The Merge (The Merge)
Explorez tous les épisodes de The Merge
| Date | Titre | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 2024 | E42 – B-52 BUFF modernization | 00:53:45 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! Mike hosts Col. Joseph Little, callsign “Little Joe,” to discuss how the US Air Force is modernizing the legendary B-52 BUFF to keep it flying into the 2050s—100 years after its first flight. Col Little is a B-52 Weapons Systems Officer, a US Air Force Weapons School graduate, a former test squadron commander, and currently serving as the Detachment 5 Commander of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC), where he oversees the B-52J program. The B-52J modernization program is a $48 Billion transformation designed to extend the bomber's life into the 2060s. It includes new engines, advanced cockpits, upgraded radar, and more, making it the most significant overhaul in the aircraft's history. This episode covers not just the tech but also tactics, weapons, historical milestones, and untold war stories. Whether you're a fan of military aviation or interested in strategic operations, this insider’s look at the B-52 is a must-listen! For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #innovation #b52 #BUFF #bomber #aviation #airplanes #aerospace
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---- Show Notes 00:49 intro 03:24 yesterday vs today 04:57 B-52 in 2024 05:17 changing the crew roles 05:53 bombardier wings 06:12 The youngest oldest B-52s 08:04 BUFF origins 08:39 Orange BUFF 10:14 test units 11:13 test lessons from Vietnam 13:32 B-52 modernization 14:40 the B-52J 16:18 radar upgrade 21:15 quad crew concept 23:29 Fox-4 kill 24:30 new engines - why 8? 28:22 fixing the tanker bill 28:46 Iraqi Freedom tankers 30:10 engine nacelle issues 32:20 testing validated the model 33:05 rest of the engine mods 35:10 alert start requirements 36:21 cockpit upgrades 38:15 BUFF legacy - James Earl Jones 39:01 culture and change 42:49 the nuke consideration 43:29 AEHF radio upgrade 44:50 B-52 nose job? 46:54 Story 1 - aerial mining 48:44 Story 2 - CBU-105 combat drop 52:05 brakes? 52:51 outro | |||
| 20 Feb 2024 | E30 – Lowdown 2.20.24 | 00:11:37 | |
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 ---- Follow us on... | |||
| 03 Mar 2025 | The Future of Air Warfare: Radars (Sponsored) | 00:38:09 | |
Joe “Grip” Beissner, Director of Requirements and Capabilities for Radio Frequency Solutions at Raytheon, a business of RTX, joins us to discuss the cutting-edge AESA radars Raytheondelivers for our warfighters. | |||
| 25 Jun 2023 | E13 – The Defense Budget: too much or too little? | 01:03:02 | |
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. ---- Links * SUBSCRIBE to our amazing newsletter ---- Follow us on... * Instagram * Facebook * Twitter ---- 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 | |||
| 07 Jan 2024 | E22 – The legend that reshaped the 1990s military tech industry | 01:38:20 | |
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 ---- Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... ---- 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 | |||
| 23 Jul 2023 | E14 – F-35 Fighter Jet Engine War | 00:59:08 | |
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 ---- Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon • Pete & Matt’s Defense Acquisition Substack ---- Follow us on... ---- 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 | |||
| 13 Aug 2023 | E15 – Space Drugs & Hypersonics | 00:51:38 | |
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 ---- Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon • Jake Chapman X (Twitter) • Delian Asparouhov X (Twitter) ---- Follow us on... ---- 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 | |||
| 30 Jan 2024 | E27 – Lowdown 1.30.24 | 00:13:27 | |
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings. Don’t miss our newsletter! Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... | |||
| 16 Jan 2024 | E24 – Lowdown 1.16.24 | 00:06:36 | |
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings. Don’t miss our newsletter! Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... | |||
| 23 Nov 2022 | E1 - A Star is Born! | 00:51:58 | |
Episode 1: A Star is Born! After too many excuses, the Merge newsletter’s Mike Benitez launches the inaugural Merge podcast! Co-hosting duties are shared with Jake Chapman (@VC) and Tim Nolan (@NatSecTim). In this episode, we talk about 3 things the newsletter has never covered in its 2-year existence: venture capital, TikTok, and American Dynamism. Show Notes: (00:30) – the world’s most okayist defense podcast (1:02) – Co-host intros (3:58) – What is venture capital (20:49) – Jake and the Army Venture Capital Corporation (26:20 ) – TikTok and national security (39:16) – WTH is ‘American Dynamisn’ Subscribe to the newsletter: Patreon: | |||
