By The Merge
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The podcast currently has 39 episodes available.
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Mike hosts an exclusive episode to discuss the Air Force’s
We discuss what the companies have in common and how they both view that as one of their superpowers. We also explore the origins of the CCA program, the origins of the winning vehicle design, how the program
Though they won the hardware contracts, both companies have unique software and autonomy insights, so we also discussed software as the enabler and the integration challenges of bringing these ‘loyal wingmen’ into the force.
While there was a ton to agree on, they also shared unique and varying perspectives—something that you can only get when you have them in a discussion together. This is an episode you don’t want to miss!
For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #sofware #startup #innovation #drones #ai #autonomy #anduril #ga-asi #airplanes #airpower #airsuperority
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• Mike Benitez (LinkedIn)
• Anduril
• General Atomics
• Diem Salmon - Vice President, Air Dominance and Strike at Anduril
• Mike Atwood - Vice President, Advanced Programs at General Atomics
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Show Notes
00:48 CCA intro
02:00 company intros
06:01 why the push for CCAs?
07:26 exploring the CCA space
09:09 origins of the winning designs
10:16 2 for 1 - win win
11:55 software
12:43 the software part is the hardest
14:33 the shift in trust in kill chains
15:01 Skyborg
15:40 trust and blending
16:25 delegation via trust or necessity
17:53 the need to get it into operators hands
18:47 DOTMLPF-P
19:11 teaming
19:44 starting simple
20:29 starting with complexity
22:09 iteration is the pathway
22:55 CCA program structure
26:56 capability efficiency vs resiliency
28:35 groundbreaking challenges
29:04 solving system-level optimization
31:13 culture change
31:36 F-16 Auto GCAS
32:50 MAGIC CARPET
34:14 composites for scale?
38:31 the future
41:27 closing thoughts
42:43 outro
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense!
Mike and Jake host Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar to talk about software-defined warfare, defense modernization, and all the things we’d change to drive innovation to help the warfighter.
Shyam started as employee #13 at 23 and slowly climbed the ranks of the largest and fastest-growing US defense software company.
No topic is off limits—including how and why Palantir sued the Army…and won.
For a conversation with a software tech executive, we spent most of the time talking about culture, leadership mentalities, history, and structure changes that are as relevant in the Pentagon as they are in any other industry.
Of course, no episode would be complete without some lively banter and spicy takes!
For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #sofware #startup #leadership #innovation #palantir
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• Mike Benitez (LinkedIn)
• Jake Chapman X (@vc)
• Shyam Sankar (LinkedIn)
• Shyam Sankar (X)
• Palantir
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Show Notes
(00:58) intro
(2:07) Shyam early years
(02:59) Palantir early days
(04:56) security clearance moat
(06:43) Palantir's software thesis
(07:51) outspoken CTO
(09:12) urgency without panic
(10:16) WWII ramp to production
(11:06) best at software
(12:24) suing the Army
(18:14) focus on winning
(19:14) hard-headed leadership
(20:16) the real tragedy of the last supper
(21:36) consolidation of opportunities
(23:55) F-35 Joint Program Office
(24:25) flourishing ideas to deal with uncertainty
(25:04) process creates mediocracy
(25:24) the power of options
(27:01) software-defined warfare
(27:16) deductive vs inductive reasoning
(27:48) hardware vs software company structures
(28:53) The Army’s TITAN program
(30:28) when govt left the engineering to industry
(33:33) business idea - help 0 to 1
(34:11) multi-vendor ecosystems
(36:19) government-provided tools for success
(38:10) commercial R&D explosion
(38:21) conviction with commercial tech
(38:53) military labs
(39:34) DJI vs General Atomics
(40:07) wild idea - make the primes more valuable
(41:47) value vs cost
(44:16) the next few years
(45:23) kill chains and value chains
(46:03) car sensors to tank sensors
(46:57) sustainment incentive mismatch
(47:58) attacking the sustainment tail
(49:04) spicy take
(49:15) creating multiple buyers
(49:39) multiple program offices competing
(49:58) make programs compete with each other
(52:12) undeclared state of emergency
(52:39) save the shire
(53:26) more LOTR geekery
(53:51) outro
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Mike hosts Andy Lowery to dig deep into directed energy weapons—specifically high-power microwave (HPM) systems.
Andy is the CEO of Epirus, a venture-backed defense tech startup inverting the cost equation of drone defense and swarm protection.
The Army is currently in a rapid buy-and-try phase of these counter-UAS (CUAS) systems and is sending them to the Middle East. The systems have a host of other applications, though—the Navy is experimenting with them to disable boat motors, and the Air Force is also interested.
This episode is a defense tech episode you don’t want to miss!
