The Merge

By The Merge

Military technology, trends, and national security...presented with unique insights, salt, and wit from combat aviator veterans and industry experts.

Fence in for interviews and anecdotes about the i... more

· Government

5

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FAQs about The Merge:

How many episodes does The Merge have?

The podcast currently has 50 episodes available.

The Merge episodes:

February 20, 2024 E30 – Lowdown 2.20.24
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.
Don’t miss our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Support us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!
mandatoryfunday IG post we refer to at the end
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Follow us on...
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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...more
12min
February 11, 2024 E29 – Inside Look on Selling Tech to the Pentagon
Don’t miss our newsletter!
Mike and Jake host John Ferry to discuss the ins & outs
and the highs & lows of trying to sell tech to the Pentagon, and the US government—how it really works.

Warning: We had a ton of fun—maybe a bit too much. This episode is full of spicy takes and unvarnished thoughts and opinions based on 15+ years of experience and scar tissue. Hang on for a ride deep down the rabbit hole of govcon and fedtech nerdiness, but we make it out ok at the end—discussing the
next AI vs. AI front.

For those interested in #defense #military #business #technology #nationalsecurity

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Links
• Sign up for our ⁠amazing newsletter⁠!
• Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!
• Jake Chapman X (@vc)
• Mike Benitez (LinkedIn)
• John Ferry (LinkedIn)
• Rogue.com
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Follow us on...
• ⁠Instagram⁠
• ⁠Facebook⁠
• ⁠X (Twitter)⁠
• ⁠LinkedIn⁠
• ⁠Website⁠
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Show Notes
(01:10) John Ferry
(08:30) coming out of the shell
(10:52) selected not funded (wtf!)
(11:22) confessions of a SBIR scorer
(14:06) GovCon Merit Badges
(17:57) SBIR “consultants”
(19:50) SBIR mills
(21:56) founder horror story
(26:05) John’s creative process
(29:48) PowerPoint Ranger
(32:43) change the industry vs change yourself
(34:17) the same, but also never easier
(43:38) play the game, roll the dice
(44:50) pump those numbers up! (cost plus)
(46:06) recent fixed-price pushback
(50:42) using AI to write government proposals
(54:57) AI vs AI proposal writing/scoring
(1:00:10) outro
...more
1h 2min
February 08, 2024 E28 – Lowdown 2.8.24
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.
Don’t miss our ⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter!⁠⁠⁠⁠
Support us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!
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Follow us on...
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
...more
12min
January 30, 2024 E27 – Lowdown 1.30.24
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.
Don’t miss our ⁠⁠⁠newsletter!⁠⁠⁠
Support us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠!
----
Follow us on...
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠
...more
14min
January 23, 2024 E26 – Lowdown 1.23.24
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.
Don’t miss our ⁠⁠newsletter!⁠⁠
Support us on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠!
----
Follow us on...
• ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠
...more
12min
January 22, 2024 E25 – Ground-Launched AIM-120s!
In the latest episode of The Merge Podcast, Mike sat down with Joe DeAntona, Raytheon vice president, Requirements & Capabilities, Land & Air Defense Systems, to discuss the NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) a product that re-purposes AIM-120 and AIM-9X missiles for air defense.
They cover various topics, including the system's capabilities, its deployment in different countries, its success in combat situations (including Ukraine), and its potential applications. They also talk about system flexibility, collaboration with partners like Kongsberg, recent developments, and a demo conducted to enhance the system's capabilities, especially in countering cruise missiles.

Show notes:
●     Introducing Mike [01:05]
●     Joe’s background [03:30]
●     Overview of NASAMS and its capabilities [04:29]
●     The key part of NASAMS [06:39]
●     Different generations of NASAMS, and where it is in the U.S. military [11:13]
●     The key elements of NASAMS [19:45]
●     Discussion on ground-based air missiles [23:20]
●     Raytheon’s history, and the IRAD project [33:13]
●     NASAMS’ successful demonstration supported by the U.S. Air Force [38:00]
●     Discussion on radars [41:57]
●     NASAMS involvement in the IFPC [48:00]
●     NASAMS' combat success and its deployment in Ukraine [54:53]
●     On developing a counter cruise missile solution [01:05:18]

Links:
●     Sign up for our newsletter⁠
●     Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠
●     Mike Benitez (LinkedIn)