| 19 Mar 2023 | E8 - Leading the Blue Angels & Thunderbirds | 01:15:49 | |
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. ---- 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/ ---- Follow us on... * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/merge_newsletter * Facebook https://www.facebook.com/themergenews * Twitter https://twitter.com/MergeNewsletter * LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/themerge * Website https://www.themerge.co ---- 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 | |||
| 03 Sep 2023 | E16 – Foreign Relations & China | 00:54:23 | |
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 ---- Links • Sign up for the Merge’s amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! • International Intrigue newsletter ---- Follow us on... • X ---- 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 | |||
| 26 Nov 2023 | E20 – Canada’s Air Force Crisis | 00:58:37 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! 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 ---- Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! Billy Flynn •• website •• X (Twitter) ---- Follow the Merge! ---- 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 | |||
| 17 Jan 2025 | E45 – Operational War w/ John Warden | 01:20:19 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! In this episode, Mike interviews retired Air Force Colonel John Warden. John is an Air Force pioneer who shaped how the modern world thinks about warfare—specifically the concepts of the operational level of war, parallel attack, and centers of gravity. He is most noted as the creator of Warden’s Five Rings and the architect of the Gulf War air campaign—but there’s much more than that. We talked about how his thoughts were shaped in Vietnam and the 1980s, how he ended up in the Pentagon, and what series of events led to his framework being used to create Operation Desert Storm. We applied the real lessons from Desert Storm to discuss China, why it’s a strategic threat, and the blind spot in US national security. If you’re into history, strategy, warfare, military tactics, and national security—this episode is for you.
Links • Sign up for the newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... • X ---- Show Notes 01:31 intro 03:31 Vietnam experience 05:56 Vietnam reshaped the Air Force 10:36 post-Vietnam thinking about the Middle East 13:56 command structure in the 1980s 16:14 Bitburg to Georgia to Italy 17:38 the 5 Rings - War College origins 18:13 missing the operational level of war 26:17 Warden's 5 rings 29:36 the other usefulness of the 5 rings 32:13 Checkmate 34:25 Checkmate, 5 Rings, and the Soviet Union 35:20 Fuel and the Fulda Gap 39:37 context for Desert Storm 42:44 Checkmate and Desert Storm 45:34 Checkmate gets into Desert Storm 48:26 the original 3-week plan 54:01 Not learning from Desert Storm? 57:24 today's challenges 58:29 China revelation #1 1:00:44 The Gulf War...on US soil 1:02:41 The US cyber vulnerability 1:06:52 China 2027 2035 2049 1:08:36 homeland defense blindspot 1:09:49 coastal defense 1:11:38 self-deterrence? 1:14:42 global reach global power 1:17:48 commitment to defense 1:18:51 outro #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #usmc #innovation #war #strategy #aerospace #china #desertstorm #gulfwar #airpower #militaryhistory #militarypower #iraq #middleeast #desertstorm #gulfwar | |||
| 22 Dec 2024 | E44 – Silent Arrow | 00:42:53 | |
Check out our newsletter, where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! In this episode, Mike interviews Chip Yates, founder of Yates Electrospace Corporation. With a background in racing, Chip has made a name for himself by setting numerous world records as a pioneer in electric-powered motorcycles and airplanes. His journey took a strategic turn when he encountered a complex military challenge, leading to the inception of his company. Chip pivoted to defense, launching Silent Arrow—disposable cargo drones deployed from planes like the C-130. These drones must fly dozens—even hundreds—of miles yet be cost-effective enough to be discarded after just a single use. Chip shares his decade-long journey in defense tech, offering insights into affordable, executable innovation in an industry full of giant companies and complex technology.
