In Part II of our interview with Sam Bendett, Dan Magy continues the deep dive into how unmanned systems are transforming modern warfare—this time, focusing on the maritime domain. 

Sam explores how commercial tech is enabling smaller nations to rival traditional naval powers, why large legacy systems like aircraft carriers may soon be vulnerable, and how even civilian cargo ships could be weaponized through modular drone-launch systems. They also discuss the implications of proxy conflict, containerized drones, and how global shipping may be the next front in the drone war era.

Timestamps:
01:04 – Maritime drones go global: Taiwan, Turkey, Saronic
03:00 – Aircraft carriers vs. $200K boats: The power shift
05:30 – Ghost fleets: Modular, hidden, and fast
08:00 – When navies finally adapt: The “incident” theory
10:15 – Iran & China’s DIY drone carriers
13:30 – Civilian ships as drone platforms: The ethical gray zone
16:00 – Global shipping under threat: Red Sea to piracy-proof tankers
19:00 – Defense primes for commercial fleets?
20:30 – Proxy war, satellite intel, and global coordination

Twitter/X: @SamBendett
LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-bendett-06996018/)

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About Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.