras' use of large CMOS sensors, technology previously reserved for still-camera mapping applications, now adapted for real-time drone use
• 05:01 — AI inference running directly on the payload at the edge, keeping sensitive customer-trained AI models fully air-gapped and encrypted from Sapient Perception itself
• 07:43 — A live screen walkthrough of how findings are geo-referenced and displayed as standardized NATO-style icons on ATAK-style mapping software used by soldiers in the field
• 09:17 — How real-time, uncompressed data delivery removes the lag of traditional mapping workflows, giving decision-makers the timely information needed to protect lives and adapt to dynamic mission conditions

Let's Connect

• Dan Marrujo
• TSS Website

Learn more about TSS: https://tss.llc/micro-journeys-podcast/

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Daniel Marrujo returns to Brookhaven National Laboratory for the second day of a two-day Micro Journeys deep dive, this time heading into the lab's quantum networking facility with a panel of the world's leading experts in the field. Associate Laboratory Director Gabriella Carini, staff scientists Soumyajit Mandal, Julián Martínez-Rincón & Paul Stankus, and research scientists Sven Herrman & Prashansa Mukim walk through Brookhaven's real-world quantum network test bed, a 161-mile system with five nodes spanning Long Island, Stony Brook University, Brooklyn, and Columbia University. The episode moves from entangled photons and the physics of quantum communication, to free-space telescope links capable of transmitting single photons through open air, to custom-built microelectronics engineered for the most extreme environments on Earth, and finally to a NASA-led mission searching for the universe's earliest, darkest chapter from the far side of the moon.

At the center of the conversation is a fundamental limitation of classical networks: information sent as digital bits can be intercepted, copied, and manipulated without detection. Quantum communication solves this differently because a quantum state is destroyed the moment it's measured, any attempt to eavesdrop is inherently detectable. But building a real, long-distance quantum network comes with steep physical costs. Photons are lost over distance in fiber, entanglement can't simply be "boosted" the way a classical signal can, and demonstrating true quantum repeaters, the technology needed to extend range without breaking entanglement, has never been done at scale.

Brookhaven's answer is a working test bed that generates, swaps, and routes entangled photons across real commercial infrastructure, paired with free-space telescope links and next-generation microelectronics built to operate in environments as inhospitable as liquid nitrogen temperatures and deep space, laying the groundwork for what researchers describe as an unhackable "quantum internet."

What You'll Discover in This Episode

[02:02] Gabriella Carini explains how Brookhaven's quantum networking program began with the National Quantum Initiative Act and a chance meeting with a Stony Brook physicist

[11:18] Julian Martinez details the live 161-mile quantum network test bed connecting Brookhaven, Stony Brook, and New York City

[13:11] The non-cloning theorem explains why quantum information can't simply be copied or amplified like a classical signal

[21:15] A telescope built not to capture images, but to send single photons through open air as part of a free-space quantum link

[28:39] Why quantum secure communication is described as the "killer application" of quantum networking

[39:50] A NASA-led mission places a radio telescope on the far side of the moon to listen for signals from the universe's earliest, darkest era

Let’s Connect

• Daniel Marrujo
• Gabriella Carini
• TSS Website

Learn more about TSS: https://tss.llc/micro-journeys-podcast/

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In this episode of Micro Journeys Inside Access, host Daniel Marrujo sits down with Benjamin Fowl, Head of Growth for Wild West Systems, at African Lion 2026 to examine a compact drone weapons platform designed to be small, fast, and difficult to detect or shoot down. The conversation covers the system's platform-agnostic design, its field-tested integration with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and the mechanics of how the drone fires, aims, and returns to base for reuse.

The episode dives into a core challenge facing forces operating in complex terrain: how to deliver a kinetic capability that is lightweight, reusable, and adaptable to the platform a unit already has on hand, without requiring heavy logistics to get the system into and out of theater. Fowl explains how a 3D-printed mounting rail allowed the 173rd to adapt the weapon system to a drone they brought from Italy, going from a modified CAD file to a field-ready mount in under 24 hours.

The solution centers on a platform-agnostic weapons payload, built around a Picatinny rail, that can be swapped between reconnaissance and kinetic missions and refined directly through feedback from the soldiers using it in the field.

