The Drone Ultimatum

Craig Anders is the Senior Vice President of Growth at AEVEX.

Craig on LinkedIn

AEVEX (NYSE: AVEX)

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Craig Anders, Senior Vice President of Growth at AEVEX Aerospace, joins Steve to discuss the rapidly expanding market for military drones, the challenges of scaling American defense manufacturing, and what the war in Ukraine has taught the United States about modern warfare.

A retired Air Force colonel with 25 years of service, Craig previously served in Big Safari, the Air Force’s rapid acquisition organization. He recounts how a late-night request from the State Department led to a $20 million contract executed in just nine hours, followed by his deployment to train Ukrainian forces on long-range attack drones. That experience helped inform AEVEX’s expansion from a services business into a major manufacturer of unmanned systems.

The conversation explores the economics of drone production, including why government procurement timelines don’t align with manufacturing realities, why the U.S. needs commercial manufacturing expertise, and why scaling production requires sustained demand rather than promises of future orders. Craig also explains AEVEX’s approach to expanding through acquisitions, including its investment in additive manufacturing, autonomy, and maritime systems.

Steve and Craig also discuss the changing nature of naval warfare, the potential for unmanned surface vessels to transform military logistics, and the vulnerability of traditional military platforms to increasingly affordable autonomous weapons. They examine the role of human pilots in future air combat, the development of collaborative combat aircraft, and the growing importance of integrating unmanned systems across different domains.

Finally, Craig shares his perspective on defense acquisition reform, the differences between venture-backed defense startups and established manufacturers, and why the next generation of defense companies must deliver complete operational capabilities rather than simply selling hardware.

Adam Chan is the Senior National Security Counsel at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

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The Federal Communications Commission plays a much larger role in American national security than most people realize.

From regulating the radio spectrum used by drones to restricting foreign-made equipment, the FCC has become an increasingly important player in the U.S. drone industry.

Adam Chan, Senior National Security Counsel at the FCC, joins Steve to discuss how the agency is approaching drone security, counter-UAS regulations, and the effort to strengthen American drone manufacturing.

Working directly with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Adam oversees the agency’s national security portfolio and helps coordinate regulatory actions affecting communications technology.

The conversation covers the FCC’s restrictions on foreign-made drones, including DJI, and the reasoning behind limiting new equipment authorizations for certain foreign-produced systems.

Adam explains why he believes these restrictions will create opportunities for American manufacturers and help prevent the United States from becoming dependent on foreign suppliers for critical technologies.

Steve and Adam also discuss the legal restrictions surrounding drone jamming in the United States, how the FCC is expanding opportunities for counter-UAS testing, and the circumstances under which state and local law enforcement agencies can employ electronic countermeasures.

For defense startups, Adam explains the differences between developing drones for military customers and selling systems into commercial or law enforcement markets.

The discussion also explores the FCC’s approach to foreign-made robotics, enforcement actions against companies attempting to circumvent equipment restrictions, and the importance of maintaining bipartisan support for national security regulations.

Adam offers an inside perspective on how a relatively small federal agency is making decisions with significant implications for the future of American defense technology.

Matt Kling is the Vice President and General Manager of AI Systems at MatrixSpace, a company developing compact, low-cost radar systems for counter-drone defense, airspace monitoring, and autonomous operations.

Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewkling/

MatrixSpace: https://www.matrixspace.com/Follow the show!

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In this episode of The Drone Ultimatum, Matt joins Steve to discuss how MatrixSpace is approaching one of the most important challenges in modern air defense: detecting increasingly capable drones without relying on expensive, centralized radar infrastructure.

They explore the company’s origins, its development of a one-pound radar, and its early deployment supporting autonomous police drone operations in Palm Springs, California.

The conversation examines how drone warfare is changing the economics of air defense. As inexpensive drones threaten military installations and high-value equipment, Matt explains why scalable, distributed sensing networks are becoming increasingly important.

They also discuss the growing interceptor market, the challenges of manufacturing defense technology at scale, and MatrixSpace’s work integrating radar with autonomous ground vehicles and counter-UAS systems, including Allen Control Systems’ Bullfrog.

Matt also shares his perspective on AI-powered sensor fusion, processing information at the edge, and the limitations of traditional centralized command-and-control architectures. Drawing on his experience at Raytheon, Northeastern University’s drone research lab, and MatrixSpace, he discusses the transition from large defense programs to a venture-backed technology company.

The episode closes with a broader discussion of the future of drone warfare, GPS-denied threats, mobile military operations, and the challenge of defending increasingly vulnerable forward operating bases.

What happens when a drone needs to navigate underground, inside a building, or in an environment where GPS is unavailable?

Dr. Stefan Hrabar is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Emesent, an Australian robotics company developing autonomous navigation and 3D mapping technology. After completing his PhD in robotics at USC, Stefan spent a decade researching drone autonomy at Australia’s CSIRO before co-founding Emesent in 2018.

Stefan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanhrabar/Emesent: https://www.emesent.com/

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In this episode of The Drone Ultimatum, Stefan joins Steve to discuss how Emesent developed Hovermap, a LiDAR-based system that enables drones and ground robots to navigate and map complex environments without GPS.

Originally developed for underground mining, the technology has expanded into defense applications, including subterranean reconnaissance, building mapping, and battlefield damage assessment.

They also discuss the challenges of building and scaling a hardware company, from raising venture capital and managing manufacturing costs to protecting intellectual property.

Stefan explains why Emesent relies heavily on trade secrets rather than patents, how investor attitudes toward hardware have changed, and what it takes to adapt commercial technology for military customers.

The conversation also covers defense supply chains, NDAA compliance, international distribution, and the growing role of AI in robotics and software development.

From converting gas-powered helicopters into autonomous drones in the early 2000s to building a global robotics company, Stefan shares his experience bringing advanced autonomy research into real-world applications.

Malin Crewse and LeGrand Crewse are brothers and co-founders of Corvus Industries, where LeGrand serves as CEO and Malin as CTO.

Corvus is developing small, low-cost kinetic interceptors designed to counter drones at ranges where electronic warfare and existing missile systems can fall short.

Corvus Industries: https://corvusind.com/

Malin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/malin-crewse-268642ba/
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The conversation covers Corvus’ counter-UAS interceptor, why fiber-optic drones are creating new demand for kinetic defenses, the importance of affordable mass, America’s interceptor stockpile problem, missile manufacturing, seeker technology, solid rocket motors, and the challenge of building systems capable of defeating maneuvering targets.

They also discuss what it’s like building a company as brothers, splitting founder equity 50/50, cashing out retirement savings to fund the company, learning how government procurement actually works, and why successful defense companies may eventually be pushed toward becoming multi-product businesses.