The Defense Tech Podcast with Fexingo: Government Contracting, Aerospace, and Military Tech

Episode 54 of The Defense Tech Podcast. Lucas and Luna examine the Pentagon's new commercial tech investment office, which is adopting venture capital methods to bypass traditional acquisition. They discuss the Strategic Capital Office's first $215 million deployment into AI-powered logistics software, how it differs from traditional contracting, and what it means for defense primes like Lockheed...

Episode 53 of The Defense Tech Podcast dives into the Pentagon's new cybersecurity acquisition reforms, specifically the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0. Lucas and Luna break down how CMMC 2.0 changes the bidding process for defense contractors, why it's forcing small and mid-tier firms to overhaul their security posture, and how prime contractors like Lockheed Martin and RTX are ad...

The Pentagon's 2026 hypersonic weapons push has hit a wall: traditional cost-plus contracting is too slow for the speed of flight-test iteration. Lucas and Luna dig into the new 'Other Transaction Authority' experiment at the Missile Defense Agency — a $2.1 billion prototyping deal with three competing teams that lets engineers swap guidance software mid-contract. They discuss what this means for...

Episode 51 of The Defense Tech Podcast dives into the Pentagon's push to use additive manufacturing for missile components, aiming to slash production timelines and fix supply chain bottlenecks. Lucas and Luna discuss how the Department of Defense is now qualifying 3D-printed parts for critical weapons systems like the Javelin and Stinger, with a focus on the cost and speed benefits. They referenc...

Episode 50 of The Defense Tech Podcast looks inside the Pentagon's Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program, the ambitious effort to put augmented reality headsets on every infantry soldier. Lucas and Luna break down how Microsoft won the initial contract, why the first prototypes nearly failed in field tests, and how a redesigned version—based on the HoloLens 2—is now entering low-rat...

The Pentagon’s marquee networking initiative—Joint All-Domain Command and Control, or JADC2—remains stuck in a multi-year data integration bottleneck. This episode drills into why connecting every sensor from every service branch is harder than building the sensors themselves. Lucas and Luna walk through the technology stack: the cloud architecture, the AI middleware, and the unresolved debates ab...

Episode 48 of The Defense Tech Podcast examines the U.S. military's critical shortage of cyber talent, with 3,000 unfilled positions at U.S. Cyber Command alone. Lucas and Luna break down why traditional hiring models fail, how the Pentagon is experimenting with paid apprenticeship pipelines and coding bootcamps, and what this means for national security. They also look at the broader defense cont...

In this episode of The Defense Tech Podcast, Lucas and Luna examine how SpaceX's blockbuster IPO, which saw the company's market cap top $2 trillion on its first trading day, is sending shockwaves through the traditional defense contractor ecosystem. With Elon Musk becoming the world's first trillionaire, legacy primes like Lockheed Martin, RTX, and General Dynamics now face a new competitive real...

Episode 46 of The Defense Tech Podcast: Lucas and Luna dive into the Pentagon's latest approach to hypersonic weapon testing — using a modified C-17 cargo plane as a mobile launch platform. They break down how the 'Hypersonic Test Bed' program, run by the Air Force Research Laboratory, aims to accelerate flight testing from years to months. The hosts discuss the economics: each conventional ground...

Episode 45 of The Defense Tech Podcast. Lucas and Luna examine how the Pentagon's counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) mission is reshaping air defense procurement and doctrine. With LMT up 4.7% in five days and GD rising 3.6%, defense primes are pivoting to layered drone-killing solutions. The hosts break down the new Joint C-UAS Office's 'four-tier' framework, why directed-energy weapons li...

Episode 44 of The Defense Tech Podcast examines the Pentagon's growing concern over deep-sea communication cables—the physical fiber-optic lines that carry 95 percent of global data traffic. Lucas and Luna discuss a recent Defense Department pilot program to harden key undersea cable landing points against sabotage, drawing on a classified 2025 Navy assessment that identified 14 critical chokepoin...

The Pentagon is spending over $15 billion on hypersonic weapons, but flight tests keep failing. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the Department of Defense is turning to digital engineering—specifically, the Missile Defense Agency's 'Digital Engineering for Hypersonics' initiative—to simulate thousands of flight scenarios before building a single physical prototype. They discuss the role...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into one of the Pentagon's most urgent and underreported problems: the accuracy crisis in guided artillery shells. With a live data backdrop showing defense primes like LMT at $530, NOC at $548, and GD at $345, they explore why the U.S. Army's Extended Range Cannon Artillery program—a $4.5 billion effort to fire precision rounds 70 kilometers—is hitting a guida...

