The Drone Ultimatum The Future of Drone Swarms and Counter-UAS | Kyle Hardy & Ashkan Bayatpour
Aug 22, 2025
Kyle Hardy, CEO of Hardy Dynamics and a former Navy Intel officer, teams up with Ashkan Bayatpour, a U.S. Navy Reserve Officer and tech solutions expert, to dive into the future of drone warfare. They explore the challenges of counter-drone operations and why current defenses fall short. The duo discusses the integration of AI with drone swarms, the evolving national security landscape, and their personal journeys from military service to the tech startup world. Humor, insights, and critical reflections on modern warfare make this conversation a must-listen!
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AI Is The Scalable Answer To Drone Data
- Kyle Hardy pivoted to AI early after seeing analysts overwhelmed by incoming intel from drone threats.
- He decided AI was the only scalable way to process vast, fast-changing drone data streams.
A Drone Demo That Changed Minds
- Hardy's team demonstrated lethality by putting C4 on a drone and destroying a car to force recognition of the threat.
- That stunt helped change perceptions about drones from toys to battlefield threats.
Swarms, Not Single Drones, Define Future Lethality
- Swarm lethality, not single drones, is the terrifying future of conflicts like Ukraine.
- A true swarm will be hundreds of heterogeneous agents coordinating autonomously, not one-pilot-one-drone.
