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DIB Innovators: Daily Summaries Delivered
by RADICL
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
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 4 days ago35 min
EP 121 — Tidal Flight's Jude Augustine On Building The First Clean Sheet Seaplane In Decades
Seaplane design hasn't changed since the 1950s. Jude Augustine, Co-Founder and CEO of Tidal Flight, is building Polaris, a hybrid electric amphibious aircraft designed to turn a four-hour coastal trip into two hours door to door while giving the military runway independence in the Pacific. Polaris is the launchpad for Tidal to grow into a next-generation aircraft manufacturer with a vision for aircraft across categories.Before even raising a seed round, Jude and his Georgia Tech co-founders secured 10 letters of intent from seaplane and commuter airlines worldwide. Their dual use approach pairs commercial coastal mobility with contested logistics capability, backed by a supplier model that keeps capital needs low and risk focused on the novel systems that matter most.Topics discussed:- Why seaplane operating costs stayed high for decades and what changes now- Choosing a supplier model over vertical integration after seeing Beta Technologies- Securing 10 airline letters of intent before raising a seed round- Building a series hybrid powertrain using the DeltaHawk compression ignition engine- Flying three 1:6 scale prototypes to prove hull hydrodynamics- Dual use strategy pairing commercial coastal mobility with Pacific defense missions- Saying no to defense funding that pulls away from the core aircraft program- Designing for autonomy readiness without building an autonomy suiteListen to more episodes: Apple Spotify YouTubeWebsite
- 1 weeks ago38 min
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 startupsListen to more episodes: Apple Spotify YouTubeWebsite
- 2 weeks ago1h 2m
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 TCRCsWhy 99% of global crude gallium production sits in ChinaA three-step framework for bifurcating critical mineral marketsWhy public markets are rewarding supply chain security storiesThe difference between critical minerals and rare earthsWhy government backstopping alone cannot scale to 60 mineralsReimagining smelter revenue models through capacity-based agreementsBuilding a mining company from scratch in Western AustraliaListen to more episodes: Apple Spotify YouTubeWebsite
- 3 weeks ago35 min
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 electronicsBuilding modular, scalable power processing units for diverse space applicationsUsing SBIR contracts to bring primes in as subcontractorsWhy non-space backgrounds created an advantage in architecture designCapital efficiency with $4.7M raised and $8M in contractsDual-use potential in directed energy and drone defenseRecruiting from Maxar, Blue Origin, Blue Canyon, Tesla, and LucidPreparing to scale manufacturing for an accelerating customer pipelineListen to more episodes: Apple Spotify YouTubeWebsite
- Aug 18, 202645 min
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 stageListen to more episodes: Apple Spotify YouTubeWebsite
- Aug 13, 202639 min
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 subsystemsListen to more episodes: Apple Spotify YouTubeWebsite
- Aug 11, 202633 min
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 companyListen to more episodes: Apple Spotify YouTubeWebsite
- Aug 6, 202649 min
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 shipsBuilding intelligent agents as the foundation for collaborative autonomyOperating fully passive in GPS-denied and contested RF environmentsBridging the air-water gap between UAVs and UUVsEncoding mariner expertise into a digital captain for challenging seasCompeting with Chinese shipbuilding through autonomous productionPartnering with Castellion to launch hypersonic weapons from unmanned platformsReducing developer-to-ocean testing cycles to 48 hoursListen to more episodes: Apple Spotify YouTubeWebsite
About DIB Innovators
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
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