For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #drone #drones #swarm #HPM #DEW #microwave #directedenergy
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• Mike Benitez (LinkedIn)
• Andy Lowery (LinkedIn)
• Epirus
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Show Notes
(00:47) Intro
(01:36) Epirus
(02:11) the “prime problem”
(02:43) 3 disruptions in modern warfare
(07:07) asymmetric advantage and cost imposition
(09:57) inverting the equation
(11:40) $1 billion in weapons
(11:59) Congressional hearing
(12:32) microwaves
(14:53) name origins
(17:04) serial killer vs mass murderer
(17:46) Star Trek
(18:26) Leonidas
(18:46) wicked fast tech development
(19:42) speed of technology
(20:19) inventory investment
(20:29) needs vs requirements
(22:02) Andy’s 3 careers
(29:19) product vs services
(24:32) 80/20 business model
(25:08) Thor HPM
(25:25) old school HPM
(26:03) new way of HPM
(26:20) like the next-gen jammer
(27:06) like an AESA radar
(27:32) GaN-based AESA
(30:09) designed to adapt
(31:02) how HPM actually works
(34:07) like radar jamming techniques
(35:13) YouTube video controversy
(35:58) copper tape vs HPM myth
(37:20) faraday cage concept
(38:41) copper tape studies
(40:10) a systems approach
(41:32) ballistic missile defense (BMD)
(41:57) Army IFPC program
(43:26) Army base defense charter
(43:50) SHORAD
(44:21) scenarios
(44:48) layers of SHORAD
(45:49) Anduril Industries
(46:12) layered defense problem
(46:41) GWOT killed SHORAD
(47:08) Syria and Jordan
(47:58) company culture
(49:33) government pain points
(49:59) export restrictions
(50:35) the “MRAP response” way
(51:26) 1990 policy blocker
(51:56) The FAA
(52:03) NOARD issue
(52:33) homeland defense issue
(53:45) pre-mortem
(54:43) team-of-teams approach
(56:43) the government’s budgeting problem
(58:55) boats!
(1:00:00) HPM vs other electronics
(1:02:18) airborne HPM?
(1:04:06) Epirus, the next few years
(1:06:04) factory and scale
(1:08:37) outro
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Mike hosts Perry Boyle to dive into Ukraine’s rapidly
Perry co-founded MITS Capital (Military Innovation
They are raising a $50M fund and just selected the first
We talk about the industry's ins and outs, compliance and
This episode is PACKED with insights, but we still had some fun along the way. You should expect nothing less!
For those interested in #military #ukraine #warfare
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• Mike Benitez (LinkedIn)
• Perry Boyle (LinkedIn)
• MITS Capital
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Show Notes
(01:40) Intro
(02:27) Y Combinator for Ukraine defense tech
(03:10) what is an accelerator?
(04:01) what problem is MITS trying to solve
(05:28) MITS origin story
(09:11) we do read the emails
(10:43) MITS first investment
(11:32) US companies in Ukraine
(11:57) investing in Ukraine
(12:54) buy when the cannons are firing
(13:40) International support
(14:19) the US role
(14:31) Defense Innovation Unit
(15:58) US defense budget pie
(16:23) tech cycle vs. budget cycle
(17:21) adaption and iteration in Ukraine
(17:52) key investing insight
(18:15) tanks
(19:30) winning and losing
(22:35) relevancy through proximity
(23:26) grain and Kevin Bacon
(24:22) 1000 to 5
(25:33) virtuous cycle
(26:20) like Stanford and Silicon Valley
(27:52) red lines and promises
(28:51) partners and allies
(29:29) fixing corruption
(29:57) “new Ukraine”
(31:23) MITS vs Brave1
(33:17) Brave1 year 1 metrics
(34:47) Ukraine’s $10 Billion investing challenge
(39:11) magnets
(40:59) investor beware
(42:17) investing in the victory
(43:10) investing in the peace
(43:23) outro
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Mike and Jake host Captain John Konrad to talk all things
We talked about the Merchant Marine Academy, being a
What is the Military Sealift Command thing, and why does it keep confusing the counting of Navy ships? What is the Jones Act, and why is it so political?
The US has a ghost fleet of ships staged on both US coasts in case WWIII kicks off—but where are the people? Who were the most famous merchant mariners?
What went wrong with the USS Bonhomme Richard fire response? Why is Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge still not cleaned up?
Which US military branch is the biggest merchant mariner
Tune in for answers to all of the above—and more!
John is the founder and CEO of gCaptain and author of
This episode is PACKED with intel, but we still had some fun along the way. You should expect nothing less!
For those interested in #military #navy #mariner #sealift
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• Mike Benitez (LinkedIn)
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• Fourth Arm of Defense (free book!)