Links • Sign up for the newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... • X ---- Show Notes 00:50 intro 01:47 Chip's racing background 03:03 company origins 03:41 getting involved in defense tech 04:11 the idea and 1st concept vehicle 06:53 the Smithsonian 08:34 2,000 glider drone 08:48 how Silent Arrow works 10:14 the need for more standoff 12:10 operational evals of prototypes 13:50 crawl walk run 15:03 the Pacific Pivot? 15:52 Airbus partnership 17:26 powered cargo drones 19:29 interesting payloads 20:42 the C-130 of drones 20:59 design and looks 23:10 raising money in defense tech 24:27 more requirement creep 25:37 using a Tesla?! 28:34 timeline for Tesla-launch 29:28 advertising in defense 30:46 2025 expectations 31:26 a super size version 33:50 adaption vs invention 35:36 keeping the cargo intact 38:46 powered version 39:50 advice 40:37 raising money 42:21 outro For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #innovation #aviation #airplanes #aerospace #c130 #cargo #mobility #logistics #supply #resupply #drones #unmanned #drone | |||
| 24 Feb 2023 | E7 - Ukraine: 1 Year Later | 00:44:55 | |
Mike “Starbaby” Pietrucha joins Mike and Jake to talk about Ukraine on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Hear about how it all happened, where the war stands today, what matters now, and what the future looks like for peace. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * NAFO https://nafo-ofan.org/ * Saint Javelin https://www.saintjavelin.com/ * Sign My Rocket https://signmyrocket.com/ * Amateur Hour Part II: https://warontherocks.com/2022/08/amateur-hour-part-ii-failing-the-air-campaign/ ---- Follow us on... * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/merge_newsletter * Facebook https://www.facebook.com/themergenews * Twitter https://twitter.com/MergeNewsletter * LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/themerge * Website https://www.themerge.co ---- Show Notes (00:50) intro (2:28) Starbaby becomes an expert (3:51) the real invasion start (9:03) why did Putin invade? (12:14) Nazis? (15:20) torture (17:07) weather stalemate (18:42) climate change? (20:26) NAFO and the internet campaigns (22:26) sponsor suicide boats (23:05) foreign aid (25:17) a lab to observe (29:25) ground-launched SDB (31:12) ATACMS (31:44) Kerch Bridge (33:22) logistics (34:15) Russia’s inability to fight a war (36:26) China is watching (37:23) what does peace look like? (41:23) Ukrainian’s take on peace (44:25) outro | |||
| 17 Dec 2022 | E2 - Red Air | 01:16:59 | |
Host Mike Benitez brings the spirit of the Merge in a full court press to discuss Adversary Air—aka Red Air—in a way you’ve never heard. It’s an entertaining journey through the history, policy, technology, strategy, industry, and business of Red Air. Today’s guests: ---- Links * Want more intel and insights? Sign up for the Newsletter * Support us on Patreon * Shaggy - Top Aces * Scar - Blue Force Technology * Vader - Kodiak Shack Podcast * Stinger’s F-117 article: Train Like You Fight ---- Follow us on... * Website ---- Show Notes (1:28) – Guest Intros (4:23) – What is adversary air? (13:15) – the industry (15:25) – Congress gets involved (18:54) – how’s it going now (industry) (22:46) – how’s it going now (fighter pilot) (34:05) – Top Aces buys F-16s (39:30) – F-117 red air (47:08) – adversary drones (52:07) – the cost of self-supporting adversaries (55:21) – training is deterrence (56:18) – training modernization (1:04:27) – story time | |||
| 03 Mar 2024 | E31 – The plan to fix the US military's industrial base | 01:01:06 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike and Jake host Dr. Christine (Chris) Michienzi, supply chain expert and former senior Pentagon executive, on the US government’s recently released National Defense Industrial Strategy—plan to revive its fragile defense industrial base. With 30 years of experience in this sector, she was recently the Chief Technology Officer for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy and the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment. Chris knows all the ins and outs of the woes of the industrial base—she saw the issues first-hand when she led the Pentagon’s efforts to surge munition production lines to support Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion. Hear just how big the problem is—and how it’s WAY harder to fix than it may sound. For those interested in #defense #military #business #technology #nationalsecurity #industry #supplychains #logistics ---- Links! • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! • 2023 National Defense Industrial Strategy ---- Follow us on... ---- 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 | |||
