DIB Innovators

RADICL
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Technology
  • Updated Biweekly

The DIB Innovators podcast celebrates the brilliant minds behind innovation within the Defense Industrial Base. In each episode, host and co-founder of RADICL, David Graff will speak with DIB leaders who are driving technological advancements, championing our nation’s security, and shaping the future of defense technology. Brought to you by RADICL — Cybersecurity-as-a-Service purpose-built for small and mid-sized businesses in the Defense Industrial Base. Starting your CMMC journey? RADICL guides and accelerates your compliance—while reducing ransomware and other cyber risks—with a transparent, turn-key solution. www.radicl.com/cmmc_solved

  1. 3d ago

    EP 120 — Crow Industries' James Crowell On Why The U.S. Army Is Betting On Smaller Ground Robots

    James Crowell is an expert in extreme environment robotics who spent the first decade of his career developing and deploying polar, volcanic, and space systems at NASA, JPL, and research laboratories before founding Crow Industries in 2018. His team designs Fenris, a family of intelligent UGVs built for defense, mining, and eventually lunar and Martian surface operations, all from the premise that designing for environments with no GPS, limited comms, and no human access produces systems that outperform on the battlefield. James breaks down why the U.S. Army is shifting toward smaller, distributed ground platforms, how Operation Jailbreak pushed Crow Industries to open its interfaces for interoperability, and why underground operations remain the unsolved frontier in ground robotics. Topics discussed: - Why Group 2 UGVs outperform larger platforms in distributed warfare - Designing for zero GPS and limited comms from planetary constraints - Opening interfaces through Operation Jailbreak for C2 interoperability - Building America's robotic infantry through modular capability swapping - The forward line of robots concept for keeping humans out of harm's way - Underground operations as the unsolved frontier in ground robotics - Mining oxygen from lunar regolith to build space transportation infrastructure - Army acquisition overhauls accelerating procurement for small defense startups Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify  YouTube Website

    EP 120 — Crow Industries' James Crowell On Why The U.S. Army Is Betting On Smaller Ground Robots

  2. Sep 3

    EP 119 — Baker Institute's Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes On Why Critical Minerals Are The Weakest Link In Western Defense Supply Chains

    Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes drilled the first unconventional wells in Argentina for ExxonMobil, built a nickel mining company in Western Australia, then served as DOE Deputy Director for Batteries and Critical Materials. Today she advises on critical mineral policy as a Nonresident Fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute and invests across the critical supply chain through her family office, Smoketree Resources. Ashley lays out a three-step framework for breaking Western dependence on adversarial-controlled supply chains, starting with an allied definition of adversarial capital and ending with import controls on finished goods in defense and semiconductor applications. Topics discussed: How China weaponized copper smelting economics through zero TCRCs Why 99% of global crude gallium production sits in China A three-step framework for bifurcating critical mineral markets Why public markets are rewarding supply chain security stories The difference between critical minerals and rare earths Why government backstopping alone cannot scale to 60 minerals Reimagining smelter revenue models through capacity-based agreements Building a mining company from scratch in Western Australia Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify  YouTube Website

    EP 119 — Baker Institute's Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes On Why Critical Minerals Are The Weakest Link In Western Defense Supply Chains

  3. Aug 27

    EP 118 — CisLunar Industries' Gary Calnan On How a Space Furnace Accidentally Created a Power Electronics Company

    Gary Calnan, CEO and Co-Founder of CisLunar Industries, built power electronics to melt metal in orbit. A research partner noticed the same hardware could reshape electric propulsion. That pivot turned a space debris recycling startup into a power electronics company with a test platform on a NASA mission and Lockheed Martin and Safran serving as subcontractors on its Space Force program. Gary tells Dave Graff how a finance career, nine weeks at the International Space University, and $4.7 million in total funding built a 20-person team now chasing dominance across the space power stack. Topics discussed: Pivoting from in-space metal processing to power electronics Building modular, scalable power processing units for diverse space applications Using SBIR contracts to bring primes in as subcontractors Why non-space backgrounds created an advantage in architecture design Capital efficiency with $4.7M raised and $8M in contracts Dual-use potential in directed energy and drone defense Recruiting from Maxar, Blue Origin, Blue Canyon, Tesla, and Lucid Preparing to scale manufacturing for an accelerating customer pipeline Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify  YouTube Website

    EP 118 — CisLunar Industries' Gary Calnan On How a Space Furnace Accidentally Created a Power Electronics Company

  4. Aug 18

    EP 117— NODA AI's Phil Duong On Building Mission Command For Autonomous Forces

    Phil Duong, CEO and Co-Founder of NODA AI, is building the mission command layer for autonomous forces that nobody else is focused on. His company orchestrates multi-vendor platforms into coordinated effects the way a JTAC pairs aircraft with targets. A Marine Corps naval aviator and JTAC turned defense tech founder, Phil earned NODA AI a $100 million Department of War award to scale mission command for autonomous forces after years refining a thesis on software-defined effects. Topics discussed: - Building a mission command orchestrator for multi-vendor autonomous forces - Flying drones point to point as table stakes - Software-defined effects and working backward from desired end states - Adaptive recomposition when assets go down mid-mission - Operating autonomous systems in disconnected, denied environments - Navigating the triad of warfighter, Pentagon, and Capitol Hill - Why software will overtake hardware in future conflict - Finding investors who truly back founders at the earliest stage Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify  YouTube Website