Follow us:
●     ⁠Instagram⁠
●     ⁠Facebook⁠
●     X (Twitter)⁠
●     LinkedIn⁠
●     ⁠Website⁠
...more
1h 13min
January 16, 2024 E24 – Lowdown 1.16.24
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.
Don’t miss our ⁠newsletter!⁠
Support us on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠!
----
Follow us on...
• ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠Website⁠⁠
...more
7min
January 09, 2024 E23 – Lowdown 1.9.24
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.
Don’t miss our newsletter!
Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!
----
Follow us on...
• ⁠Instagram⁠
• ⁠Facebook⁠
• ⁠X (Twitter)⁠
• ⁠LinkedIn⁠
• ⁠Website⁠
...more
11min
January 07, 2024 E22 – The legend that reshaped the 1990s military tech industry
Don’t miss our newsletter!
Mike and Jake host defense industry legend Norm Augustine in
a rare interview!
He started as an aeronautical engineer in the 1950s and rose
to become the first CEO of Lockheed Martin, before leaving it all.
He lived through the 1980s defense industry heyday, wrote a
hilarious book called ‘Augustine’s Laws ’ and led the industry through a massive consolidation in the early 1990s after the infamous ‘Last Supper.’ This is a first-hand account of how it all went down—he was in the room when it happened.
Norm shares his professional experiences and some amazing personal stories—like how he almost bought Northrop Grumman. This is an interview you don’t want to miss.
If you need any more reasons to listen, his resume and achievements are so incredible they sound made up:
- Co-founded In-Q-Tel, the venture capital arm of the CIA
- Chairman of the Red Cross
- President of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- President of the Boy Scouts of America
- Chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association
- President and Chairman of the Association of the United States Army
- Chairman of the National Academy of Engineering
- Served 16 years on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
- traveled to 130 countries
- holds 34 honorary degrees
- received dozens of accolades, including the Pentagon’s highest civilian decoration, the Distinguished Civilian Service Award---FIVE TIMES.
For those interested in #defense #military #business leadership
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Links
• Sign up for our ⁠amazing newsletter⁠!
• Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!
• Jake Chapman X (@vc)
• Mike Benitez (Linked In)
----
Follow us on...
• ⁠Instagram⁠
• ⁠Facebook⁠
• ⁠X (Twitter)⁠
• ⁠LinkedIn⁠
• ⁠Website⁠
----
Show Notes
(01:06) intro
(03:48) 1950’s at Boeing & Douglas
(04:59) Sputnik
(05:45) becoming Under Secretary of the Army
(08:59) working for Robert McNamara
(14:24) Martin Marietta
(15:47) Space shuttle story
(22:23) 1980’s defense industry hey day
(23:49) $600 roll of tape
(29:25) Augustine’s Laws
(40:04) The Last Supper
(51:04) The industry consolidates in the 1990s
(54:17) The ramifications today
(1:02:12) How Norm became CEO of Lockheed Martin
(1:05:34) Norm almost bought Northrop Grumman?
(1:13:41) How Lockheed Martin got its name
(1:16:16) the lawsuit
(1:20:32) Why Norm left the defense industry
(1:25:12) Norm’s passion now
(1:26:18) 2 life-changing encounters
(1:29:21) A call from the CIA leads to creating In-Q-Tel
(1:36:44) outro
...more
1h 39min
December 17, 2023 E21 – Leading the Blue Angels & Thunderbirds (replay)
Sign up for our ⁠⁠amazing newsletter⁠⁠!
As the year comes to a close, enjoy (or re-enjoy) one of our favorite episodes of 2023.
Mike "Pako" Benitez joins forces with John “Rain” Waters to co-host a first-of-its-kind interview with the Commander of the Air Force Thunderbirds AND the Executive Officer of the Navy Blue Angels.
We go behind the scenes with both teams to learn about leadership, flying, teamwork in a way you’ve never heard before. It’s an epic discussion not to be missed!
For those interested in #military #leadership #teamwork #flying
----
Links
• Sign up for our ⁠amazing newsletter⁠!
• Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!
----
Follow us on...
• ⁠Instagram⁠
• ⁠Facebook⁠
• ⁠X (Twitter)⁠
• ⁠LinkedIn⁠
• ⁠Website⁠
----
Show Notes
(01:20) intro
(2:45) icebreaker
(10:06) sitting in the same room
(12:53) learning from each other
(13:55) T-birds rough period
(14:47) sometimes you can see culture
(15:40) cultural waves in the two teams
(16:36) the T-birds T-38 cultural era
(19:02) President Carter’s Crisis of Confidence
(26:02) Blue’s “glad to be here” culture
(27:59) how tough is the flying?
(29:44) there is no off-season
(33:37) team dynamics of an exemplar squadron
(35:08) The T-birds’ hangar
(36:27) contagious culture of excellence
(36:42) Agile Combat Employment
(37:27) Blue Angels' hangar
(39:57) how they travel
(43:28) authority and trust are key
(45:19) Fat Albert
(46:12) Van Halen M&Ms
(47:15) they’ve never canceled due to maintenance
(48:47) Angels on arrival
(50:01) debrief culture
(50:52) Fat Albert JATO
(52:18) Top Gun Maverick
(54:10) new Super Hornets
(57:30) T-Birds’ tricks to flying that good
(1:03:00) Angels’ tricks to flying that good
(1:04:43) counting feathers
(1:06:17) aiming to crash
(1:07:57) most memorable experience on the teams
(1:08:59) Chris Darnell
(1:14:12) outro
...more
1h 17min

FAQs about The Merge:

How many episodes does The Merge have?

The podcast currently has 50 episodes available.

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