PODCAST · government
The Merge
by The Merge
Military technology, trends, and national security...presented with unique insights, salt, and wit from combat aviator veterans and industry experts.Fence in for interviews and anecdotes about the ins, outs, and happenings at the intersection of technology, industry, strategy, and policy of aerospace and national defense. Brought to you by The Merge newsletter.
Episodes
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E62 – Rethinking Aircraft Maintenance with Perfect Point EDM
Buying a fighter jet is the cheap part. Mike sits down with Jim Becker, President and CEO of Perfect Point EDM, to talk about the biggest line in any defense program: keeping the fleet flying. Perfect Point builds the E-Drill, which uses electro discharge machining (EDM) to pull aircraft…
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E61 – Rebuilding the Test Playbook with Nominal
Test is where new military hardware goes to wait. Mike sits down with Jenn Wilson, Head of Federal at Nominal, to talk about test and evaluation, the least glamorous gate between a program and the warfighter. Nominal builds test data infrastructure for hardware. Founded in 2022 by Anduril,...
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E60 – GPS-Free Navigation
How do systems operate when GPS disappears? Mike sits down with Kara Kramer, Vice President ofRaptor Sales at Vantor (formerly Maxar Intelligence), to discuss one of the most important challenges facing modern autonomous systems: operating when GPS is jammed, spoofed, or completely unavailable.…
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E59 – Business Breakdown: Anduril
Anduril Industries raised $5 billion at a reported $61billion valuation—putting a nine-year-old defense tech company in the same conversation as legacy primes that have been building weapons for generations. How did they do it, what is their strategy, and does the math make sense? In this…
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E58 – Dcode the Pentagon Buying Machine
What does it actually take to get new technology into thehands of warfighters—and why is it still so hard? In this episode, Mike sits down with the co-founders ofDcode, Meagan Metzger and Meg Vorland, to unpack the reality behind defense innovation, acquisition reform, and the flow of capital…
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E57 – The War on Bad Software (Defense Unicorns)
All modern hardware depends on good software, but in theU.S. military, most software sucks. Rob Slaughter, co-founder and CEO of Defense Unicorns, joins the show to unpack why this is happening and what they are doing to fix it. We dive into the rise of “software as a weapon system,” therole of...
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E56 – The Fury Origin Story
This is the untold origin story of the Fury CollaborativeCombat Aircraft (CCA), as told by those who lived it. Scott Bledsoe and Joe Murray join Mike to talk about Fury’s very beginning—way back to 2016. Now known as Anduril’s YFQ-44, Fury originated as an SBIR project from Blue Force…
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E55 – Christine Fox: the REAL Charlie
There is a strange set of organizations that live betweenindustry and government called Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs). They play an important—but largely misunderstood role—in national security. What better way to...
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E54 – Pryzm: AI to understand the Pentagon
Mike sits down with Matt Hawkins and Nick LaRovere,co-founders of Pryzm. Pryzm is building an Operating System for defense innovation—software that uses AI to generate capture intel to make sense of Pentagon budgets, Congressional legislation, program offices, and much more. It’s AI to understand...
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E53 – The Fighter Pilot Spirit
Chris "Snooze" Kurek, Rob “Trip” Raymond, and Erik“EZ” Brine chat with Mike “Pako” Benitez on all things fighter pilot culture—toast, roast, and lore. Better known as Dos Gringos, Snooze, and Trip put out 4albums of fighter pilot songs that are famous (and infamous) in squadrons around the world....
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E53 – The Fighter Pilot Spirit
Chris "Snooze" Kurek, Rob “Trip” Raymond, and Erik“EZ” Brine chat with Mike “Pako” Benitez on all things fighter pilot culture—toast, roast, and lore. Better known as Dos Gringos, Snooze and Trip put out 4 albums of fighter pilot songs that are famous (and infamous) in squadrons around the world....
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E52 – Top Secret Offices
Nooks co-founder and CEO Sean Blackman spills all thesecrets about what it takes to do classified business with the Pentagon. Nooks is a venture-backed startup founded in 2021 to solve amassive pain point: access to classified offices and networks to perform sensitive national security work.…
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E51 – Red 6 and the Military Metaverse
Red 6 CEO and co-founder Dan Robinson discusses augmented reality for pilots, the military metaverse, and the future of high-end training and tactics development. Red 6 was founded in 2018 around a revolutionary approach to military flight training called ATARS—the Advanced Tactical Augmented...
