Securing America's Future: How Technology Companies and Washington Are Building A Safer World
Summary
TLDRBrian Schimpf, CEO of Anduril Industries, shares his insights on the evolving defense industry landscape. He discusses the increased acceptance of new entrants and startups within the Department of Defense, highlighting Anduril's work on the Air Force's Loyal Wingman project involving autonomous fighter jets. Schimpf emphasizes the importance of addressing critical warfighter needs with urgency, focusing on rapidly developing technologies to counter emerging threats like drones. He stresses the need for faster adoption of commercial innovations and advanced manufacturing approaches to scale production quickly. Schimpf advises aspiring defense tech companies to prioritize solving urgent problems that can meaningfully impact the DoD.
Takeaways
- 🔓 Traditionally, it was very difficult for new companies to break into the defense industry, but this has become more feasible in recent years.
- 🚀 Anduril is working with the U.S. Air Force on the Loyal Wingman project, which involves developing autonomous fighter jets, signaling a shift towards allowing new entrants to work on large-scale defense projects.
- 🌍 The changing threat landscape, with developments like the war in Ukraine, has highlighted the need for new autonomous technologies and approaches to warfare.
- ⚡ The U.S. Department of Defense is pushing initiatives like Project Replicator to rapidly field thousands of autonomous systems and drones, adopting a faster pace of innovation and acquisition.
- 🛠️ Anduril's business model focuses on developing hardware to enable advanced software capabilities, anticipating future threats and designing solutions accordingly.
- 🛡️ There is an urgent need for counter-drone technologies, with adversaries rapidly advancing their capabilities, prompting Anduril to invest in solutions like the Roadrunner counter-drone system.
- 🏭 Scaling manufacturing and production is a critical aspect, with Anduril leveraging advanced manufacturing techniques and automation to meet demand.
- 🌟 To succeed in the defense industry, companies must focus on solving urgent warfighter needs and problems that will have a meaningful impact, rather than peripheral issues.
- 💰 The U.S. Department of Defense is exploring new acquisition strategies, such as Project Replicator, to curate a diverse industrial base and encourage competition.
- 🇺🇸 The U.S. aims to establish leadership in autonomous technologies and set norms and ethics, as adversaries like China also invest heavily in this area.
Q & A
What was the primary challenge Anduril faced when they first started working in the defense space?
-According to the CEO, when Anduril first started working in the defense space around 15-17 years ago, it was nearly impossible for new companies to break into the industry and do anything substantial. It was challenging to imagine that new entrants could work on large-scale projects like weapons or aircraft.
How has the landscape changed for new companies in the defense industry?
-The landscape has shifted significantly. Today, Anduril is fortunate to be working with the Air Force on the Loyal Wingman project, which involves autonomous fighter jets. This represents a massive change from when the company started, and it is now possible for new entrants to work on large-scale projects.
What is the Loyal Wingman project, and what is Anduril's role in it?
-The Loyal Wingman project is an Air Force initiative to develop autonomous fighter jets. Anduril is one of the companies working with the Air Force on this project, although specific details are limited due to the sensitive nature of the work.
How does the CEO view the Air Force's approach to the Loyal Wingman project?
-The CEO commends the Air Force for constructing an opportunity to use acquisition strategies to curate the industrial base differently. By involving multiple participants, the Air Force is incentivizing the industrial base to invest in these new technologies, which is a significant deal.
How does the changing threat landscape impact the need for new capabilities?
-The CEO cites lessons from the conflict in Ukraine, where large quantities of systems are being put at risk, and assumptions about air superiority are being challenged. The ability to use autonomous systems represents a new way of operating, which will change how we think about warfighting.
What is the significance of the Replicator initiative mentioned in the script?
-The Replicator initiative aims to field thousands of autonomous systems and drones over the next couple of years, at a much faster pace than traditional defense acquisition processes. This aligns with the types of technologies Anduril has been building and thinking about for years.
How does Anduril's business model differ from traditional defense contractors?