| 30 Apr 2023 | E10 – Unmanned Fighter Drones | 00:54:19 | |
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. ---- 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/ ---- Follow us on... * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/merge_newsletter * Facebook https://www.facebook.com/themergenews * Twitter https://twitter.com/MergeNewsletter * LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/themerge * Website https://www.themerge.co ---- 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 | |||
| 04 Jun 2023 | E12 – How the Military Predicts the Future | 01:21:01 | |
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. ---- 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/ ---- Follow us on... * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/merge_newsletter * Facebook https://www.facebook.com/themergenews * Twitter https://twitter.com/MergeNewsletter * LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/themerge * Website https://www.themerge.co ---- 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 ---- #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 | |||
| 16 Jun 2024 | E38 – Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar: REAL defense innovation | 00:54:15 | |
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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---- 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 | |||
| 15 Sep 2024 | E41 – Firestorm | 00:42:08 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! Mike and Jake host Dan Magy, co-founder and CEO of Firestorm. Firestorm’s mission is to democratize the air by re-imaging the way drones are built. They developed a method to 3D-print modular drones at the point of need, using a combination of shipping-container-based factories and localized supply chains. Best of all, the drones themselves are modular—from props to jets, AI to sensors, etc. The conversation went deep into “the why”: how Ukraine led to Firestorm, the real-time changing of the guard on how the Air Force thinks about building a credible force in light of all this, the exciting concept of attritable mass, rapidly innovating via crash-and-learn, and some history to boot. 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 #innovation #ukraine #drone #drones #battlefield #warfare
Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... • X
---- Show Notes 01:00 intro 01:28 counter-UAS startup 01:59 Ukraine starts Firestorm 03:43 the future is RF-denied 04:43:05 Firestorm name origin 05:22 competing in a crowded drone market 06:39 air superiority in the future 06:49 rapid iteration 07:09 Dan’s LinkedIn 08:16 adversaries are sharing tech and tactics 08:51 battle lab of the world 09:36 the pace of evolution - on LinkedIn 10:22 2-week evolution cycles 12:35 drones as physical decoys 13:28 cardboard drones must be honored 14:02 thermite dropping drones 14:32 keeping pace with battlefield innovation 16:00 Investors growing weary? 17:44 high-low mix 19:43 jet-powered drone 20:17 modular propulsion 20:58 autonomy differentiator 21:52 solving for non-recurring engineering 23:23 product iteration 24:08 crash and learn 25:47 failing fast - cost-effectiveness 26:48 VC investing 28:05 attritable mass 28:15 Ukraine's drone capacity 29:59 expeditionary manufacturing 31:15 localizing supply chains 33:47 attrition, reconstitution, and risk 36:25 attrition and operations 38:19 changing of the guard moment 39:50 personal risk? | |||
| 26 Mar 2024 | E32 – Lowdown 3.26.24 | 00:12:02 | |
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. Don’t miss our newsletter! Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... | |||
| 02 Jun 2024 | E37 – High Power Microwave Weapons | 01:09:43 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! 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. We talk about the tech, how it affects electronics, and how Epirus’ flagship product—Leonidas—is designed with adaptability and scale in mind. Turns out that HPM systems share more in common with an F-35 radar and an EA-18 jammer than a kitchen appliance! 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 ---- Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! • Epirus ---- Follow us on... • X (Twitter) • LinkedIn • Website ---- 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 | |||
| 29 Oct 2023 | E18 – NEWS: Israel, Congress, $1B defense tech bet, & more | 01:10:00 | |
Sign up for our newsletter! 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 ---- Links • Sign up for the Merge’s amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon!
