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 recently decided to launch their own product—the Hellhound.The Hellhound S3 is a man-portable, 3D-printe,d jet-powered kamikaze drone...and we have the FIRST-PUBLIC views of the actual drone—audio and video!BREAKING NEWS: Sheila also announced a new variant—theHellhound S4. It’s tube-launched, bigger, better, and even faster than the S3! If you're into military drones, cutting-edge tech, and thestart-up culture of finding ways to help the warfighter—this episode is for you. Links• Sign up for the newsletter! • Support us on Patreon!• Mike Benitez on LinkedIn• Cummings Aerospace• Sheila’s op-ed----Follow us on... • LinkedIn• Instagram• X• Facebook• Website ---- 00:00 start01:18 intro01:56 origin story05:03 high speed background06:34 Hellhound origin story10:54 introducing the Hellhound11:27 3D-printed12:31 finding an engine13:34 See the Hellhound21:20 naming the Hellhound22:39 family of drones24:38 supersonic variant29:22 China & Industrialization32:32 Industrial Mobilization Board35:47 outro
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38:16
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 Raytheondelivers for our warfighters.
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38:09
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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22:04
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 (ExpendableLower-cost Integrated Training Emitter), a compact, cost-effective system designed to mimic high-end surface-to-air missile (SAM) threats.Dive into how this innovative tech is reshaping training,enhancing readiness, and solving a critical warfighter problem—offering a firsthand look at how operators are using ELITE in the field to sharpen their edge.If you're into military training, cutting-edge technology,and boosting warfighter readiness—this episode is a must-listen. Links• Sign up for the newsletter! • Support us on Patreon!• Mike Benitez on LinkedIn• Brett “Snappy” Abbamonte on LinkedIn• ASI company• ELITE product ----Follow us on... • LinkedIn• Instagram• X• Facebook• Website----00:00 start01:11 intro03:08 Snappy 04:49 F-35 magnifies a growing problem07:21 the 3-solution problem10:31 good-enough solution space12:12 ELITE13:51 size and power15:35 as a target17:45 customers20:27 remote controlled22:00 how to keep it low cost23:34 creative training25:09 how the training looks26:47 RAF Lakenheath31:19 SBIR experience38:02 valley of death38:34 end of year money40:27 squadron innovation funds42:14 expendable concept validated42:50 Marine Corps weapons school example44:40 expendable allocation46:14 tools for innovative training49:30 memory lane49:45 callsign story51:40 outro#military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity#defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #usmc#innovation #war #strategy #aerospace #china #airpower #f35 #training #readiness #electronicwarfare
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53:00
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 operational level of war, parallel attack, and centers of gravity. He is most noted as the creator of Warden’s Five Rings and the architect of the Gulf War air campaign—but there’s much more than that.
We talked about how his thoughts were shaped in Vietnam and the 1980s, how he ended up in the Pentagon, and what series of events led to his framework being used to create Operation Desert Storm.
We applied the real lessons from Desert Storm to discuss China, why it’s a strategic threat, and the blind spot in US national security.
If you’re into history, strategy, warfare, military tactics,
and national security—this episode is for you.
Links
• Sign up for the newsletter!
• Support us on Patreon!
• Mike Benitez (LinkedIn)
• Winning Peer Wars
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Show Notes
01:31 intro
03:31 Vietnam experience
05:56 Vietnam reshaped the Air Force
10:36 post-Vietnam thinking about the Middle East
13:56 command structure in the 1980s
16:14 Bitburg to Georgia to Italy
17:38 the 5 Rings - War College origins
18:13 missing the operational level of war
26:17 Warden's 5 rings
29:36 the other usefulness of the 5 rings
32:13 Checkmate
34:25 Checkmate, 5 Rings, and the Soviet Union
35:20 Fuel and the Fulda Gap
39:37 context for Desert Storm
42:44 Checkmate and Desert Storm
45:34 Checkmate gets into Desert Storm
48:26 the original 3-week plan
54:01 Not learning from Desert Storm?
57:24 today's challenges
58:29 China revelation #1
1:00:44 The Gulf War...on US soil
1:02:41 The US cyber vulnerability
1:06:52 China 2027 2035 2049
1:08:36 homeland defense blindspot
1:09:49 coastal defense
1:11:38 self-deterrence?
1:14:42 global reach global power
1:17:48 commitment to defense
1:18:51 outro
#military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #usmc #innovation #war #strategy #aerospace #china #desertstorm #gulfwar #airpower #militaryhistory #militarypower #iraq #middleeast #desertstorm #gulfwar
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