-Anduril's business model involves designing and building hardware to enable and propel software development. They anticipate where threats are headed and develop capabilities accordingly, even if the DoD hasn't officially recognized the need yet.
What is the Roadrunner technology mentioned by the CEO, and how does it address emerging threats?
-Roadrunner is a vertical takeoff and landing counter-drone system developed by Anduril. It addresses the growing threat of adversaries using drones and cruise missiles, which have become more pervasive and capable in recent years.
What challenges does the CEO identify in scaling manufacturing for defense products?
-The CEO acknowledges that the traditional industrial base in the US for defense is often at the point of retirement, with facilities and personnel aging out. However, he believes there is a new generation of manufacturing companies in the US that can leverage advanced automation and smart approaches to scale production.
What advice does the CEO offer to others looking to work with the DoD?
-The CEO advises that the most important thing is to focus on solving critical warfighter needs and urgent problems that will have a meaningful impact for the Department. Addressing problems that don't have urgency or won't move the needle is a trap that many fall into.
Outlines
🚀 Breaking into the Defense Industry
The speaker discusses the challenges of new companies entering the defense industry and how it was nearly impossible when they started about 15-17 years ago. However, things have changed drastically, and now companies like Anduril are working on large-scale projects like the Air Force's Loyal Wingman program, involving autonomous fighter jets. The speaker highlights the shift in the Department of Defense's approach, allowing new entrants to work on significant projects and expand the industrial base.
⚔️ Adapting to the Changing Threat Landscape
The speaker talks about how the threat landscape is changing, drawing lessons from the conflict in Ukraine. They emphasize the need for autonomous systems and new ways of operating, as traditional air superiority assumptions are being challenged. The ability to field autonomous systems quickly and at scale is crucial for the US to maintain a leadership position. The speaker discusses Anduril's investment in counter-drone technologies like Roadrunner to address emerging threats.
🏭 Scaling Manufacturing for Defense Innovation
The conversation shifts to the importance of scaling manufacturing capabilities for defense innovation. The speaker highlights Anduril's investment in advanced manufacturing techniques, leveraging commercial innovation and automation to overcome capacity constraints. They stress the need for a new generation of manufacturing companies to support the production of cutting-edge defense systems. The key to success is solving critical warfighter needs with a sense of urgency, as the Department of Defense will prioritize solutions that can meaningfully impact their operations.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Innovation
💡Disruptor
💡Loyal Wingman
💡Acquisition Strategy
💡Threat Landscape
💡Replicator
💡Counter-Drone
💡Manufacturing Innovation
💡Warfighter Need
💡Industrial Base
Highlights
Initially, it was impossible for new companies to break into the defense space and do substantial work, but over time, even new entrants like Anduril have been able to work on large-scale projects like the Air Force's loyal wingman program.
The Air Force is trying to curate the industrial base in new ways, allowing multiple participants, including new entrants, to work on programs like the loyal wingman project, which is a significant shift from the past.
Autonomous systems like the loyal wingman project will change how warfighting is conducted, moving away from incremental improvements to conventional methods and establishing new norms and ethics, which is critical for the US to lead.
Anduril is working on technologies related to the ambitious Replicator initiative, which aims to field thousands of autonomous systems and drones at a much faster pace than traditional defense acquisition.
The Replicator program represents a shift towards buying capabilities off-the-shelf, similar to a free market approach, rather than paying for long-term R&D and development.
Anduril has invested in technologies like the Roadrunner counter-drone system, anticipating where threats will evolve over the next 5 years, and was able to field a weapon capability in under 2 years, an incredibly fast pace.
Anduril is already selling the Roadrunner counter-drone system to US government customers and seeing international interest, addressing an urgent need that has been underinvested in for decades.
Anduril believes manufacturing and scaling production is a solvable problem by leveraging commercial innovation and advanced automation, without capacity constraints over a 5-year period.
The key to success for startups in the defense space is to focus on solving critical warfighter needs and problems that urgently need to be solved, rather than working on problems that might be nice to solve but don't move the needle for the Department.