---- Follow us on... ---- 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 | |||
| 25 Aug 2024 | E40 – Air Force Weapons Czar | 00:42:00 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! Mike and Jake host Andrew Hunter, the US Air Force’s chief weapons buyer. As the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (ATL), he oversees Air Force research, development and acquisition activities totaling an annual budget in excess of $60 billion for more than 550 acquisition programs. He is the principal adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff for research and development, test, production and modernization efforts within the Air Force. We talked about how he’s driving acquisition innovation and shaping the Air Force for great power competition. The discussion ranged from the good and bad on specific weapons programs—the B-21 bomber and Sentinel ICBM—negotiating the E-7 Wedgetail deal, workforce development, industry incentive alignment on price vs value, and a ton more. He even shared some new Collaborative Combat Aircraft insights that have not been made public before. 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 #innovation
Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon!
---- Follow us on... • X
---- Show Notes 00:34 intro 01:07 why a civilian weapons buyer? 02:07 how to keep track of 500+ programs 02:42 PEOs 03:48 the aquisitions perfect storm 06:02 cost plus vs fixed price contracts 08:01 E-7 Wedgetail negotiations 09:46 phone-a-friend negotiator 12:23 B-21 bomber 14:13 B-21 active management 15:47 B-21's unique hybrid contract 19:41 commercial vs defense markets 20:18 maintaining competition in industry 21:15 competition and investing signals 22:32 structuring the market for industry 25:00 government architectures to lower switching costs 27:13 workforce development 29:58 Sentinel ICBM cost over-run 30:07 Nunn-Mccurdy Breach 31:01 too big for 1 company? 33:44 New 'Quickstart' authority 35:58 watching the CCA engineering 36:16 non-traditionals forced to traditional prime? 37:46 Elon Musk for Pentagon processes? 39:10 CCA landing gear development 40:19 what keeps you up at night? 40:36 the pacing challenge 41:17 outro | |||
| 09 Jan 2024 | E23 – Lowdown 1.9.24 | 00:10:10 | |
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings. Don’t miss our newsletter! Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... | |||
| 29 Jun 2024 | E39 – Anduril & General Atomics CCAs | 00:43:18 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! Mike hosts an exclusive episode to discuss the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program with the 2 companies selected to build the first platforms: Anduril and General Atomics. 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 structure is a model for innovation and more. 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
Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! • Anduril • Diem Salmon - Vice President, Air Dominance and Strike at Anduril • Mike Atwood - Vice President, Advanced Programs at General Atomics ---- Follow us on... • X
---- 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 | |||
| 19 May 2024 | E35 – US Merchant Marine | 00:42:59 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike and Jake host Captain John Konrad to talk all things Merchant Marine. We talked about the Merchant Marine Academy, being a merchant mariner, and how they fit into national security. 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 customer? Hint….its NOT the Navy. Tune in for answers to all of the above—and more! John is the founder and CEO of gCaptain and author of Fire on The Horizon. He is licensed to captain the world's largest ships, has sailed from ports worldwide, and managed billion-dollar offshore construction projects in some of the world's harshest marine environments. 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 #warfare #shipping #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense
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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 | |||
| 01 Jan 2023 | E3 - Nukes, Fusion, & ChatGPT | 00:55:10 | |
Mike Benitez is back with Jake Chapman and Tim Nolan to discuss Russian nukes in the news, a breakthrough in fusion, TikTok, and all things ChatGPT. Tim cheats on a pop quiz in real time, Mike discovers Jake’s secret past, and Jake opines on the value of a future PutinGPT.
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Links
* Want more intel and insights? Sign up our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co/
* Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge
* Tim’s nuke article https://www.the-sun.com/news/6911324/putin-readies-nuke-launch-missile/
* ChatGPT https://chat.openai.com/chat
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Show Notes
(00:30) Intro
(1:24) Russia nuke news
(3:23) details don’t matter
(9:00) we finally read the article
(11:34) missile sponge
(14:18) pop quiz
(15:03) Tim explains fission
(16:55) Tim share’s his secret
(17:46) The best segway
(18:26) fusion in the news
(26:38) the next best segway
(28:32) Mike share’s his secret
(29:23) ChatGPT
(37:15) PutinGPT
(41:10) ChatGPT comments
(42:06) TikTok
(45:36) Jake’s TikTok spicy take
(49:02) You were a lawyer?!
(51:00) How to ban tiktok?
