Emerging Tech Horizons

Our guests, Dr. Evan Fortunato (President & CEO, Apogee Research), Kirk McConnell (retired Professional Staff Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee), and Robert “Otis” Winkler (Vice President, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions) join the podcast for a discussion on Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA). During this episode, they cover the operational advantages and acquisition risks, how recent legislation affec...

How is the Department of Defense faring with incorporating Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) into its technology development processes? Recent legislation requires acquisition programs to implement a MOSA to the maximum extent practicable. Anne McDonough, Assistant Director at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), joins the podcast to describe what MOSA is, who owns the MOSA approach on a program, and what the benefits...

Hermeus Corporation is a venture-backed aerospace company developing reusable hypersonic aircraft for defense and commercial flight. Join Zach Shore, Chief Revenue Officer, to explore how Hermeus is overcoming technical, regulatory, and funding hurdles to advance U.S. leadership in reusable hypersonic flight.

State of the Company | 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--UFHMHG9B8&t=2sState of the Company | 2023: https://www...

Recent government and public imagery of unidentified flying objects (UFO) has lead to increased Congressional and Pentagon interest in the analysis of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). Dr. Buettner describes the Pentagon's role in UAP analysis under the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), describes some recent incidents that have captures the media's attention, and discusses possible explanations for UAP. Is this just a...

Join Jeremy Neufeld, Senior Immigration Fellow at the Institute for Progress, and Wilson Miles, Associate Research Fellow at ETI, as they discuss their new report, "Strengthening the National Security Innovation Base Requires International STEM Talent." The podcast guests describe current workforce challenges facing the Department of Defense and defense industrial base and how foreign-born STEM talent could be leveraged t...

Join Stephanie Halcrow, Senior Fellow at the GMU Baroni Center for Government Contracting, and Anna Kim, Associate Research Fellow at ETI, as they discuss ETI and GMU's joint upcoming report on how to take full advantage of prototyping activities for defense technologies. The podcast covers why prototyping is so valuable for defense innovation, what obstacles often hold government and industry back when directing prototyping ac...

In December, the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act was signed into law. What does the bill do to improve the ability to develop and field emerging technologies? Can new commercial technologies improve our force readiness? What does Congress what the Pentagon to do on AI, biotechnology, and quantum? What is a "human readiness level"? Join acquisition expert Moshe Schwartz as he discusses how these issues are covered in the NDA...

In December, the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act was signed into law. This major annual policy legislation once again includes many provisions that will affect the Pentagon's efforts to manage its supply chains and chooses it suppliers and the way it operates its complex acquisition system. Join acquisition expert Moshe Schwartz as he unpacks some of the key provisions within the NDAA and discusses their impact on defense a...

Join the CEO of the Space Foundation MG (Dr.) Heather Pringle, USAF (Ret.) as she discusses how space has become such a key element of national security and how the Pentagon should strive to work with commercial and defense industry to develop and deliver new space technologies and systems.  MG Pringle discuss the work of the Space Foundation, the evolution of the space industry into one dominated by commercial companies, and how D...

Join MIT's Bill Bonvillian, author of the new book "Pioneering Progress: American Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy," as he describes the elements of an effective industrial innovation policy to support national defense and other missions. What role did the government play in successful technology ventures like Tesla's electric vehicles and Operation Warp Speed?  How can an industrial innovation policy steer clear of the m...

Join Bill Bonvillian from MIT and author of the new book "Pioneering Progress: American Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy" to discuss the history of the development of our systems to invest in and deploy new technologies to grow our economy and support our national defense. What role has government investment in new technologies played over history? What can advanced manufacturing programs do to create new jobs and deliver...

Join Chairman & CEO of Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, Inc., Robert Geckle for a discussion of how the commercial and global innovation can best be leveraged to support national security missions. What are some current successful efforts to adopt commercial technologies in areas like autonomous systems into defense programs? What barriers and challenges need to be overcome when working with commercial and global firms? What ch...

Join Daniel Ateya, Managing Director of RTX Ventures, as he discusses how best to integrate the VC community into the defense industrial base to promote innovation and get new companies and investors involved in the development and deployment of emerging technologies.  How does the VC world view the defense market? How do defense primes like RTX think about integrating their VC initiatives with their traditional defense contracting...

The Hon. Sue Gordon, President of Gordon Ventures, Member of the Defense Innovation Board, and former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Sean Blackman, Co-founder and CEO of Nooks, return for part two of our unclassified discussion on the challenges new entrants face in the defense innovation ecosystem. They examine obstacles for small businesses, including allies and partners, such as navigating classification...

Securing a place in the defense intelligence sector can be an uphill battle for small companies, universities, and other organizations aiming to participate in national security and intelligence-related projects. Today, we’re exploring the unique challenges faced by these innovative players as they navigate stringent security requirements, costly infrastructure upgrades, and the complex world of classified projects. Unlike large de...

Matt MacGregor, Fellow at the Acquisition Innovation Research Center and Senior Director for Strategic Growth at Anduril Industries, joins the podcast to discuss how Congress plans to fund Pentagon modernization programs. In this episode, they dive into the current state of the Congressional defense appropriations process and their implications for emerging defense technologies, including:

- Winners and losers in the House and Se...

How is DOD adopting autonomous technologies for both tactical missions and back-end work? How are industry and government working together to deliver those capabilities? Join Randy Yamada, Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton overseeing technical teams and signal processing for control systems, as he discusses Booz Allen's engineering labs, how speed of technological change affects acquisition, and what challenges and opportunitie...

Jeff Janey is Chair of NDIA’s Munitions Technology Division, which facilitates technical dialogue between industry and government concerning the development, production, maintenance and demilitarization of munitions. We caught up with Jeff at the 2024 Future Forces Capabilities Conference (FFC) to discuss the state of play in munitions acquisitions, trends in emerging technologies like AI and directed energy, how the munitions indu...

Nick Perry, NDIA Armaments Division Chair and Director of Global Strategy and Defense Systems at Northrop Grumman, joins live from the floor of the 2024 Future Force Capabilities Conference & Exhibition to discuss the conference, the Armaments Division, and the impact of emerging technologies on armaments. Mr. Perry and host Arun Seraphin cover advancements in UAS and C-UAS, the new generation of munitions, how the division is ...