Cogs of War
A new show and vertical focused on defense tech and the defense industrial base, created and produced by War on the Rocks and supported by Booz Allen Hamilton.
Episodes
Ground Robots Are Arriving on the Front Lines
For years, ground autonomy lagged well behind its counterparts in the air. That gap is starting to close. Jonathan is joined by Ryan Hartman (Ondas Sentinel) and Scott Philips (Forterra) to examine what it takes to field autonomous ground vehicles in combat. The conversation ranges across what Ukraine and Gaza have taught them, what operating without GPS and resilient communications really looks l
Collective Defense in an Era of Tokens and Data Links
NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Adm. Pierre Vandier, returns to the studio to discuss how the alliance is continuously adapting to a new era of warfare driven by software, data, and uncrewed systems, and where it still lags. He explains why NATO is favoring field experimentation, how allies can build sovereign defense tech ecosystems without sacrificing interoperability, and what t
The Big Bet on the Emerging Space Economy
The space economy has surpassed $600 billion in annual value, with some projecting it will reach a trillion by the 2030s. Jonathan Panter is joined by Joseph Yaffe (Cowboy Space), Brian Weeden (The Aerospace Corporation), and Dan Wald (Booz Allen) to weigh where the real growth is. They discuss how AI infrastructure is blurring the line between the space economy and the regular economy, the regula
The Quantum Stack and the Countdown to Q-Day
Quantum's hype obscures a reality with real geopolitical stakes: the technology works and is advancing every day. Cameron Chehreh (IonQ), JD Dulny (Booz Allen), and Ben Gianni (GDIT) join Jonathan to discuss the race to Q-Day. They cover the shift to post-quantum cryptography, competing hardware modalities, emerging use cases, and why talent gaps and fragile supply chains mean the United States co
Contested Logistics and the "Last Unmanned Mile"
In a Pacific war, the U.S. military cannot assume uncontested access to its depots and supply lines for munitions, spare parts, food, water, and energy. Jonathan is joined by David Tuttle (Rune Technologies), Paul Lwin (HavocAI), and Tom Garvey (CACI) to discuss sustaining a dispersed force that's facing enemy fire and lacks stable, secure communications. They debate autonomy versus automation, pr
A Conversation with the Pentagon's Chief Buyer, Under Secretary Michael P. Duffey
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael P. Duffey joins Jonathan to discuss the Pentagon's ongoing acquisition transformation. Their conversation spans the recent munitions agreements, industry investments, the shift to portfolio acquisition executives, allied coproduction, and more.
Rebuilding America's Critical Minerals Base
There's a clear consensus that America hollowed out its critical minerals base. How to rebuild it is less settled. Alex Grant of Magrathea Metals and Wes Spurlock of Principal Mineral join Jonathan to discuss the processing technology, labor force, and how government can catalyze private capital investment in the sector rather than replace it.
The Pentagon's Sprint to Get Tech Out of the Lab and to the Warfighter
Joe Jewell left academia and his role directing hypersonic wind tunnels to oversee the Pentagon's science and technology enterprise. He wants more researchers to make the same move. He joins Jonathan to discuss the Pentagon's science enterprise, why he thinks academia is the envy of America's closest allies, and how his office gets technology from the lab into the hands of the warfigh
AI Agents and the Unseen Work of War
Armies run on more than what happens at the front. Behind every operation is a vast amount of coordination, administration, logistics, and judgment. Bill Pessin, senior vice president of national security at Salesforce and a former U.S. Army logistics officer, joins Jonathan to discuss how military organizations can use AI agents, what makes these tools different from ordinary software, and why sa
The Lawmakers Fighting to Modernize the Pentagon
Congress rarely moves fast, but Reps. Rob Wittman and Pat Ryan are trying to change that. The two lawmakers founded the bipartisan House Defense Modernization Caucus in 2024 and have driven reforms through two consecutive defense authorization acts, targeting acquisitions and other bottlenecks. Jonathan sits down with both congressmen to discuss their initiatives, how a caucus without markup power
Synthetic Biology, Drones, and AI: The Risks of Dual-Use Technologies
Is it too late to stop criminals and American adversaries from exploiting AI to conduct cyberattacks or design novel pathogens? Has regulation kept pace with the threat civilian drones pose to critical infrastructure? AI researcher Lennart Heim, Army drone strategist Paul Lushenko, and CEO of Sentinel Bio Claire Qureshi join Jonathan to discuss the trade-offs between protecting the public and lett
Meet the New Host of Cogs of War
Ryan sits down at the Cogs of War mic for the last time to introduce Jonathan Panter, the new host and executive editor of Cogs of War. Jonathan shares his background, from naval officer to scholar. They discuss major defense tech issues, and Jonathan shares what he hopes to accomplish at the helm of Cogs of War.
Why Booz Allen is Partnering With One of the World's Most Important VC Firms
What happens when one of the defense industry's leading technology integrators partners with one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture firms? Bryce Pippert of Booz Allen and Matt Cronin of Andreessen Horowitz join Ryan to unpack their new partnership and discuss how the United States is trying to tap into the tech ecosystem. The conversation gets into venture capital's growing role in natio
The Future Soldier Loadout: Smarter Gear or Dead Weight?