(53:32) ChatGPT writes the outro
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| 26 Nov 2024 | E43 – The Laser-Guided Bomb | 00:38:14 | |
Sign up for our newsletter, where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! Speaking of knowledge bombs, Mike hosts Ed Cobleigh to talk about Paveway: the laser-guided bomb. Ed flew 375 combat missions during the Vietnam War in the F-4 Phantom and was one of the first people to drop the Paveway laser-guided bomb in combat. He earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses and went on to attend Fighter Weapons School, where he remained in order to stand up the guided weapons division and teach Paveway LGB employment. Ed’s had a wild life beyond the Air Force and is now an author with 5 books (and counting). This episode covers not just the tech and tactics but also a first-person account of dropping LGBs in combat 56 years ago! ---- Links • Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... • X
---- Show Notes 00:34 intro 01:58 How Ed got to Vietnam 02:31 background of guided bombs 03:35 Paveway history 07:19 Project White Lightning 09:03 the first laser designator 10:19 Dropping the LGBs 12:15 results from the first tests 14:00 training for the first LGB drop 15:04 Zot nickname 17:49 Ed's 2nd tour 20:17 Navy gets Paveway 22:21 teaching LGBs at Nellis 23:45 Red Flag 25:16 Targeting Pods 26:57 Linebacker 1972 27:56 Dragons Jaw Bridge 29:51 Paveway’s legacy 30:46 F-117 and Paveway 32:37 Paveway III 34:29 Paveway lawsuit 35:26 Ed's books 37:45 outro For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #innovation #F4 #vietnam #aviation #airplanes #aerospace | |||
| 17 Dec 2023 | E21 – Leading the Blue Angels & Thunderbirds (replay) | 01:16:01 | |
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... ---- 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 | |||
| 09 Apr 2023 | E9 – Tech Happenings | 00:58:42 | |
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. ---- 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 ---- Follow us on... * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/merge_newsletter * Facebook https://www.facebook.com/themergenews * Twitter https://twitter.com/MergeNewsletter * LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/themerge * Website https://www.themerge.co ---- 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 | |||
| 11 Feb 2024 | E29 – Inside Look on Selling Tech to the Pentagon | 01:01:49 | |
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 ---- Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... ---- 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 | |||
| 23 Feb 2025 | The Future of Air Warfare: Weapons (Sponsored) | 00:22:04 | |
Jon "Stormin" Norman, Vice President of Requirements & Capabilities at Raytheon, a business of RTX, joins us to discuss the cutting-edge air-to-air and -surface weapons and effectors Raytheon delivers for our warfighters. | |||
| 08 Feb 2024 | E28 – Lowdown 2.8.24 | 00:11:56 | |
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings. Don’t miss our newsletter! Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... | |||
| 16 Feb 2025 | E46 – Expendable Tech for F-35 Threat Training | 00:53:00 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! In this episode, Mike sits down with Brett “Snappy”Abbamonte, a former Marine Corps F-35 pilot now at Advanced Strategic Insight (ASI) Inc. Snappy is the program manager for ELITE (ExpendableLower-cost Integrated Training Emitter), a compact, cost-effective system designed to mimic high-end surface-to-air missile (SAM) threats. Dive into how this innovative tech is reshaping training,enhancing readiness, and solving a critical warfighter problem—offering a firsthand look at how operators are using ELITE in the field to sharpen their edge. If you're into military training, cutting-edge technology,and boosting warfighter readiness—this episode is a must-listen.