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E50 – JDAM: the GPS-Guided Bomb
Mike sits down with Steve “Wingie” Wingfield to discuss the Joint Direct Attack Munition, aka the JDAM—the world’s first operational GPS-aided bomb. Wingie played a big role in the Air Force, doing weaponsflight testing and requirements writing, then went on to have another career at Boeing…
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E49 – Ursa Major Solid Rocket Motors
In this episode, Mike sits down with Dan Jablonsky, CEO ofUrsa Major, to discuss solid rocket motors and how Ursa Major is doing it differently. Once dominated by just two suppliers, America’s SRM propulsion base has been stretched thin—leaving gaps exposed by today’s conflicts. Dan explains how...
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The Future of Air Warfare: Offensive Electronic Attack (Sponsored)
Electronic warfare is a crucial element of armed conflict involving controlling and protecting the electromagnetic spectrum, which is vital for communication, navigation, and target identification. EW also permits the disruption and denial of adversaries' use of the spectrum, hindering their...
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E48 – Golden Dome, DIU, and the Innovation Reckoning
In this episode, Mike and Jake catch up on defense techhappenings. Links • Sign up for the newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! • Website ---- Follow us on... • LinkedIn • Instagram • X • Facebook ---- 00:36 intro 03:31 defense tech investing 17:25 Anduril & Golden Dome 18:13 Golden...
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The Future of Air Warfare: Modeling & Simulation (Sponsored)
Tomorrow’s fight will be fast, complex, and contested. Victory won’t come from a single platform, weapon, or payload—it will depend on how well everything works together. That’s where modeling and simulation (M&S) matters. This week, Raytheon (an RTX company) joins us to discuss how they are...
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E47 – Cumming's Hellhound
Don’t miss our newsletter!That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! In this episode, Mike sits down with Sheila Cummings,founder, president, and CEO of Cummings Aerospace. Cummings Aero started in 2009 supporting the Huntsville,Alabama missile market, but...
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The Future of Air Warfare: Radars (Sponsored)
Joe “Grip” Beissner, Director of Requirements and Capabilities for Radio Frequency Solutions at Raytheon, a business of RTX, joins us to discuss the cutting-edge AESA radars Raytheon delivers for our warfighters.
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The Future of Air Warfare: Weapons (Sponsored)
Jon "Stormin" Norman, Vice President of Requirements & Capabilities at Raytheon, a business of RTX, joins us to discuss the cutting-edge air-to-air and -surface weapons and effectors Raytheon delivers for our warfighters.
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E46 – Expendable Tech for F-35 Threat Training
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! In this episode, Mike sits down with Brett “Snappy”Abbamonte, a former Marine Corps F-35 pilot now at Advanced Strategic Insight (ASI) Inc. Snappy is the program manager for ELITE...
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E45 – Operational War w/ John Warden
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! In this episode, Mike interviews retired Air Force Colonel John Warden. John is an Air Force pioneer who shaped how the modern world thinks about warfare—specifically the concepts of the...
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E44 – Silent Arrow
Check out our newsletter, where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! In this episode, Mike interviews Chip Yates, founder of Yates Electrospace Corporation. With a background in racing, Chip has made a name for himself by setting numerous world records as a pioneer…
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E43 – The Laser-Guided Bomb
Sign up for our newsletter, where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! Speaking of knowledge bombs, Mike hosts Ed Cobleigh to talk about Paveway: the laser-guided bomb. Ed flew 375 combat missions during the Vietnam War in the F-4 Phantom and was one of the first...
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E42 – B-52 BUFF modernization
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! Mike hosts Col. Joseph Little, callsign “Little Joe,” to discuss how the US Air Force is modernizing the legendary B-52 BUFF to keep it flying into the 2050s—100 years after its first flight....
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E41 – Firestorm
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! Mike and Jake host Dan Magy, co-founder and CEO of Firestorm. Firestorm’s mission is to democratize the air by re-imaging the way drones are built. They developed a method to 3D-print modular...
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E40 – Air Force Weapons Czar
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! Mike and Jake host Andrew Hunter, the US Air Force’s chief weapons buyer. As the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (ATL), he oversees Air Force...
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E39 – Anduril & General Atomics CCAs
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! Mike hosts an exclusive episode to discuss the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program with the 2 companies selected to build the first platforms: Anduril and General Atomics....
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E38 – Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar: REAL defense innovation
Don’t miss our newsletter! That's where we drop weekly knowledge bombs to help you make sense of defense! Mike and Jake host Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar to talk about software-defined warfare, defense modernization, and all the things we’d change to drive innovation to help the warfighter. Shyam...
