The Merge

By The MergeGovernment

The Merge episodes

October 01, 2023 E17 – HTX Labs
Mike Benitez hosts Scott Schneider, CEO of HTX Labs, to discuss
the future of learning. Hear about how a small startup pivoted into working with the Air Force and how they’ve used immersive learning in XR to change the way the Air Force trains aircraft maintainers and pilots.
For those who like #military #technology #aviation #airforce
#learning #training #XR #VR
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Links
• Sign up for the Merge’s ⁠amazing newsletter⁠!
• Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!
• ⁠Mike Benitez LinkedIn
• HTX Labs website
• HTX Labs email: [email protected]
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Show Notes
(00:53) intro
(01:54) HTX Labs origin story
(05:22) what is XR
(07:10) EMPACT
(10:57) VR and Air Force pilot training
(13:58) the “aha” moment
(16:52) Pilot Training Next
(21:15) Crew chiefs and maintainers
(23:23) ATO/cybersecurity
(24:59) working with the Pentagon
(26:35) the importance of a contract vehicle
(33:10) SBIR story
(38:45) questions to ask XR/VR vendors
(44:13) outro
46 min
September 03, 2023 E16 – Foreign Relations & China
Former Australian diplomat John Fowler joins Mike Benitez to
unpack international relations. What is it? Why does it matter? Why is China
being so ambitious? What are they doing in South America? How’s a Taiwan invasion looking? All that and more!

For those who like #military #technology #strategy #diplomacy

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Links
• Sign up for the Merge’s ⁠amazing newsletter⁠!
• Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!
• ⁠Mike Benitez LinkedIn
• International Intrigue newsletter
• @intintrigue X
• Taiwan Policy Act of 2022

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• ⁠X⁠
• ⁠LinkedIn⁠
• ⁠Website⁠

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Show Notes
(01:28) intro
(04:35) what is diplomacy?
(09:31) military connection
(13:27) Monroe Doctrine
(21:19) Changing view on China
(22:52) Belt & Road Initiative
(26:54) BRI in Latin America
(30:34) Davidson Window
(33:52) Ukraine’s impact on China
(43:18) Impact of decoupling chip industry
(46:26) US policy on Taiwan
(52:00) outro
55 min
August 13, 2023 E15 – Space Drugs & Hypersonics
Mike and Jake host Varda Delian Asparouhov, Founders Fund
partner and co-founder of Varda Space Industries, to talk about venture capital investing, Varda’s efforts to make drugs in space, and why the Air Force is interested in using their orbiting pharmaceutical lab to help test hypersonic weapons.
For those who like #military #technology #airforce #aviation #aerospace #space

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Links
• Sign up for our ⁠amazing newsletter⁠!
• Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠
• ⁠Mike Benitez LinkedIn⁠
• Jake Chapman X (Twitter)
• Delian Asparouhov X (Twitter)

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• ⁠Facebook⁠
• ⁠X (Twitter)⁠
• ⁠LinkedIn⁠
• ⁠Website⁠
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Show Notes
(00:47) intro
(05:00) Varda’s connection to Palantir and Anduril
(06:22) Varda’s origin story
(08:58) how to find a co-founder
(11:42) why drugs
(13:23) naming the company
(15:39) the space capsule
(17:08) Falcon 9 launched into space
(19:00) why Ritonavir
(22:19) patent a space drug?
(26:47) stuck in orbit?
(28:27) how it comes back to Earth
(30:20) how the Air Force became a customer
(33:40) China’s hypersonic news
(34:23) Varda’s Air Force STRATFI contract
(37:14) Varda’s mission
(39:17) Silicon Valley and Congress
(42:48) Defense tech investing
(47:31) lightning round
(56:00) outro
52 min
July 23, 2023 E14 – F-35 Fighter Jet Engine War
Mike brings Matt back on the show to help unpack the raging debate about which engine should power the F-35 fighter jet into the future. This episode covers all the details about the technology at the center of the debate, as well as the politics, history, and strategy in play. Fence in for some education and entertainment!
For those who like #military #technology #airforce #aviation
#aerospace
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Links
• Sign up for our ⁠amazing newsletter⁠!
• Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠
• ⁠Mike Benitez LinkedIn⁠
• ⁠Matt MacGregor LinkedIn⁠
• Pete & Matt’s ⁠Defense Acquisition Substack⁠
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Show Notes
(00:44) intro
(02:15) the F-35 engine problem
(06:33) power & cooling
(08:38) cooling
(14:29) the 2 engine choices
(14:48) option 1: engine core upgrade
(19:32) sharks with lasers
(22:38) option 2: new adaptive engine
(33:16) adaptive engine history with the F-22
(35:12) 20 years of bad blood
(40:47) the feud goes public
(47:17) Congress weighs in
(49:26) impacts on industry
(50:36) 6th gen fighter engine program
(53:55) Mike's spicy take
(57:42) outro
1 hr
June 25, 2023 E13 – The Defense Budget: too much or too little?
Mike, Jake, and Tim break down how the US military spends $850+ BILLION PER YEAR. Where does it all go? Who gets what? What are the trends to track? Is it too much money…or not enough? Tune in to find out. We'll make you smart on the defense budget—we guarantee it.
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Links
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Show Notes
(00:30) intro
(02:39) joke time
(04:24) Jon Stewart’s interview
(05:54) the budget basics
(08:19) slices of the pie, by branch
(11:49) slices of the pie, by use
(12:47) RDT&E slice
(17:21) procurement slice
(26:37) personnel slice
(36:00) O&M slice
(37:10) Why O&M is so high
(39:10) innovation in production
(43:51) how much is enough? Toplines
(46:37) GDP
(51:25) NATO GDP
(54:16) balancing the budget
(56:32) defense vs. non-defense
(59:48) sequestration lessons not learned
( 1:02:17) outro
1 hr 4 min
June 04, 2023 E12 – How the Military Predicts the Future
Mike hosts Air Force Colonel Don “Stryker” Haley to talk about how the US military predicts the future. Learn about how future concepts are created and war-gamed, and how that determines which technology should be prioritized for development to solve the right problems.
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Links
* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co
* Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge
* Don “Stryker” Haley on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/don-stryker-haley/
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Show Notes
(00:44) intro
(04:32) setting the stage
(09:16) 2018 NDS
(12:06) JWC 1.0
(16:10) what wargames are for
(19:20) JWC 2.0 and Integrated Deterrence
(19:40) 4 functional battles – CJADC2
(23:17) JWC 3.0
(24:04) the problem with near-term wargaming
(26:27) Top Secret
(28:13) who looks at the future
(31:36) wargaming
(32:19) white/blue/red teams
(40:59) what operators get wrong
(45:10) a blitz may be a mistake
(47:30) Globally Integrated Wargames (GIWG)
(48:33) lots of secrets
(54:01) learning no one’s in charge
(57:17) what happens after wargaming
(1:00:46) the budgeting realities
(1:02:36) Agile Combat Employment (ACE)
(1:08:34) cruise missiles from cargo planes
(1:15:12) AI-powered drones (CCAs)
(1:19:13) outro