What You'll Discover in This Episode:

• [00:25] Daniel introduces the small drone from Wild West Systems, highlighting its compact form factor, low detectability, and ability to fire live rounds.
• [01:32] Benjamin Fowl explains the platform-agnostic design and how the weapon system was mounted on a UAS the 173rd brought from Italy.
• [02:08] The field-printing process is broken down: a modified CAD file, an overnight 3D print, and a next-morning mount that sent the system downrange.
• [03:21] Fowl details the modular Picatinny rail system, allowing units to swap between reconnaissance payloads and the reusable, non-attritable weapons payload — including a magazine-fed version for multiple shots.
• [04:16] The munition itself is described as equivalent to a nine millimeter round, functioning as a recoilless rifle with an internal propellant ignited by a spark.
• [04:44] Fowl explains the current aiming method using a laser, with gimbal-based targeting planned for future versions.

Let’s Connect

• Daniel Marrujo
• Benjamin Fowl
• TSS Website

Learn more about TSS: https://tss.llc/micro-journeys-podcast/

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In this episode of Micro Journeys, host Daniel Marrujo travels to the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) to explore one of the only facilities in the country capable of simulating deep-space radiation conditions on Earth. Marrujo sits down with Trevor Olsen, a nuclear engineer and physicist who has worked at the facility for over seven years, to break down how NSRL bombards electronic components with high-energy, heavy ions to prepare them for use in space, national security, and commercial applications.

The conversation dives into the mechanics behind the facility's synchrotron, where a chaotic, naturally occurring beam must be precisely shaped using a series of dipole, quadrupole, and octupole electromagnets. Olsen walks through how the beam evolves from an unpredictable circular shape into the controlled square form required for testing, and how engineers manage magnet strength and RF cavities throughout the acceleration cycle to keep the beam confined and on target.

The solution lies in real-time control: thousands of dynamic systems work simultaneously to deliver a precisely tuned beam, at the exact ion type and energy level requested, ensuring every test replicates space conditions with scientific accuracy.

What You'll Discover in This Episode:

• 00:25 — Why NSRL's combination of energy level and ion heaviness makes it one of the rarest testing facilities in the country
• 02:02 — Trevor Olsen's background in nuclear engineering and physics, and how the control room's dipole, quadrupole, and octupole magnets shape the beam
• 02:59 — The role of the synchrotron's main magnet and RF cavities in accelerating and confining the beam
• 04:10 — Finding the "sweet spot": how the beam is refined to the exact energy needed before extraction
• 04:56 — How thousands of dynamic systems monitor and adjust the beam in real time to match user specifications

Let’s Connect

• Daniel Marrujo
• Trevor Olsen
• TSS Website

Learn more about TSS: https://tss.llc/micro-journeys-podcast/

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In this episode of Micro Journeys Inside Access, host Daniel Marrujo sits down with Jason Conrad, who leads Arizona State University's Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub (SWAP Hub), to examine how the United States is working to rebuild its advanced semiconductor packaging capabilities. The conversation covers Conrad's path from a 23-year career in the semiconductor industry into standing up a national microelectronics initiative, the mechanics of the CHIPS Act and the Microelectronics Commons, and why advanced packaging — not just chip fabrication — is central to the future of AI, drones, and national defense.

The episode dives into a core challenge facing the domestic semiconductor ecosystem: how to reconnect research and manufacturing so that innovations developed in university and national labs can actually reach production at scale. Conrad explains the difference between traditional and advanced packaging, walks through the six technology focus areas driving the SWAP Hub's work, and lays out why closing the “lab-to-fab” gap matters for workforce development and long-term national security.

What You'll Discover in This Episode:

• 01:12 — Jason Conrad's transition from a 23-year semiconductor career into leading ASU's Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub (SWAP Hub)
• 02:58 — The Microelectronics Commons initiative and how the CHIPS Act is transforming America's semiconductor ecosystem
• 04:50 — The difference between traditional and advanced semiconductor packaging, and why it's critical to the future of AI, drones, and national defense
• 08:54 — Why rebuilding advanced packaging capabilities in the United States is essential for workforce development and national security
• 17:09 — The six technology focus areas driving SWAP Hub, and how industry, academia, and government are working together to accelerate innovation
• 37:19 — Conrad's vision for the future of SWAP Hub and how it's helping bridge the "lab-to-fab" gap by turning research into real-world manufacturing

Let's Connect

• Daniel Marrujo
• Jason Conrad
• SWAP Hub
• TSS Website

Learn more about TSS: https://tss.llc/micro-journeys-podcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Micro Journeys, host Daniel Marrujo sits down with Lieutenant Colonel Jim Lawson, product manager for the Long Range Precision Munition program, live at African Lion 2026. Lawson walks through the medium-range lethal variant of the Army's launched effects ecosystem, a tube-launched, rocket-boosted munition designed to fold into a compact form factor before deploying sweeping wings and telescoping flight surfaces mid-launch. The conversation covers the system's live-fire success at the exercise, its sensor and warhead payload, and how it fits into the Army's broader vision for networked, collaborative strike capability.