Transcripts
it's great to be on stage with you it's
great to be here with everybody in the
audience as well uh the fir there's a
lot to get to but the first place I want
to start is we just had uh the deputy
defense secretary present on stage she
was talking about Innovation the
intersection of Silicon Valley um and
Dodd government work as somebody who's
on the other side of that equation and
what I will call use the word disruptor
in terms of um breaking into defense and
doing more work with a pentagon your
thoughts well I I think you know I've
been working in the defense space for
maybe 15 17 years now and when I first
started out it was just impossible to
break in right it was impossible to
imagine new companies could do anything
of substance uh and it was just sort of
scratching at the surface fast forward
now you know to even when we started
andal it was still hard to imagine that
you could have new entrance doing
anything large in its scale new
companies working on weapons uh larger
aircraft just didn't seem plausible
especially ones that focus on software
today we're at a place where you know
we're fortunate to be able to you know
disclose we're working with the Air
Force on the loyal wingman project uh
which is in incredibly big change from
where we were when we even started with
this and I think the reality of how this
is you know you're going to see change
in the dep Department how you're going
to see change of making this an area
where the best technology the best
technologists want to work is actually
allowing new entrance to do things in
scale like that is that is the bottom
line right and we're starting to see
areas where that is true um I think
replicator is another great example
where the focus of this on actually
deploying its scale becomes very very
key and not just having these kind of
surface small scale things uh so that
shift is wildly different than what it
was when we started and we're incredibly
excited that this is now feeling very
possible whereas when we started it was
not obvious that this was going to work
there's a lot there for me to unpack
with you in the first place I'm going to
start is uh the fact that it has started
to become easier I mean there there are
more and more we see it in the in the
amount of investment dollars that are
going into defense Tech right now there
are more and more companies and startups
that are aspiring to work with the dod
but you still hear the term over and
over again Valley of Death andrel is
still an exception it's not maybe maybe
it's one of the leaders but it's not uh
it's few and far between in terms of
companies being able to work with DOD
and in a meaningful way
yeah I mean look I I think the the hard
reality with this is it's just like
Venture it's just like any sort of
Industry where there isn't going to be
500 success stories that is unlikely to
be the case right and I think if we
enter a world where we've doubled the
number of companies that are bidding on
these large scale programs that is a
huge accomplishment right like I I think
that is like a goal we should aspire to
um and and I think the reality with this
is a lot of the areas that um you know
are going to succeed are often the ones
that are are less popular it's area
working on weapons uh like this is not
an area that a lot of companies are
interested in doing but I think to
succeed in the defense space you have to
be willing to actually solve the core
problems of this and I think those are
the companies that are going to succeed
best so it's the idea of making
patriotism cool again I completely agree
I think it's always been cool but you
know maybe it's time to rejuvenate it a
little bit um okay I do you want to talk
about CCA which is the loyal wingman
program for the air force uh huge moment
here earlier this month that andrel was
um unveiled as as one of the companies
that's now working with the Air Force on
this program we talking about autonomous
fighter jets uh I guess just walk me
through what that looks like especially
since there's still a down select to go
yeah so um there's there's uh I'm
somewhat Limited in what I'm allowed to
say in terms of like some of the
specifics of it uh but uh what what I
will say about it is you know the the
the Air Force has done an amazing job of
constructing an opportunity to really
look at how can they use acquisition
strategy how they're buying these things
to curate the industrial base in a
different way right they're looking at
how do we have multiple participants in
this and these are a different class of
systems I think unlike you know
something like an F35 where it's only
feasible to afford one provider of this
um you can start to look at for this for
weapon systems for a variety of these
things carrying multiple people to be
able to really incentivize the
industrial base to invest in this um and
I think that's a really big deal uh and
I think the idea that they would they're
looking at new entrance and new ways of
production really is an indication that
they are trying to move forward in new
ways of doing business so it it's a very
exciting time for us I think it's a huge
opportunity that they've created uh to