In this episode of The Defense Tech Podcast, Lucas and Luna break down the Pentagon's push to develop quantum navigation systems as a backup to the vulnerable GPS constellation. They discuss how cold-atom interferometry could provide positioning without satellite signals, the physics behind it, and what it means for defense contractors. Lucas explains why the $29 billion GPS replacement dilemma is...

The Pentagon's GPS constellation is aging, and the next-generation system—GPS III and its jam-resistant M-Code signal—is years behind schedule and over budget. Lucas and Luna break down why a 1970s space technology is still the backbone of modern warfare, how the 2026 budget allocates $1.2 billion for satellite procurement, and why industry giants like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are fighting ove...

Episode 39 of The Defense Tech Podcast explores a critical but often overlooked bottleneck in the defense industrial base: solid rocket motor production. Lucas and Luna break down why the US military faces a shortage of these motors for missiles ranging from Javelins to ICBMs, and why it threatens both readiness and deterrence. They discuss the consolidation of the supply base down to essentially...

Episode 38 of The Defense Tech Podcast explores a quiet vulnerability inside the Pentagon's supply chain: rare earth elements. Lucas and Luna break down why China controls roughly 70% of global rare earth processing, how the Pentagon has been trying to build a domestic alternative through the Defense Production Act, and what a new $350 million grant to a startup called USA Rare Earth actually buys...

Episode 37 of The Defense Tech Podcast examines the Pentagon's accelerating push toward autonomous drone swarms, with a specific focus on the Replicator initiative and the recent award of a $1.2 billion contract for attritable autonomous systems. Lucas and Luna break down what the Replicator program aims to achieve, why the Pentagon is prioritizing mass over sophistication, and how companies like...

The Pentagon is investing millions to produce critical supplies — from fuels to pharmaceuticals — on the battlefield using engineered microorganisms. Lucas and Luna break down the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's 'Battlefield Biomanufacturing' program, which aims to turn shipping containers into living factories. They explore the technical hurdles, the strategic rationale, and what this...

Episode 35 of The Defense Tech Podcast unpacks the Pentagon's new 'recurring competition' model for drones and autonomous systems, shifting from single-winner mega-contracts to rapid, iterative awards. Lucas and Luna discuss why this matters for primes like General Atomics and Kratos, how it impacts the $40 billion uncrewed systems budget, and whether the model can scale beyond drones. With Lockhe...

With SpaceX preparing for a potential IPO and Starlink surpassing 10,000 satellites, the Pentagon faces an urgent orbital traffic management crisis. Lucas and Luna examine the Space Force's new traffic coordination system, the gaps in current tracking technology, and the $1.8 billion commercial data contract that could reshape space situational awareness. They discuss the growing risk of collision...

As SpaceX prepares for a landmark IPO next week, Lucas and Luna drill into a little-known bottleneck: the Pentagon's creaking space traffic management system. With low-Earth orbit more crowded than ever—thousands of new satellites from Starlink, OneWeb, and national security constellations—the U.S. Space Force is still using a 1960s-era radar network and manual tracking spreadsheets. Lucas walks t...

The Pentagon's logistics system is a $200 billion per year behemoth where aircraft are often grounded for weeks waiting for spare parts that don't exist in inventory. Now the Department of Defense is betting on digital twins — virtual replicas of physical systems — to predict failures before they happen and optimize supply chains in real time. Lucas breaks down how Lockheed Martin is deploying a d...

Episode 31 of The Defense Tech Podcast examines the Pentagon's effort to modernize its tactical data links—the aging networks connecting aircraft, ships, and ground units. Lucas and Luna break down why Link 16, a 1970s-era standard, is still the backbone of coalition operations, and explore the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) initiative that aims to replace it. They discuss the techni...

Lucas and Luna examine the Pentagon's push into 3D printing for spare parts and what the actual cost data reveals. The Army's Rock Island Arsenal found that printing a replacement bracket cost $2,800 versus $400 traditionally, raising hard questions about when additive manufacturing makes sense. They discuss why the Department of Defense is still pouring billions into the technology, how prime con...