The Merge

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! • ⁠Mike Benitez LinkedIn • HTX Labs website • HTX Labs email: collaborate@htxlabs.com ---- Follow us on... • ⁠Instagram⁠ • ⁠Facebook⁠ • ⁠X (Twitter)⁠ • ⁠LinkedIn⁠ • ⁠Website⁠ ---- 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

Former Australian diplomat John Fowler discusses international relations with a focus on China's ambitions, South America influence, Taiwan invasion, and the impact of Ukraine crisis on China. The podcast delves into diplomacy, military connections, Monroe Doctrine, Belt & Road Initiative, chip industry decoupling, and US policy on Taiwan.

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 • ⁠Mike Benitez LinkedIn⁠ • Jake Chapman X (Twitter) • Delian Asparouhov X (Twitter) ---- Follow us on... • ⁠Instagram⁠ • ⁠Facebook⁠ • ⁠X (Twitter)⁠ • ⁠LinkedIn⁠ • ⁠Website⁠ ---- 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

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 • ⁠Mike Benitez LinkedIn⁠ • ⁠Matt MacGregor LinkedIn⁠ • Pete & Matt’s ⁠Defense Acquisition Substack⁠ ---- Follow us on... • ⁠Instagram⁠ • ⁠Facebook⁠ • ⁠Twitter⁠ • ⁠LinkedIn⁠ • ⁠Website⁠ ---- 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

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 * SUPPORT us on Patreon ---- Follow us on... * Instagram * Facebook * Twitter * LinkedIn * Website   ---- 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

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

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

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

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

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