The tech soldiers carry will shape their performance in combat, missions, and their safety and health. If you care about any of those things, you will love this episode. The next generation of American soldiers will operate with systems that blur the line between human and machine, but that future is still being worked out in real time. In this episode, three former servicemembers turn
Countering Drones and the Pace of Modern War
This episode is about far more than countering drones. It is about how America prepares for and fights its wars. With three leaders from three companies at the forefront of counter-drone solutions (AeroVironment, Epirus, and Hidden Level), the conversation explores how America and its enemies are adapting, how the U.S. military is and isn't keeping pace, the problems with how America buys things,
Agentic AI and the Pentagon's Integration Challenge
Agentic AI is quickly moving from demo to deployment inside the Department of Defense. But what does it actually mean to give AI "agency" — and what does it take to make those systems work on real military networks? In this episode, Ryan sits down with Ben Van Roo, co-founder and CEO of Legion Intelligence, Jags Kandasamy, co-founder and CEO of Latent AI, and Aaron Brown, co-founder and CEO of Lum
SkyFoundry and the Future of American Drone Production at Scale
China and Russia are churning out millions of drones while the United States has little capacity to build them at scale. Rep. Pat Harrigan of North Carolina introduced the SkyFoundry Act to change this, and it got rolled into the latest National Defense Authorization Act. This law authorizes a government-run facility capable of producing one million small drones annually, cutting China out of ou
Building an Academic Arsenal
Since World War II, America's universities have been part of the nation's arsenal, forging the ideas, technology, and talent that underpin national defense. That engine of innovation never stopped running. John Beieler and John Paul Sawyer of the University of Maryland join Ryan to talk about the power of public–private partnerships in defense tech, quantum science, and AI, and how that work keeps
The Tech and Tradecraft Behind Open Source Intelligence
Open-source intelligence has matured into a complex blend of technology, access, and tradecraft. Ryan is joined by Ryan Curran of ZeroFox, Tucker Moore of Booz Allen Hamilton, and Scott Petry of Authentic8 to explore how today's practitioners manage attribution, collect at scale, preserve provenance, and ensure human judgment remains at the center of the process.
Missiles and the Math of Modern Warfare
When it comes to missiles, America lacks the magazine depth for a long fight, especially against a peer competitor like China. A major part of the problem: Traditional U.S. missiles are simply too costly to produce at scale. Ryan sits down with three industry leaders working to change that. Listen to Ethan Thornton (Mach Industries), Sean Pitt (Castelion), and Steve Milano (Anduril) as they expla
What it Takes for Dual-Use Tech Companies to Truly Succeed
Sherman Williams, the co-founder of AIN Ventures, joins Ryan at the bar to discuss the hard realities of dual-use investing. They dig into inflated valuations, the dangers of easy capital, and the risks of betting on defense budgets that may not endure. They also examine the outlook for space companies, the role of private equity, and what it really takes for startups to survive in this sector.
Rockets, Politics, and Power: A Conversation with Tory Bruno of ULA
Tory Bruno, president and CEO of United Launch Alliance, joins us to talk about the hard business of getting things into space. He reflects on competition, what it took to turn ULA around, the politics of building new rockets, and what assured access to space means in the new era of great-power competition.
Moving at the Speed of War: A Conversation with Horacio Rozanski of Booz Allen
The future fight won't be won by those with the biggest budgets, most polished strategies, or largest armies. It will be won by those who can translate breakthrough technology into usable capability at speed and scale. Ryan was joined by Horacio Rozanski, the CEO of Booz Allen, to talk about the role his company is playing in this race. Having reoriented Booz Allen into a technology integrator, he
From BUD/S to the Boardroom: The Fight to Revolutionize Munitions Factories
A career-ending spinal injury during Navy SEAL training could have closed Joe Musselman's chapter of service. Instead, it became the catalyst for a new one. He first founded The Honor Foundation to help special operators bring their elite standards to civilian leadership, then launched BVVC Capital, a venture fund backing relentlessly focused founders. He most recently assembled the founding team
Solving the Pentagon's Acquisition Puzzle
There's a fundamental mismatch between the agile acquisition processes that the Pentagon says it wants, and the unfortunate bureaucratic reality. Bonnie Evangelista, an acquisition maverick, joins the show to explain why. She spent the last seven years implementing rapid acquisition strategies for Army Defensive Cyber, the Joint AI Center, and the Chief Digital AI Office, and is now a strategic ad
Lessons Learned and a Big Play on Drones from Latvia
Could this small state's collaborative approach to defense planning be the future for countries seeking asymmetric advantages? Ryan traveled to northeastern Europe to sit down with Uģis Norītis, Latvia's undersecretary of state for planning at its Ministry of Defence, to discuss how Latvia is growing its defense industry and industrial base. Hear how Latvia leverages battlefront testing in Ukrain
Inside Skunk Works: How the OG Aerospace Innovators Operate
What does it take to push aerospace innovation from concept to battlefield? Ryan sits down with John Clark, Lockheed Martin's senior vice president for technology and strategic innovation and former head of the legendary Skunk Works. They unpack the Skunk Works playbook for rapid innovation, reveal proven strategies for bending the cost curve, and explore why established defense giants may have a
The Future of Software-Defined Warfare
How can you bring together technical directors, military officials, and competing commercial interests to craft effective defense tech policy? Whitney McNamara and Stephen Rodriguez, the co-author and commission director of the Atlantic Council's Commission on Software-Defined Warfare, sit down with Ryan to talk about guiding tech adoption and more in government and defense.
Moving Fast and Breaking Things in the U.S. Navy
"Innovation adoption is a contact sport." As the chief technology officer of the Department of the Navy, Justin Fanelli is one of the leaders responsible for ensuring warfighters have access to bleeding edge solutions. Listen to his conversation with Ryan Evans, recorded live at an event in Washington, DC — our first episode of Cogs of War, a new vertical on defense tech and the defense industry b
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