The discussion goes deeper into how the munition operates as part of a "wolf pack" of autonomous and semi-autonomous payloads working together to penetrate contested airspace and strike strategic targets such as integrated air defense systems. Lawson explains the targeting process in detail — how an operator assigns an image with metadata to designate a target, and how that target can be tracked and even changed mid-flight. He also addresses the practical realities of fielding the system, from vehicle integration options to the direct feedback loop between soldiers using the controls and the engineers refining the program.

The episode frames the Long Range Precision Munition as a flexible, networkable answer to modern strike challenges — a system built to launch from multiple platforms, retarget in real time, and incorporate battlefield feedback directly into its ongoing development.

What You'll Discover in This Episode:

• The medium-range lethal variant was fired five times during African Lion 2026, with a user on the loop successfully engaging the target each time (00:46)
• The munition ships folded into a tube — wings, rear stabilizers, and propellers collapsed — then sweeps forward and telescopes out to full wingspan after launch (01:53)
• The system is designed to operate as part of a "wolf pack" of payloads that autonomously or semi-autonomously collaborate against strategic targets like integrated air defense systems (02:44)
• Targeting works by assigning the weapon an image with location and azimuth metadata rather than relying on AI, and operators can redirect the munition to a new target mid-flight (04:55, 05:29)
• The launch tube is designed for flexible integration — helicopters, ground stations, or other vehicle platforms — rather than being man-portable (01:23, 03:25)
• User feedback from African Lion 2026 is being fed directly back into the program, from system-level capabilities down to the user interface (03:45)

• Daniel Marrujo
• TSS Website

Learn more about TSS: https://tss.llc/micro-journeys-podcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daniel Marrujo sits down with Tyler Griffin, Lockheed Martin's Counter-UAS Director, at African Lion 2026 to explore the Sanctum Counter-UAS system — a layered, multi-vendor defense platform built to detect, identify, and neutralize small drones, one-way attack munitions, and drone swarms. The conversation moves through a live equipment walkthrough on the exercise floor, covering low-cost radar detection, RF signal analysis, a crossbow laser weapon system, and a net-capturing drone hunter, all unified under a single operator control interface.

The episode centers on the core challenge facing counter-drone operations: distinguishing a genuine threat from harmless air traffic, then neutralizing it with minimal risk to the surrounding environment. Griffin breaks down how Sanctum layers three independent sensor types, radar, RF detection, and dual camera (daytime and thermal), to build operator confidence before any action is taken, and how the system's laser and net-capture tools offer different response options depending on the situation and collateral risk.

Sanctum solves this by aggregating partner sensors and effectors from companies including IPG Photonics and Fordham Technologies into one battle management system, giving operators verified, real-time targeting data and multiple engagement options.

What You'll Discover in This Episode

01:43 — Tyler Griffin introduces the Sanctum Counter-UAS system and Lockheed Martin's role in aggregating partner sensor and effector technology for African Lion 2026.

02:36 — The three-layer detection stack is explained: low-cost radar, RF detection, and dual daytime/thermal cameras working together to confirm a threat.

04:00 — The laser weapon system's origins in commercial cutting and welding technology, developed with IPG Photonics, are revealed alongside its multi-kilometer engagement range.

07:58 — A net-launching interceptor drone captures rather than destroys adversary drones, preserving the hardware for intelligence gathering and reverse engineering.

09:08 — The Fordham Technologies Drone Hunter's operational range and how it integrates with Sanctum's radar cueing for extended intercept reach.

11:48 — Griffin details how the entire Sanctum system went from concept to fielded minimum viable product in just twelve months, with software updates driven by weekly soldier feedback at African Lion.