show the defense department is serious
about really expanding here um whereas
there's just no other kind of major
programs out there that are in that same
class right now you can't you know it's
harder to imagine on like you know a
destroyer or a large capital ship uh but
on this class of Technologies on weapons
Technologies I think it is ripe for new
approaches and new ways of thinking in a
new industrial base how does it speak to
how the threat how the threat landscape
is changing and what that means in terms
of the capabilities that are needed for
the war fighter in this future
environment yeah so if we look at you
know like kind of what we've learned in
Ukraine uh the sheer quantities of
systems the amount that's put at risk
and a lot of the assumptions that the US
has had historically about how we fight
are very very
air superiority becomes incredibly hard
everything's at risk all the time uh and
the amount of you know War Fighters and
servicemen that are going to be at risk
is is much much higher and I think we
can assume similar things for any
conflict going forward the ability to
use autonomous systems is in effect like
a new way of operating whereas you know
F35 and all these were sort of
incremental improvements to like a
conventional way we've been fighting for
quite a long time how we actually adopt
these new autonomous Technologies is
very much going to change how we think
about war fighting I think that's
something that still has to be explored
and understood fully uh and I think the
US leading on that is absolutely
critical we know that China is you know
investing in similar Technologies we
know they're going to move out on it um
and having the US in a leadership
position on this establishing Norms
establishing ethics is absolutely
critical um replicator secretary Hicks
just touched on it uh when she was on
stage as well speaking of very ambitious
initiative to field thousands of
autonomous systems and and drones over
the next couple of years here uh for war
fighter needs in Pentagon parlament a
couple of years rather than six years or
10 years or 20 years I mean that's like
that's a very fast pace yeah are you
working on replicator to the extent you
can yeah so there's a number of uh
Technologies we have that are you know
sort of I think in that in that uh in
that range um like secretary said
there's nothing's been officially
announced yet uh so you know it's it's
all technologies that we're we very much
believe in for this for this sort of
regime the part that I think is so
interesting about the replicator area is
exactly what secretary hick said which
is they are moving at a wildly faster
Pace than they have before they're using
the power of you know senior leadership
to mobilize and force change into the
department that otherwise would kind of
move and incrementally adopt these new
things over a very slow period of time
you know an acquisition we've had system
that we've had that's dialed around you
know large scale aircraft carriers and
f-35s when you start thinking about the
pace that this technology moves it's
just not it's just not the same thing so
forcing this new system to come into
existence to actually Force Technologies
through this is exactly right uh and
it's very aligned with the class of
Technologies we've been building and
thinking about for years how do we have
higher qualities of smarter systems out
in the environment uh and so that's
exactly spot on to the types of things
we we've wanted to see since the
beginning what's really curious what's
really fascinating to me about androll
is that your business model is a little
different as well in terms of this
because the hard Hardware is built and
designed to enable and Propel the
software and the way you design and
develop some of these products is an
anticipation of where the threats are
going to come from and where those
capabilities are headed even if the dod
hasn't necessarily gotten there yet or
at least officially and I I wonder where
you think this is all headed now and
whether the US is moving quickly enough
to keep up with that technology and the
rate of adoption that's going to be
necessary against a China or the like so
I I I think adoption is the right way to
think about it so you know one of the
things that I like about replicator is
probably one of the first at scale
opportunities to buy things in the way
that every other industry in the world
buys them you state what capabilities
you need and you find what's on the
market and you buy it you haven't paid
for R&D you're not paying for
development you're not plotting out the
progress over a 10-year period of where
this technology needs to go and
shepherding it the whole time it is very
much you know the closest thing we've
seen to like a free market approach to
how you do defense Innovation and I
think that's exactly right and that's
the type of approach we've argued for um
in terms of you know sort of where do we
invest where do we see this going and
what are some of the problems we're
we're trying to tackle there's a whole
span of these things but one area I'd
focus on is on the counter drone side uh
so obviously the you know attack to 22
