The Merge

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

Expert Chris Michienzi discusses the US military's plan to revive its industrial base, highlighting challenges in supply chains and manufacturing. The podcast explores the complexities of modern industrial systems, procurement processes, and the importance of collaboration for national security and resilience.

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

John Ferry, expert in selling tech to the Pentagon and US government, joins Mike and Jake to discuss the highs and lows of selling tech to the Pentagon. They delve into topics such as SBIR scoring, GovCon merit badges, the creative process, using AI to write government proposals, and the challenges of selling tech to the Pentagon.

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

This podcast discusses topics such as military tech developments, responsible AI development, frustrations with directed energy weapons, collaborative combat aircraft design, and contracts for designing new narrowband communications satellite.

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

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: ●     ⁠Instagram⁠ ●     ⁠Facebook⁠ ●     X (Twitter)⁠ ●     LinkedIn⁠ ●     ⁠Website⁠

Topics discussed in this episode include the Navy's readiness goal, Turkey's defense exports, the Pentagon's defense industrial strategy, software development in the army, Lockheed Martin's achievements, Firehawk's contract for hybrid rocket motors, recent developments in the defense industry such as new drone testing and acquisition of defense systems

Discussion on military tech updates, potential changes to Navy's Super Hornet purchase, developments in defense and technology industry, contracts awarded to various companies, and collaborations on AI for drones and flying 5G stations.