Countering Drones and the Pace of Modern War

About this episode

The episode discusses America's approach to modern warfare, focusing on counter-drone strategies and military adaptation in the context of ongoing conflicts.

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, and more. This episode also features a rant from Ryan about companies that exaggerate the value they are providing to Ukraine. The idea for this episode precedes the latest war with Iran, but the fight in the Middle East makes this conversation so much more urgent.

People in this episode

Host: Ryan

Topics covered

• counter-drone solutions
• modern warfare
• U.S. military adaptation
• defense procurement
• geopolitical conflicts

Keywords

• drones
• military strategy
• defense technology
• war preparation
• U.S. military
• geopolitics
• AeroVironment
• Epirus
• Hidden Level

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: AeroVironment, Epirus, Hidden Level

Places: America, Ukraine, Iran, Middle East

More episodes of Cogs of War

• The Lawmakers Fighting to Modernize the Pentagon · June 8, 2026 · 34 min
• Synthetic Biology, Drones, and AI: The Risks of Dual-Use Technologies · May 27, 2026 · 38 min
• Meet the New Host of Cogs of War · May 14, 2026 · 34 min
• Why Booz Allen is Partnering With One of the World's Most Important VC Firms · April 15, 2026 · 44 min
• The Future Soldier Loadout: Smarter Gear or Dead Weight? · April 10, 2026 · 50 min
• Agentic AI and the Pentagon's Integration Challenge · February 24, 2026 · 55 min