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Show Notes
(01:21) Intro
(03:01) larger than aircraft carriers
(04:15) Military Sealift Command
(05:30) peacetime vs wartime
(06:18) WWII merchant mariners
(09:54) counting ships
(10:58) US-flagged ships
(11:25) Captain Phillips
(11:48) the shift away from US flags
(12:17) 85 of 50,000 ships
(13:10) The Jones Act
(14:57) railway to nowhere
(18:02) where are the people?
(20:28) Secretary Pete
(21:00) manning crisis
(23:59) 3,000 people short
(25:56) WWIII
(27:46) divested support ships
(28:58) USS Cole attack
(29:51) USS Bonhomme Richard fire
(31:19) Baltimore bridge cleanup
(32:33) USNS ship shortages
(33:28) no support, no projection
(34:26) the Air Force!?!
(35:06) the miracle of shipping containers
(35:50) Vietnam logistics log jam
(37:20) famous merchant mariners
(39:30) sea story time!
(42:27) outro
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Evolution Not Revolution, Drone Warfare in Russia’s 2022
Stacie is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense
We talked about drone tech, adaption since the 2022 invasion, innovation on both sides of the conflict, and despite all of that—what critical drone technology is still notably absent on the battlefield.
This isn’t just about air drones…we chat drone boats too!
For those interested in #military #technology #drones
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• Mike Benitez (LinkedIn)
• Dr. Stacy Pettyjohn (LinkedIn)
• CNAS
• Drone report
• Girl Security
• AI report
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Show Notes
(00:41) Intro
(03:28) drone report
(06:59) 4 bins of drones
(08:25) drone changes during the war
(10:28) Turkish TB-2 drones
(12:02) drones for air superiority?
(13:51) drone dogfighting
(14:46) the “air littoral”
(16:25) coordination altitudes
(18:57) evolution in the war
(21:16) 50,000 drones per month?
(23:37) drones vs. artillery
(26:32) wargaming
(27:26) battlefield innovations
(29:26) why not a revolution?
(31:18) where’s the AI?
(35:27) drone boats
(39:10) new largest air drones
(41:48) buying drones for war
(44:36) drones as cruise missiles
(45:41) outro
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Former Australian diplomat John Fowler joins Mike Benitez to discuss what’s happening around the world through the lens of international relations.
John is a repeat guest—check out episode 16 to get caught up. In this episode, we discuss China, the South China Sea, the Taiwan elections, Russia in Ukraine, and even cautiously venture a bit into how US domestic
Should we even be involved? Why or why not? We look at both sides from a few perspectives you won’t hear
John Fowler runs International Intrigue, a daily newsletter
For those interested in #military #technology #strategy
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• Dickerpicss (IG)
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Show Notes
(01:04) Intro
(05:06) China’s economic shifts
(08:14) China’s real estate crisis
(11:48) Taiwan elections
(18:22) South China Sea
(19:40) the “9-dash line”
(21:30) the Second Thomas Shoal
(31:08) coalitions and consensus
(34:37) Russia in Ukraine
(36:55) Ukraine aid in Congress
(41:02) the real superpower of the US
(45:06) the risk of hedging
(46:21) AUKUS, Japan, and China
(53:54) good for Russia, good for China
(55:11) China using history as a weapon
(58:02) outro
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings. We release these in between our more in-depth discussions to keep our audience up to speed.
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Mike and Jake host Dr. Christine (Chris) Michienzi, supply
With 30 years of experience in this sector, she was recently
Hear just how big the problem is—and how it’s WAY harder to
For those interested in #defense #military #business #technology #nationalsecurity #industry #supplychains #logistics
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• Chris Michienzi (LinkedIn)
• 2023 National Defense Industrial Strategy
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Show Notes
(01:27) Intro
(02:36) investing supply chains
(6:26) CTO of the supply chain office
(8:11) what is the Defense Industrial Base?
(9:52) the 2023 NDIS
(17:16) efficiency vs resiliency
(23:40) don’t compare this to WWII
(26:52) multi-year buy authorities
(30:28) reverse engineering obsolete parts
(31:40) ball bearings
(33:28) incentivize companies?
(35:05) the investor side of the equation
(37:10) solid rocket motors
(40:15) what does success look like?
(42:10) the F-35 magnet story
(44:03) how supply chain visibility doesn’t work
(45:58) Chinse brushless motors
(48:31) COVID-19 raised supply chain awareness
(49:31) crystal ball of badness
(51:33) isolation the solution?
(54:11) magic wand for Chris
(56:21) metrics for success
(59:30) outro
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.
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Support us on Patreon!
mandatoryfunday IG post we refer to at the end
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The podcast currently has 39 episodes available.
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