Cogs of War

John Garrity, VP at AeroVironment, leads laser and multi-effector counter-UAS work. Andy Lowery, CEO of Epirus, builds high-power microwave defenses for drone swarms. Jeff Cole, Founder of Hidden Level, focuses on passive RF and multistatic detection. They discuss layered defenses, scalable directed-energy and RF approaches, procurement and industrial surge ideas, and real-world deployment challenges and readiness.

Aaron Brown, former CIA officer and CEO of Lumbra AI, builds orchestration for agentic workflows. Jags Kandasamy, CEO of Latent AI, compresses models for edge and tactical use. Ben Van Roo, CEO of Legion Intelligence, focuses on hardened deployments. They discuss running agentic AI on military networks, compressing models for the edge, orchestrating across stovepipes, and reviving legacy systems for real operations.

China and Russia are churning out millions of drones while the United States has little capacity to build them at scale. Rep. Pat Harrigan of North Carolina introduced the SkyFoundry Act to change this, and it got rolled into the latest National Defense Authorization Act. This law authorizes a government-run facility capable of producing one million small drones annually, cutting China out of our supply chains and ending years of procurement delays. It's a truly new way for the government to work with multiple industry partners. Harrigan joined Ryan to discuss how SkyFoundry is supposed to work, the tradeoffs of a government-run production facility, how vendors would plug into the system, and the failures in military strategy and production that brought us here.

Since World War II, America's universities have been part of the nation's arsenal, forging the ideas, technology, and talent that underpin national defense. That engine of innovation never stopped running. John Beieler and John Paul Sawyer of the University of Maryland join Ryan to talk about the power of public–private partnerships in defense tech, quantum science, and AI, and how that work keeps American innovation humming just outside Washington.

Ryan Curran, Principal Director at ZeroFox with expertise in OSINT and threat intelligence, joins Tucker Moore, VP at Booz Allen Hamilton focusing on AI and security, and Scott Petry, Co-founder of Authentic8 with a history in secure browsing technology. They discuss the intricacies of open-source intelligence, from the evolution of technology-enabled collection to the vital role of human judgment. The trio also dives into the challenges of attribution, the need for robust tools in OSINT operations, and emerging threats like AI-generated disinformation.

Ethan Thornton, founder of Mach Industries, focuses on cost-effective unmanned munitions. Sean Pitt, co-founder of Castellan, applies SpaceX insights to hypersonic weaponry. Steve Milano, director at Anduril, leverages a strong missile background to develop affordable cruise munitions. They discuss the urgent need for the U.S. to enhance missile production capabilities against competitors like China. Key insights include lessons from Ukraine regarding effective munitions, strategies for modular designs, and the innovative approaches driving down costs in modern warfare.

Sherman Williams, the co-founder of AIN Ventures, joins Ryan at the bar to discuss the hard realities of dual-use investing. They dig into inflated valuations, the dangers of easy capital, and the risks of betting on defense budgets that may not endure. They also examine the outlook for space companies, the role of private equity, and what it really takes for startups to survive in this sector.

Tory Bruno, the President and CEO of United Launch Alliance, shares his insights from decades in aerospace and defense. He discusses the competitive dynamics of the launch industry and ULA's strategic pivot to counter challenges from SpaceX. Bruno dives into the importance of assured access to space amid rising geopolitical tensions, and how the supply chain is becoming increasingly domestic. He also highlights the integration of artificial intelligence into operations and shares personal anecdotes about his mentors from World War II.

The future fight won't be won by those with the biggest budgets, most polished strategies, or largest armies. It will be won by those who can translate breakthrough technology into usable capability at speed and scale. Ryan was joined by Horacio Rozanski, the CEO of Booz Allen, to talk about the role his company is playing in this race. Having reoriented Booz Allen into a technology integrator, he shares the cultural and organizational challenges of turning Booz Allen into a company of builders, the bets being made on emerging technologies, and how his personal journey — from immigrant to Booz Allen intern to CEO — shapes how he sees change.

A career-ending spinal injury during Navy SEAL training could have closed Joe Musselman's chapter of service. Instead, it became the catalyst for a new one. He first founded The Honor Foundation to help special operators bring their elite standards to civilian leadership, then launched BVVC Capital, a venture fund backing relentlessly focused founders. He most recently assembled the founding team at Union, a munitions company designed to re-imagine munitions production. In this conversation, Musselman shares the through line in all of his work and how elite standards, trust, and execution can reshape people, networks, and organizations.