The Merge

Oct 20 2024 42 ep. 51 mins 303
The Merge Podcast artwork

Military technology, trends, and national security...presented with unique insights, salt, and wit from combat aviator veterans and industry experts. Fence in for interviews and anecdotes about the ins, outs, and happenings at the intersection of technology, industry, strategy, and policy of aerospace and national defense. Brought to you by The Merge newsletter.

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E42 – B-52 BUFF modernization

Oct 20 2024 53 mins  
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

E41 – Firestorm

Sep 15 2024 42 mins  
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-base

E40 – Air Force Weapons Czar

Aug 25 2024 42 mins  
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 e

E39 – Anduril & General Atomics CCAs

Jun 29 2024 43 mins  
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

E38 – Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar: REAL defense innovation

Jun 16 2024 54 mins  
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

E37 – High Power Microwave Weapons

Jun 02 2024 69 mins  
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

E36 – Revolutionizing Ukraine's Defense Tech Industry

May 26 2024 44 mins  
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, n

E35 – US Merchant Marine

May 19 2024 42 mins  
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

E34 – Drones in Ukraine

Apr 28 2024 46 mins  
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 w

E33 – Keeping up Foreign Relations

Apr 07 2024 61 mins  
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