is very tragic and it's the type of
thing that I think is going to frankly
increase in frequency we've seen you
know hundreds of attacks on us bases
already this mirrors a lot of the types
of attacks that we've seen in Ukraine
and the one thing we can say for sure is
that the technology the adversaries have
is now pervasive nearly every country
has what is the equivalent of cruise
missiles uh it is very rapidly iterating
so it's gone from these sort of small
little drones to now jet powered uh
capabilities that are coming from Iran
um the the space is moving very very
quickly and so we've invested in
Technologies for example our Roadrunner
technology which is a you know vertical
takeoff and Landing counter a drone
basically it's a counter drone drone uh
and uh We've invested in this with the
idea that this needs to be designed for
where the threat is going to go over the
next 5 years that's really where we've
tried to push this um and so you know I
think there's areas like that where you
can kind of really see the threat
understand where this is going to go
extrapolate very effectively and build
and feel these Technologies quickly I
mean it was just like under two years
from when we started from never having
done a weapons program to having a
fielded weapon capability and that's a
very fast timeline we wish it was faster
I think we can do it faster next time uh
but uh it was just an incredible pace
and I think you'll see
one you have the demand the clear need
and the Urgent problems you will drive
Innovation and if you can actually scale
it that will drive business and
investors to be there I want to get into
the scale piece of this because this is
crucial to this conversation are you
already selling road runners yes you
just unveiled them a couple months ago
that's right yes so we have uh a number
of US Government customers and a lot of
international interest uh where this is
a very pervasive threat right and the
the US has underinvested in air air
defense capabilities for the last 20 or
30 years right we've had full air
superiority we didn't need to invest it
wasn't a critical problem set we had uh
and so the ability to counter these
threats you know was sort of uh
underinvested in for the last you know
several decades um as a result we're
shooting Patriot missiles and you know
air Advanced air-to-air missiles at
these $100,000 threats shooting $2
million missiles at them it's incredibly
expensive the missiles work very well uh
but there's much cheaper ways to start
to Sol this problem so we've had an
immense amount of demand because it is
such an urgent and critical problem to
address uh from everywhere that you know
you see this happening today so the
scale piece of this we can talk about
Innovation we can talk about designing
and developing and offering new products
how quickly can you scale that
manufacturing this is a big part that
we've invested in and my belief is you
know the traditional industrial base in
the US for defense is often at the point
of retirement you have people who are
large
um you know built this up during the
Cold War they're retiring their kids
don't want to run these facilities and
it's become a critical problem and a
critical Gap but there is a new
generation of manufacturing companies in
the US doing more advanced things um
shout out to Chris power at Hadrian
start for stealing your talking points
on this but the uh um it's it's spoton
uh like you know there's there's a more
advanced ways you can actually scale
this with more automation more smart
approaches and taking a lot of
commercial innovation in that and that's
something we've have invested in so our
belief is this is a solvable problem you
could take advantage of commercial
Innovation on this and there should be
no capacity constraints uh you know over
any sort of 5year period to actually be
able to produce these systems all right
we have less than a minute left so with
that in mind I do want to ask because
you have at andrel um helped Forge the
path here in terms of being a newer
company a newer defense contractor um
working in working with a DOD on
programs of record and in in a
meaningful Revenue generating
consistently Revenue generating way what
are your words of wisdom to others in
the room that are either investing in
other startups or starting their own
startups and looking to looking to I
guess following Footsteps in their own
ways I think the single most important
thing is if you're solving a critical
Warf fighter need on a problem that you
know urgently needs to be solved you can
be successful I think the Trap for most
people is they're solving a problem that
would be great to solve but doesn't have
the urgency and isn't going to move the
needle for the Department in a
meaningful way and rationally the
department is going to pick those things
that actually are going to be able to
scale and change the game for them so
really focusing on those problem sets
that you know you're actually going to
have a meaningful impact that is the
most critical aspect of this Brian
schimp and Dr Industries CEO thanks for
joining me here on
stage
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