The Merge

By The MergeGovernment

The Merge episodes

January 30, 2024 E27 – Lowdown 1.30.24
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.
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14 min
January 23, 2024 E26 – Lowdown 1.23.24
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.
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12 min
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]

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1 hr 13 min
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!
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7 min
January 09, 2024 E23 – Lowdown 1.9.24
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.
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Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!
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11 min
January 07, 2024 E22 – The legend that reshaped the 1990s military tech industry
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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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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
1 hr 39 min
December 17, 2023 E21 – Leading the Blue Angels & Thunderbirds (replay)
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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
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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
1 hr 17 min
November 26, 2023 E20 – Canada’s Air Force Crisis
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Mike hosts Billy Flynn to discuss everything you need to
hear about the Royal Canadian Air Force.
All is not right in Canada; their Air Force has atrophied in several key areas. What happened? Why are the fighter pilots quitting? Can they still contribute to NATO? Is it too late to fix it? Tune in for answers!
For those interested in #military #technology #strategy #airforce #NATO
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Billy Flynn
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Show Notes
(01:29) intro
(07:48) the Royal Canadian Air Force
(08:45) how Canada got F-18s
(17:54) NORAD and Canada
(21:40) why Canada matters to US defense
(24:27) the RCAF’s key maritime mission
(32:50) Canada’s F-35 debacle
(44:33) losing the fighter pilot
(52:25) how to fix the RCAF?
(56:48) outro
59 min
November 12, 2023 E19 – Seagliders: The Next Innovation in Mobility
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Mike and Jake host REGENT Co-founder & CEO Billy Thalheimer
to discuss Wing-In-Ground-effect (WIG) vehicles. Why do they refer to them as seagliders? What is the science and technology that makes them work? Why is there no pilot? Why is the Marine Corps is interested? Tune in for answers!
For those interested in #military #technology #strategy #innovation #business #transportion
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Links
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• ⁠Mike Benitez LinkedIn
• Jake Chapman X (@vc)
• Billy Thalheimer LinkedIn
• REGENT website
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Show Notes
(01:12) intro
(03:11) What are WIGs
(07:43) Flown by a captain?
(10:52) full scale mockup
(14:30) $60M Series A fundraise
(16:35) Marine Corps application
(22:03) electric vehicles in a Pacific fight?
(24:30) building a strong board of advisors
(25:57) certification and safety
(31:10) scale
(34:30) dual-use development
(36:14) Coast Guard interest?
(37:26) Why Rhode Island?
(40:15) outro
42 min
October 29, 2023 E18 – NEWS: Israel, Congress, $1B defense tech bet, & more
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Mike, Jake, and Tim reunite to discuss the latest defense-related
news and happenings: Israel at war, Congress elects a Speaker, growing support for the $1B tech hedge against China, and how innovation really works.
For those interested in #military #technology #strategy
#china #israel #innovation
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Links
• Sign up for the Merge’s ⁠amazing newsletter⁠!
• Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!
• ⁠Mike Benitez LinkedIn
• Jake Chapman X (@vc)
• Tim Nolan LinkedIn

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Show Notes
(00:40 ) intro
(01:37) Israel/Gaza War
(33:07) Congress – the House gets a new Speaker
(44:30) the $1B defense tech hedge
(51:49) how innovation happens
(59:36) Air Force STRATFI-TACFI
(1:09:08) outro
1 hr 10 min