Links • Sign up for the newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! • Mike Benitez on LinkedIn • Brett “Snappy” Abbamonte on LinkedIn • ASI company • ELITE product
---- Follow us on... • X ---- 00:00 start 01:11 intro 03:08 Snappy 04:49 F-35 magnifies a growing problem 07:21 the 3-solution problem 10:31 good-enough solution space 12:12 ELITE 13:51 size and power 15:35 as a target 17:45 customers 20:27 remote controlled 22:00 how to keep it low cost 23:34 creative training 25:09 how the training looks 26:47 RAF Lakenheath 31:19 SBIR experience 38:02 valley of death 38:34 end of year money 40:27 squadron innovation funds 42:14 expendable concept validated 42:50 Marine Corps weapons school example 44:40 expendable allocation 46:14 tools for innovative training 49:30 memory lane 49:45 callsign story 51:40 outro #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity#defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #usmc#innovation #war #strategy #aerospace #china #airpower #f35 #training #readiness #electronicwarfare | |||
| 26 May 2024 | E36 – Revolutionizing Ukraine's Defense Tech Industry | 00:44:03 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike hosts Perry Boyle to dive into Ukraine’s rapidly developing defense industry. Perry co-founded MITS Capital (Military Innovation Technology Solutions), a US venture that just established the first defense tech accelerator in Ukraine. MITS’ vision is to revolutionize Ukraine’s defense industry by investing in Ukrainian defense tech startups, nurturing and developing the ecosystem, and rapidly maturing and scaling military tech solutions to the front lines. They are raising a $50M fund and just selected the first cohorts for the accelerator. We talk about the industry's ins and outs, compliance and regulatory blockers, the promising upside, Ukraine’s insanely fast innovation cycle, key investing insights, “winning” vs. “losing” the war, investing in peace, and much more. 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 #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #investing #venture #vc
---- Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon!
---- Follow us on...
---- 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 | |||
| 15 Jan 2023 | E4 - How the Pentagon Buys Stuff | 01:25:52 | |
Mike hosts defense acquisition experts Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor to better understand just how hard it is for the US military to buy stuff. We also discuss a shortcut called a Middle Tier Acquisition (MTA), along with some examples you’ve probably heard of: B-52 engines, F-15EX fighter jets, and hypersonic missiles. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * Eric contact https://www.linkedin.com/in/elofgren/ * Eric’s Acquisition Talk https://acquisitiontalk.com * Matt contact https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-macgregor77/ * Matt’s op-ed https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2022/09/get-know-middle-tier-awesomeer-acquisition/377017/ * Pentagon Wars (full movie) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir0FAa8P2MU ---- Follow us on... * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/merge_newsletter * Facebook https://www.facebook.com/themergenews * Twitter https://twitter.com/MergeNewsletter * LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/themerge * Website https://www.themerge.co ---- Show Notes (1:00) intro (4:12) overview (5:06) monopsony (6:58) requirements (9:04) Pentagon Wars (20:45) acquisition strategy (23:44) “joint” (31:58) how much does it cost? (35:38) the budget (37:11) the PPBE (43:06) what is the NDAA? (45:38) what is an MTA? (53:15) MTA examples (53:27) B-52 engines (1:01:00) IVAS (Army AR headset) (1:05:06) F-15EX (1:11:05) F-22 Link-16 and IRST (1:11:50) ARRW (hypersonic) (1:17:44) story time | |||
| 14 May 2023 | E11 – Lockheed Martin Ventures | 00:59:58 | |
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. ---- 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 ---- Follow us on... * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/merge_newsletter * Facebook https://www.facebook.com/themergenews * Twitter https://twitter.com/MergeNewsletter * LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/themerge * Website https://www.themerge.co ---- 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 | |||
| 29 Jan 2023 | E5 - Military Tech Spending is Broken | 01:16:49 | |
Merge Podcast Episode 5: Mike, Jake, and Tim pick apart some op-eds about military spending for research and development spending, innovation, and why the military sucks at getting tech to the warfighter. They also catch up on the news about grounded airplanes with NOTAM crash, ponder the legalisms of having secrets in a garage, and end with a discussion on some AI tools—and a surprise. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge ---- Follow us on... * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/merge_newsletter * Facebook https://www.facebook.com/themergenews * Twitter https://twitter.com/MergeNewsletter * LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/themerge * Website https://www.themerge.co ---- Show Notes (1:00) intro (2:03) op-ed 1 – $$ (13:39) lab to field challenges (15:55) IP (17:10) cemented culture (18:56) misaligned incentives (20:11) op-ed 2 - defund R&D (22:37) innovation time horizons (23:36) proportion investing in R&D vs procurement (25:07) Mike’s spicy take on R&D spending (29:30) Tim on transitioning tech (32:50) Congress spending cuts (37:42) cut the Pentagon (40:20) – how a bill becomes a law (41:37) the deficit is a national security challenge (42:39) NOTAMs down! (47:34) Mike goes down a NOTAM rabbit hole (47:55) military NOTAM website (50:40) classified papers by a corvette (59:01) ChatGPT or other AI news (1:13:28) a rap song (1:15:48) outro | |||
