The Merge

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 people to drop the Paveway laser-guided bomb in combat. He earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses and went on to attend Fighter Weapons School, where he remained in order to stand up the guided weapons division and teach Paveway LGB employment. Ed’s had a wild life beyond the Air Force and is now an author with 5 books (and counting). This episode covers not just the tech and tactics but also a first-person account of dropping LGBs in combat 56 years ago!   ---- Links • ⁠newsletter⁠⁠! • Support us on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠! • ⁠Mike Benitez (LinkedIn)⁠ • ⁠Ed’s website⁠ • ⁠Ed’s books on Amazon⁠ ---- Follow us on... • ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ ⁠• Instagram⁠⁠ • ⁠⁠X⁠⁠ • ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ • ⁠⁠Website⁠⁠   ---- Show Notes 00:34 intro 01:58 How Ed got to Vietnam 02:31 background of guided bombs 03:35 Paveway history 07:19 Project White Lightning 09:03 the first laser designator 10:19 Dropping the LGBs 12:15 results from the first tests 14:00 training for the first LGB drop 15:04 Zot nickname 17:49 Ed's 2nd tour 20:17 Navy gets Paveway 22:21 teaching LGBs at Nellis 23:45 Red Flag 25:16 Targeting Pods 26:57 Linebacker 1972 27:56 Dragons Jaw Bridge 29:51 Paveway’s legacy 30:46 F-117 and Paveway 32:37 Paveway III 34:29 Paveway lawsuit 35:26 Ed's books 37:45 outro For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #innovation #F4 #vietnam #aviation #airplanes #aerospace

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. Col Little is a B-52 Weapons Systems Officer, a US Air Force Weapons School graduate, a former test squadron commander, and currently serving as the Detachment 5 Commander of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC), where he oversees the B-52J program. The B-52J modernization program is a $48 Billion transformation designed to extend the bomber's life into the 2060s. It includes new engines, advanced cockpits, upgraded radar, and more, making it the most significant overhaul in the aircraft's history. This episode covers not just the tech but also tactics, weapons, historical milestones, and untold war stories. Whether you're a fan of military aviation or interested in strategic operations, this insider’s look at the B-52 is a must-listen! For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #innovation #b52 #BUFF #bomber #aviation #airplanes #aerospace   Links • Sign up for our ⁠amazing newsletter⁠! • Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠! • Mike Benitez (LinkedIn) • Joseph Little (LinkedIn) • AFOTEC, Det 5 (LinkedIn)   ---- Follow us on... • ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠ • Instagram⁠ • ⁠X⁠ • ⁠Facebook⁠ • ⁠Website⁠   ---- Show Notes 00:49 intro 03:24 yesterday vs today 04:57 B-52 in 2024 05:17 changing the crew roles 05:53 bombardier wings 06:12 The youngest oldest B-52s 08:04 BUFF origins 08:39 Orange BUFF 10:14 test units 11:13 test lessons from Vietnam 13:32 B-52 modernization 14:40 the B-52J 16:18 radar upgrade 21:15 quad crew concept 23:29 Fox-4 kill 24:30 new engines - why 8? 28:22 fixing the tanker bill 28:46 Iraqi Freedom tankers 30:10 engine nacelle issues 32:20 testing validated the model 33:05 rest of the engine mods 35:10 alert start requirements 36:21 cockpit upgrades 38:15 BUFF legacy - James Earl Jones 39:01 culture and change 42:49 the nuke consideration 43:29 AEHF radio upgrade 44:50 B-52 nose job? 46:54 Story 1 - aerial mining 48:44 Story 2 - CBU-105 combat drop 52:05 brakes? 52:51 outro

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 drones at the point of need, using a combination of shipping-container-based factories and localized supply chains. Best of all, the drones themselves are modular—from props to jets, AI to sensors, etc. The conversation went deep into “the why”: how Ukraine led to Firestorm, the real-time changing of the guard on how the Air Force thinks about building a credible force in light of all this, the exciting concept of attritable mass, rapidly innovating via crash-and-learn, and some history to boot. This is an episode you don’t want to miss! For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #innovation #ukraine #drone #drones #battlefield #warfare   Links • Sign up for our ⁠amazing newsletter⁠! • Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠! • Mike Benitez (LinkedIn) • Jake Chapman X (@vc) • Dan Magy (LinkedIn) • Firestorm website ---- Follow us on... • ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠ • Instagram⁠ • ⁠X⁠ • ⁠Facebook⁠ • ⁠Website⁠   ---- Show Notes 01:00 intro 01:28 counter-UAS startup 01:59 Ukraine starts Firestorm 03:43 the future is RF-denied 04:43:05 Firestorm name origin 05:22 competing in a crowded drone market 06:39 air superiority in the future 06:49 rapid iteration 07:09 Dan’s LinkedIn 08:16 adversaries are sharing tech and tactics 08:51 battle lab of the world 09:36 the pace of evolution - on LinkedIn 10:22 2-week evolution cycles 12:35 drones as physical decoys 13:28 cardboard drones must be honored 14:02 thermite dropping drones 14:32 keeping pace with battlefield innovation 16:00 Investors growing weary? 17:44 high-low mix 19:43 jet-powered drone 20:17 modular propulsion 20:58 autonomy differentiator 21:52 solving for non-recurring engineering 23:23 product iteration 24:08 crash and learn 25:47 failing fast - cost-effectiveness 26:48 VC investing 28:05 attritable mass 28:15 Ukraine's drone capacity 29:59 expeditionary manufacturing 31:15 localizing supply chains 33:47 attrition, reconstitution, and risk 36:25 attrition and operations 38:19 changing of the guard moment 39:50 personal risk?

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 research, development and acquisition activities totaling an annual budget in excess of $60 billion for more than 550 acquisition programs. He is the principal adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff for research and development, test, production and modernization efforts within the Air Force. We talked about how he’s driving acquisition innovation and shaping the Air Force for great power competition. The discussion ranged from the good and bad on specific weapons programs—the B-21 bomber and Sentinel ICBM—negotiating the E-7 Wedgetail deal, workforce development, industry incentive alignment on price vs value, and a ton more. He even shared some new Collaborative Combat Aircraft insights that have not been made public before. This is an episode you don’t want to miss! For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #innovation   Links • Sign up for our ⁠amazing newsletter⁠! • Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠! • Mike Benitez (LinkedIn) • Jake Chapman X (@vc)   ---- Follow us on... • ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠ • Instagram⁠ • ⁠X⁠ • ⁠Facebook⁠ • ⁠Website⁠   ---- Show Notes 00:34 intro 01:07 why a civilian weapons buyer? 02:07 how to keep track of 500+ programs 02:42 PEOs 03:48 the aquisitions perfect storm 06:02 cost plus vs fixed price contracts 08:01 E-7 Wedgetail negotiations 09:46 phone-a-friend negotiator 12:23 B-21 bomber 14:13 B-21 active management 15:47 B-21's unique hybrid contract 19:41 commercial vs defense markets 20:18 maintaining competition in industry 21:15 competition and investing signals 22:32 structuring the market for industry 25:00 government architectures to lower switching costs 27:13 workforce development 29:58 Sentinel ICBM cost over-run 30:07 Nunn-Mccurdy Breach 31:01 too big for 1 company? 33:44 New 'Quickstart' authority 35:58 watching the CCA engineering 36:16 non-traditionals forced to traditional prime? 37:46 Elon Musk for Pentagon processes? 39:10 CCA landing gear development 40:19 what keeps you up at night? 40:36 the pacing challenge 41:17 outro