    EP 117— NODA AI's Phil Duong On Building Mission Command For Autonomous Forces

  5. Aug 13

    EP 116 — Carbonix's Dario Valenza On Building 10-Hour Flight Drones That Compete With Helicopters

    How do you build a drone that flies 10 hours, takes off without a runway, and earns the first beyond visual line of sight certification for its class? Start with a decade of America's Cup yacht racing and a fixation on making structures lighter and faster. Dario Valenza, Founder of Carbonix, breaks down how his team applied carbon fiber composites and first principles design to build a long-range VTOL aircraft now scanning pipelines, power lines, and mine sites. With defense traction including Anduril and a fleet deployed to Ukraine, Dario explains the dual-use model driving Carbonix forward. Topics discussed: - Applying America's Cup composites and rapid iteration to drone design - Building a VTOL aircraft with 8-10 hour flight endurance - Transitioning from airframe OEM to full-service data provider - Earning a world-first SAIL III beyond visual line of sight certification - Designing redundant VTOL systems with separate vertical and horizontal propulsion - Scaling aircraft production from weekly to daily output - Balancing commercial survey revenue with defense ISR applications - Choosing build versus buy for avionics, batteries, and critical subsystems Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify  YouTube Website

    EP 116 — Carbonix's Dario Valenza On Building 10-Hour Flight Drones That Compete With Helicopters

  6. Aug 11

    EP 115 — WAR Inc's Jon Williams On Building a Defense Company Backwards, From IP to Factory

    Jon Williams took ownership of technical data packs for munitions from 40 millimeter to 1,000 pound bombs. WAR Inc. is building a single facility where raw materials go in one end and a complete round comes out the other. A combat Marine who served in Fallujah and Sangin before stints at Microsoft and a professional race team, Jon breaks down how frontline feedback from Ukraine drives new munitions development and why American-owned manufacturing is non-negotiable for the DIB. Topics discussed: - Owning technical data packs for munitions from 40mm to 1,000 lb bombs - Building vertically integrated manufacturing for complete rounds - Using frontline feedback from Ukraine to develop new TDPs - Project ONI consortium for full system-of-systems delivery - Why deployable manufacturing may not pencil for real operations - Pushing past 80-year-old munition designs with new technology - Keeping defense manufacturing American-owned and American-built - Raising capital as a lean veteran-owned defense company Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify  YouTube Website

    EP 115 — WAR Inc's Jon Williams On Building a Defense Company Backwards, From IP to Factory

  7. Aug 6

    EP 114 — Saronic Technologies' Vibhav Altekar On Building 300 Autonomous Vessels In Two Years For Zero Crew

    What happens when you design ships for full autonomy from day one instead of retrofitting crewed vessels? At Saronic Technologies, it meant removing living quarters, plumbing, and human-centric systems, then building navigational autonomy and automated ship systems capable of operating 30 to 40 days without human contact. Vibhav Altekar, Co-Founder and CTO, walks Dave through building over 300 Corsairs in under two years, betting early on fully passive sensing for contested RF environments, and the first-ever rescue of a downed aircrew by an unmanned vessel. Topics discussed: Designing autonomous vessels from scratch versus retrofitting crewed ships Building intelligent agents as the foundation for collaborative autonomy Operating fully passive in GPS-denied and contested RF environments Bridging the air-water gap between UAVs and UUVs Encoding mariner expertise into a digital captain for challenging seas Competing with Chinese shipbuilding through autonomous production Partnering with Castellion to launch hypersonic weapons from unmanned platforms Reducing developer-to-ocean testing cycles to 48 hours Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify  YouTube Website

    EP 114 — Saronic Technologies' Vibhav Altekar On Building 300 Autonomous Vessels In Two Years For Zero Crew

  8. Jul 30

    EP 113 — 3Wire Partners' Anita Antenucci On Why 80% Of VC-Backed Defense Suppliers Could Disappear

    Anita Antenucci, Founder and Managing Partner of 3Wire Partners, has spent three decades and roughly five hundred deals watching the defense capital stack evolve. Venture capital typically funds ten companies knowing only one or two will survive. As more defense suppliers depend on VC money, government risks inheriting that attrition, potentially losing 80% of those providers.  Anita explains why proving a prototype in the field is scarcer than the ability to scale, where she sees the strongest deal flow, and why she asks every founder whether they want to be bought or backed. Topics discussed: Matching founder timelines to the right class of private capital Venture capital attrition risk inside the defense supply chain Why battle-tested proof matters more than ability to scale How family offices fill a gap fixed-timeline funds cannot The "messy middle" of connectivity, compute, and cyber protection Space as a military domain driving deal flow and capital Programs of record competing with faster acquisition pathways Demand signal clarity as the biggest capital inefficiency Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify  YouTube Website

    EP 113 — 3Wire Partners' Anita Antenucci On Why 80% Of VC-Backed Defense Suppliers Could Disappear
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

The DIB Innovators podcast celebrates the brilliant minds behind innovation within the Defense Industrial Base. In each episode, host and co-founder of RADICL, David Graff will speak with DIB leaders who are driving technological advancements, championing our nation’s security, and shaping the future of defense technology. Brought to you by RADICL — Cybersecurity-as-a-Service purpose-built for small and mid-sized businesses in the Defense Industrial Base. Starting your CMMC journey? RADICL guides and accelerates your compliance—while reducing ransomware and other cyber risks—with a transparent, turn-key solution. www.radicl.com/cmmc_solved

Information

  • Creator
    RADICL
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    121
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © RADICL
  • Show Website
    DIB Innovators

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