In this episode, Mike and Jake catch up on defense techhappenings. Links • Sign up for the newsletter ! • Support us on Patreon ! • Website ---- Follow us on... • LinkedIn • Instagram • X • Facebook ---- 00:36 intro 03:31 defense tech investing 17:25 Anduril & Golden Dome 18:13 Golden Dome 25:51 frequency auctioning 28:12 Ukraine forcing a US reckoning 34:27 DIU criticism 42:24 the 4th offset? 46:39 Sun Tzu terrain 47:45 the torpedo 50:05 Ukraine drones and Israeli pagers...
Jun 22, 2025•54 min
Tomorrow’s fight will be fast, complex, and contested. Victory won’t come from a single platform, weapon, or payload—it will depend on how well everything works together. That’s where modeling and simulation (M&S) matters. This week, Raytheon (an RTX company) joins us to discuss how they are leading the way with Rapid Campaign Analysis and Demonstration Environment (RCADE), a campaign-level M&S capability built to help decision-makers think beyond individual systems and enables them to s...
Jun 05, 2025•30 min
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 Sheila Cummings,founder, president, and CEO of Cummings Aerospace. Cummings Aero started in 2009 supporting the Huntsville,Alabama missile market, but recently decided to launch their own product—the Hellhound. The Hellhound S3 is a man-portable, 3D-printe,d jet-powered kamikaze drone...and we have the FIRST-PUBLIC views of the actual drone—audio and vide...
Apr 27, 2025•38 min
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 Raytheon delivers for our warfighters.
Mar 03, 2025•38 min
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.
Feb 23, 2025•22 min
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,enhanci...
Feb 16, 2025•53 min
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 ta...
Jan 17, 2025•1 hr 20 min
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, launch...
Dec 22, 2024•43 min
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 di...
Nov 26, 2024•38 min
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 T...
Oct 20, 2024•54 min
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....
Sep 15, 2024•42 min
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...
Aug 25, 2024•42 min
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 p...
Jun 29, 2024•43 min
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...
Jun 16, 2024•54 min
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 jamm...
Jun 02, 2024•1 hr 10 min
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...
May 26, 2024•44 min
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 famou...
May 19, 2024•43 min
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 m...
Apr 28, 2024•47 min
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 s...
Apr 07, 2024•1 hr 1 min
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... • Instagram • Facebook • X (Twitter) • LinkedIn • Website...
Mar 26, 2024•12 min
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 kn...
Mar 03, 2024•1 hr 1 min
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... • Instagram • Facebook • X (Twitter) • LinkedIn • Website...
Feb 20, 2024•12 min
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...
Feb 11, 2024•1 hr 2 min
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...
Feb 08, 2024•12 min
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...
Jan 30, 2024•13 min
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...
Jan 23, 2024•12 min
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. ...
Jan 22, 2024•1 hr 12 min
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...
Jan 16, 2024•7 min
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...
Jan 09, 2024•10 min
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 wa...
Jan 07, 2024•1 hr 38 min