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#wargame, #wargames #airforcefutures #jointwarfighting #airforce #militaryplanning #militarytechnology #china #CCA #rapiddragon #collaborativecombataircraft #nationalsecurity #drones #cruisemissile #military #usmilitary #pentagon# strategy #technology #mil tech #military tech #airforce #air force #army #navy # marine corps #secrets
1 hr 22 min
May 14, 2023 E11 – Lockheed Martin Ventures
Mike and Jake chat with Chris Moran, VP and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, for an inside look into why the world’s largest defense company invests hundreds of millions of dollars into tech startup companies.
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Links
* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co
* Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge
* Lockheed Martin Ventures https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/who-we-are/lockheed-martin-ventures.html
* Machina Labs https://www.machinalabs.ai/
* Norm Augustine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_R._Augustine
* Augustine’s laws https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine%27s_laws
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Show Notes
(01:03) intro
(03:08) icebreaker
(04:59) how Chris got into defense
(07:35) how Chris got into defense finance
(11:52) VC 101
(12:21) Lockheed’s investment track record
(14:32) how to exit an investment
(19:10) quantum use-cases
(20:30) Machina Labs
(23:02) investment tension
(25:11) times have changed
(32:20) dual-use hedge
(38:15) Lockheed Martin CEOs
(41:46) Kelly Johnson
(48:16) magic wand
(49:51) what everyone gets wrong about innovation
(52:17) graveyard of eVTOL companies
(55:13) lightning round
(58:45) outro
1 hr
April 30, 2023 E10 – Unmanned Fighter Drones
Mike and Tim chat with Andrew “Scar” Van Timmeren from Blue Force Technologies to hear about their experience in the defense tech sector and how they are trying to punch above their weight class—by building an unmanned fighter jet drone.
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Links
* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co
* Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge
* Blue Force Technologies https://blueforcetech.com/
* Scar’s LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewvt/
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Show Notes
(01:05) intro
(03:03) Scar intro
(05:52) BFT
(13:01) spicy take on digital engineering
(15:28) BFT's SBIR experience
(24:56) funding gaps
(25:47) valley of death
(34:47) end user vs. customer are not the same
(36:18) Fury
(37:35) practice squads
(43:27) mission-specific vs multi-role engineering
(46:30) autonomy and atrophy
(48:28) speed of business vs govt
(50:10) the ask – security and over-classification
(52:03) Mike's spicy take
(52:55) outro
55 min
April 09, 2023 E9 – Tech Happenings
Mike, Jake, and Tim reunite to catch up on three tech topics: the SVB bank run, national security concerns with TikTok, and the latest with generative AI.
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Links
* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co
* Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge
* Ask Sage (GPT for US govt CUI data) https://www.asksage.ai
* Creating a task-driven autonomous agent using GPT4 https://yoheinakajima.com/task-driven-autonomous-agent-utilizing-gpt-4-pinecone-and-langchain-for-diverse-applications
* Jake’s AI book recommendation (Daemon, by Daniel Suarez): https://www.amazon.com/DAEMON-Daemon-Daniel-Suarez/dp/0451228731

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Show Notes
(00:31) intro
(1:25) Jake’s SVB steak dinner
(2:00) SVB bank run
(4:51) SVB and national security
(16:57) TikTok
(19:46) the upside of TikTok
(23:56) TikTok's algorithm after the hearing
(27:18) TikTok's big China problem
(34:08) The Restrict Act
(39:33) Generative AI
(41:08) BingAI vs ChatGPT
(43:53) AI story time
(44:55) Ask Sage
(49:18) ChatGPT for legal help
(58:42) outro
59 min
March 19, 2023 E8 - Leading the Blue Angels & Thunderbirds
Mike joins forces with The Afterburn Podcast’s John “Rain” Waters to co-host an epic 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.

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Links
* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co
* Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge
* The Afterburn Podcast https://www.theafterburnpodcast.com/

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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 16 min