Tech Unmanned

Join Kaitlyn and guest co-host Rose Butchart for the final episode of Season 1! This engaging conversation focused on the Navy’s approach to developing and acquiring emerging technologies. Kaitlyn and Rose are joined by Ms. Joan Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Navy RDT&E and CAPT Ben Van Buskirk, Director at NavalX. This conversation was a culmination and deep dive into acquisition, autonomy, engaging with small businesses, and the future of warfare. References CSIS Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group: 2021 Defense Acquisition Trends: Topline DoD Trends after a Half Decade of Growth CSIS Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group: Department of Defense Other Transaction Authority Trends: A New R&D Funding Paradigm? Department of the Navy’s Strategy for Intelligent Autonomous Systems

A special episode release from Tech Unmanned! As part of the 2021 #NSGSCon (with NatSecGirlSquad) in December, Kaitlyn recorded a live-podcast with guest expert Dr. Regan Campbell, the General Manager of Autonomous and Advanced Naval Platforms at L3 Harris. Picking up where we left off with the previous autonomy episode, this conversation dives deep into the challenges and opportunities of naval autonomous platforms including onboard data processing and threat detection, maneuverability, and the Navy’s ability to integrate these systems into their current force structure.

Join Kaitlyn and Lindsey as they talk about the future of the workplace and the STEM workforce. Expert guests, Dr. Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google, and Jennifer Anastasoff, Executive Director and Co-founder at Tech Talent Project, talk with the Tech Unmanned hosts about the nuances about the critical nature of the STEM workforce. Does DoD and the national security community have the authority, motivation, and development pipeline to sustain and engage a future STEM workforce? Hear what Vint and Jennifer have to say, as well as a wrap up from Lindsey and Kaitlyn breaking down the conversation further. References To Compete, Invest in People: Retaining the U.S. Defense Enterprise’s Technical Workforce by Lindsey R. Sheppard, Morgan Dwyer, Melissa Dalton, and Angelina Hidalgo (https://www.csis.org/analysis/compete-invest-people-retaining-us-defense-enterprises-technical-workforce) National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Final Report (https://www.nscai.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Full-Report-Digital-1.pdf) Memos for a Tech Transition by the Tech Talent Project (https://techtalentproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/MemosForATechTransition_ExecutiveSummaries_TechTalentProject_10.16.20.pdf) Future of Defense Task Force Report (https://armedservices.house.gov/_cache/files/2/6/26129500-d208-47ba-a9f7-25a8f82828b0/424EB2008281A3C79BA8C7EA71890AE9.future-of-defense-task-force-report.pdf) Workforce Now by the Defense Innovation Board (https://media.defense.gov/2019/Oct/31/2002204196/-1/-1/0/WORKFORCE_NOW.PDF)

Episode ten of Tech Unmanned dives deep into software acquisition and the challenges of iteration, adaptability, and implementation. Lindsey and Kaitlyn talk with two incredible experts, Courtney Barno and Enrique Oti, about the challenges of software acquisition for the Department of Defense. If you’re asking yourself why this is so hard or if you work in or with DoD and still have to use Windows 5 or something from a decade ago, this episode is for you. References Defense Innovation Board’s Software Acquisition and Practices (SWAP) Study (https://innovation.defense.gov/software/) Acquisition of Software-Defined Hardware-Based Adaptable Systems by Andrew Hunter, Schuler Moore, and Maura Rose McQuade (https://www.csis.org/analysis/acquisition-software-defined-hardware-based-adaptable-systems) GAO Study on DOD Software Acquisition: Status of and Challenges Related to Reform Efforts (https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-105298.pdf) The Air Force Digital Century Series: Beyond the Buzzwords by Morgan Dwyer (https://www.csis.org/analysis/air-force-digital-century-series-beyond-buzzwords)

The eighth episode of Tech Unmanned explores electronic warfare and the electromagnetic spectrum. Lindsey and Kaitlyn interview Whitney McNamara, a technical advisor in the Department of Defense, and Todd Harrison from CSIS. As Whitney says, “Every modern weapons system from radios to satellites, to ships to aircraft, all depend on the spectrum to function.” This discussion on the electromagnetic spectrum and the ways to counter or interfere with access to communications is critical and deserves more focus in defense and national security policy conversations. References Winning the Invisible War: Gaining an Enduring U.S. Advantage in the Electromagnetic Spectrum by Bryan Clark, Whitney M. McNamara, Timothy A. Walton Battle Networks and the Future Force by Todd Harrison The Kill Chain by Chris Brose

The sixth episode of Tech Unmanned explores autonomous air vehicles and autonomous systems broadly. Kaitlyn and Lindsey are joined by Jamie Walters from General Atomics and Dr. Jackie Schneider from Stanford University. This discussion dives into the different missions of autonomous systems, building trust in human-machine teaming, ethics, and much more. Reference: - U.S. Public Opinion for Drone Strikes by Jacquelyn Schneider and Julia Macdonald: https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/u-s-public-support-for-drone-strikes

The fourth episode of Tech Unmanned delves into the world of biotechnology. Lindsey and Kaitlyn are joined by Dr. Diane DiEuliis, Senior Fellow at the National Defense University, and Austin Walne, Partner at ARTIS Ventures, to share their expertise on emerging biotechnologies. While framing a timeline of biotechnology and exploring the bioeconomy, they discuss the field especially with the context of the COVID pandemic. As we enter what Walne calls “the third era of biotech”, it is pertinent to consider both the opportunities that revolutionary synthetic and computational biology technologies present as well as possible challenges scientists and policymakers must consider such as digital biosecurity and competition with China. References: MIT report on Convergence: The Future of Health - http://www.convergencerevolution.net/ McKinsey report on The Bio Revolution: Innovations transforming economies, societies, and our lives - https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/pharmaceuticals-and-medical-products/our-insights/the-bio-revolution-innovations-transforming-economies-societies-and-our-lives#

This episode of Tech Unmanned focuses on a new commercial space revolution in remote sensing and earth observation satellites. Previously solely the domain of the intelligence community and military, remote sensing has exploded in the private sector through different types of sensors and data, as well as the applications of the data collected. Kaitlyn and Lindsey talk with Kari Bingen, Chief Strategy Officer at Hawkeye360, and Dr. Mariel Borowitz, Associate Professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech, about this technological revolution and its impact on national security. References: A 2020 NOAA report was released with "round 2" data results on expanding purchase of radio occultation data 2021 Strategic Studies Quarterly piece by Dr. Borowitz on satellite data sharing Dr. Borowitz in ScienceDirect "National Security Implications of Emerging Satellite Technology" Arms Control Wonk analysis with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery of a 2017 North Korean nuclear test

Welcome to Tech Unmanned, a new podcast hosted by Lindsey Sheppard and Kaitlyn Johnson at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Technology is at the heart of just about every defense issue and modernization priority for the United States defense enterprise. Tech Unmanned features guests with both policy expertise and technical expertise in order to break through the national security jargon and technology hand-waving to get to the core of the technical realities of these emerging capabilities, benefits to development, and the barriers to success. Tech Unmanned is released every other Tuesday, starting on June 29, 2021.