| 07 Apr 2024 | E33 – Keeping up Foreign Relations | 01:01:00 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! 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 politics is muddying the waters with Ukraine aid. Should we even be involved? Why or why not? We look at both sides from a few perspectives you won’t hear anywhere else. We also make a detour into AUKUS, Japan’s rebuilding of its military, and discuss what the real superpower of the US is. John Fowler runs International Intrigue, a daily newsletter written by a team of former diplomats (link below!). It’s packed with great, easy-to-consume content and helps you keep a pulse on what’s happening in the world—and why it matters. For those interested in #military #technology #strategy #diplomacy #china #asia #security #government #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #russia #ukraine
---- Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! • International Intrigue newsletter ---- Follow us on... ---- 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 | |||
| 12 Nov 2023 | E19 – Seagliders: The Next Innovation in Mobility | 00:41:05 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! 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 ---- Links • Sign up our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... ---- 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 | |||
| 23 Jan 2024 | E26 – Lowdown 1.23.24 | 00:11:31 | |
Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings. Don’t miss our newsletter! Support us on Patreon! ---- Follow us on... | |||
| 28 Apr 2024 | E34 – Drones in Ukraine | 00:46:31 | |
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike hosts Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn to discuss her new report: Evolution Not Revolution, Drone Warfare in Russia’s 2022 Invasion of Ukraine Stacie is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Her expertise includes defense strategy, posture, force planning, the defense budget, airpower, and wargaming. Her current projects focus on the effect of drones on warfare, munitions stockpiles, and nuclear deterrence in a multipolar world. 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 #warfare #russia #ukraine #war #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense ---- Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! • Dr. Stacy Pettyjohn (LinkedIn) • CNAS ---- Follow us on... ---- 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 | |||
| 22 Jan 2024 | E25 – Ground-Launched AIM-120s! | 01:12:03 | |
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: ● X (Twitter) ● LinkedIn ● Website | |||
| 12 Feb 2023 | E6 - Hypersonic Airplanes | 01:00:44 | |
Hermeus CEO AJ Piplica joins us to talk about the hypersonic airplanes they’re building, breaking the SR-71 speed record, their go-to-market strategy, the parallels to Top Gun Maverick, and a ton of other stuff. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * AJ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajpiplica/ * AJ Twitter https://twitter.com/AJ_Piplica * Hermeus https://www.hermeus.com/ * Hermeus Twitter https://twitter.com/HermeusCorp ---- Follow us on... * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/merge_newsletter * Facebook https://www.facebook.com/themergenews * Twitter https://twitter.com/MergeNewsletter * LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/themerge * Website https://www.themerge.co ---- Show Notes (00:57) intro (5:45) AJ’s origin story (7:25) how old were you? (8:24) not a space person (10:11) sequestration (10:48) missiles to aircraft (12:41) Monospony the board game (13:12) Raising money the right way (15:04) the name? (16:42) how Hermeus was funded (18:33) AJ loves our ChatGPT rap song (19:16) AJ's spicy take on defense profits (22:06) climbing the food chain (23:14) using a T-38 engine to go Mach 4 (24:08) Top Gun Maverick (25:52) Quarterhorse (28:52) breaking the SR-71 speed record (31:04) Darkhorse (33:41) avoiding the Valley of Death (40:09) lobbying is the price of entry (41:22) AJ's Christmas Tree (46:05) why do it at all? (49:00) Hermeus has one competitor (51:28) Halcyon (55:51) how the Pentagon prices things (59:52) outro | |||
| 01 Oct 2023 | E17 – HTX Labs | 00:45:20 | |
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 ---- Links • Sign up for the Merge’s amazing newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! • HTX Labs email: collaborate@htxlabs.com ---- Follow us on... ---- 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 | |||