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E37 – High Power Microwave Weapons
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike hosts Andy Lowery to dig deep into directed energy weapons—specifically high-power microwave (HPM) systems. Andy is the CEO of Epirus, a venture-backed defense tech startup inverting the cost equation of drone defense and swarm protection. We talk about the tech,...
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E36 – Revolutionizing Ukraine's Defense Tech Industry
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike hosts Perry Boyle to dive into Ukraine’s rapidly developing defense industry. Perry co-founded MITS Capital (Military Innovation Technology Solutions), a US venture that just established the first defense tech accelerator in Ukraine. MITS’ vision is to…
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E35 – US Merchant Marine
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike and Jake host Captain John Konrad to talk all things Merchant Marine. We talked about the Merchant Marine Academy, being a merchant mariner, and how they fit into national security. What is the Military Sealift Command thing, and why does it keep confusing the...
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E34 – Drones in Ukraine
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike hosts Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn to discuss her new report: Evolution Not Revolution, Drone Warfare in Russia’s 2022 Invasion of Ukraine Stacie is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Her expertise includes...
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E33 – Keeping up Foreign Relations
Don’t miss our newsletter! Former Australian diplomat John Fowler joins Mike Benitez to discuss what’s happening around the world through the lens of international relations. John is a repeat guest—check out episode 16 to get caught up. In this episode, we discuss China, the South China Sea, the...
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E32 – Lowdown 3.26.24
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 •...
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E31 – The plan to fix the US military's industrial base
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike and Jake host Dr. Christine (Chris) Michienzi, supply chain expert and former senior Pentagon executive, on the US government’s recently released National Defense Industrial Strategy—plan to revive its fragile defense industrial base. With 30 years of experience in...
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E30 – Lowdown 2.20.24
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 •...
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E29 – Inside Look on Selling Tech to the Pentagon
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike and Jake host John Ferry to discuss the ins & outs and the highs & lows of trying to sell tech to the Pentagon, and the US government—how it really works. Warning: We had a ton of fun—maybe a bit too much. This episode is full of spicy takes and unvarnished…
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E28 – Lowdown 2.8.24
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
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E27 – Lowdown 1.30.24
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
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E26 – Lowdown 1.23.24
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
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E25 – Ground-Launched AIM-120s!
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...
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E24 – Lowdown 1.16.24
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
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E23 – Lowdown 1.9.24
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
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E22 – The legend that reshaped the 1990s military tech industry
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike and Jake host defense industry legend Norm Augustine in a rare interview! He started as an aeronautical engineer in the 1950s and rose to become the first CEO of Lockheed Martin, before leaving it all. He lived through the 1980s defense industry heyday, wrote a...
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E21 – Leading the Blue Angels & Thunderbirds (replay)
Sign up for our amazing newsletter! As the year comes to a close, enjoy (or re-enjoy) one of our favorite episodes of 2023. Mike "Pako" Benitez joins forces with John “Rain” Waters to co-host a first-of-its-kind interview with the Commander of the Air Force Thunderbirds AND the Executive...
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E20 – Canada’s Air Force Crisis
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike hosts Billy Flynn to discuss everything you need to hear about the Royal Canadian Air Force. All is not right in Canada; their Air Force has atrophied in several key areas. What happened? Why are the fighter pilots quitting? Can they still contribute to NATO? Is it...
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E19 – Seagliders: The Next Innovation in Mobility
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike and Jake host REGENT Co-founder & CEO Billy Thalheimer to discuss Wing-In-Ground-effect (WIG) vehicles. Why do they refer to them as seagliders? What is the science and technology that makes them work? Why is there no pilot? Why is the Marine Corps is interested?...
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E18 – NEWS: Israel, Congress, $1B defense tech bet, & more
Sign up for our newsletter! Mike, Jake, and Tim reunite to discuss the latest defense-related news and happenings: Israel at war, Congress elects a Speaker, growing support for the $1B tech hedge against China, and how innovation really works. For those interested in #military #technology…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Military technology, trends, and national security...presented with unique insights, salt, and wit from combat aviator veterans and industry experts.Fence in for interviews and anecdotes about the ins, outs, and happenings at the intersection of technology, industry, strategy, and policy of aerospace and national defense. Brought to you by The Merge newsletter.
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The Merge
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Merge have?
The Merge currently has 62 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Merge about?
Military technology, trends, and national security...presented with unique insights, salt, and wit from combat aviator veterans and industry experts.Fence in for interviews and anecdotes about the ins, outs, and happenings at the intersection of technology, industry, strategy, and policy of...
How often does The Merge release new episodes?
The Merge has 62 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Merge?
You can listen to The Merge on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Merge?
The Merge is created and hosted by The Merge.
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