Let’s Connect

• Daniel Marrujo
• Tyler Griffin
• TSS Website

Learn more about TSS: https://tss.llc/micro-journeys-podcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Micro Journeys Inside Access, host Daniel Marrujo sits down with Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Leonguerrero, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa | Advanced Capabilities Directorate at African Lion 2026 in Morocco, to unpack the command and control technology powering the largest exercise AFRICOM hosts on the African continent. The conversation traces how a multilanguage translation tool, moving fluidly between English, Arabic, and French, has compressed a twenty-second communication delay down to just three or four seconds, giving soldiers from more than 40 partner nations the ability to coordinate almost instantly at the tactical edge.

The discussion moves beyond the hardware to the structure behind it: a "three pillars" model of military, industry, and academia working in tandem, and a network-first, platform-agnostic approach the Lieutenant Colonel compares to NASCAR, prioritizing the driver over the car. That structure, paired with a top-down culture change from senior leadership, has cut fielding timelines for new capabilities from months or years down to hours or days. But faster fielding and wider international connectivity also raise the stakes on the security side, since more allies sharing data means more surface area for adversaries to target.

The solution the Lieutenant Colonel describes is layered: AI-driven cyber protection tools that monitor, block, and learn from threats in real time, combined with a deliberate effort to keep academia and industry out of the lab and in direct contact with soldiers on the battlefield, so lessons learned translate immediately into usable technology.

What You'll Discover in This Episode:

• [00:56] African Lion 2026 is the largest exercise AFRICOM runs on the continent, built around merging emergent technology with current warfighter capabilities.
• [01:35] A multilanguage translation tool moves communication between English, Arabic, and French, cutting through the coordination challenge of a 40-country exercise.
• [03:41] The "network as driver, platform as car" analogy explains why the team stays agnostic about hardware and focused on connectivity.
• [04:17] The three pillars of innovation: military, industry, and academia
• [07:29] Defense-in-depth security measures, including AI-driven cyber protection, are addressed as the tradeoff that comes with faster, wider-reaching innovation.

• Daniel Marrujo
• Lieutenant Colonel. Ramon Leonguerrero
• TSS Website

Learn more about TSS: https://tss.llc/micro-journeys-podcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Micro Journeys, host Daniel Marrujo sits down with Captain Ronan Sefton at the African Forces Summit to discuss the rapid evolution of unmanned systems on the modern battlefield. A military intelligence officer by trade, Sefton has spent the last several years focused almost entirely on drone warfare, drawing lessons directly from the Russo-Ukrainian conflict as part of a Ukrainian lessons-learned task force under U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The conversation traces his path from hobbyist drone builder and Russian-Ukrainian linguist to one of the U.S. military's leading voices on unmanned systems integration.

The discussion digs into what actually makes a drone program effective — and it isn't the hardware. Sefton explains that early efforts to teach American soldiers hands-on skills like soldering and drone assembly, modeled on Ukraine's wartime necessity, missed the bigger picture. Ukraine's most effective drone units succeed not because of advanced AI, but because of superior pilot expertise, tight data architecture, and a reconnaissance-to-strike pipeline that gets accurate targeting information to a crew in seconds. Sefton also pushes back on the growing "obsession with autonomy," arguing that human judgment remains essential even as automation advances.

The solution, according to Sefton, lies in investing in the ecosystem around the technology — data flow, reconnaissance integration, and pilot expertise — rather than chasing autonomy for its own sake, much like a driver still needs a license even when the car can drive itself.

What You'll Discover in This Episode

(01:31) Unmanned systems extend well beyond aerial drones, covering vehicles that fly, drive, and swim, with room for entirely new categories still to emerge.

(02:54) Sefton's path from hobbyist drone builder and military linguist to Ukraine lessons-learned officer, shaped by direct conversations with Ukrainian soldiers on the front line.

(05:49) Why the U.S. military's early push to teach soldiers hands-on drone-building skills wasn't the right long-term approach, and what mattered more instead.

(07:31) The concept of data architecture and why a drone crew's effectiveness depends on the reconnaissance and intelligence ecosystem feeding it, not just the aircraft itself.

(09:36) How fiber-optic drones eliminate the risk of jamming by removing the need for a radio receiver or transceiver entirely.

(11:55) Why Ukraine's most effective drone units deliberately avoid using AI for targeting, and the case for keeping a human in the loop as autonomy matures.

Let’s Connect

• Daniel Marrujo
• Captain Ronan Sefton
• TSS Website

Learn more about TSS: https://tss.llc/micro-journeys-podcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.