Tech Innovation in the Battlespace | Lessons from Ukraine for U.S. Defense & Industry

Описание: How does battlefield innovation actually happen at speed - and what must the U.S. change to keep up? Moderator Nataliya Bugayova leads Gen. David Petraeus (Ret.), Major Gen. (Ret) Charlie Cleveland (Ret.), CW5 (Ret) Joey Gagnard and Alec Bierbauer in a fast, practical discussion on drones and counter-drones, swarm autonomy, air & missile defense, battle-management software, and fixing the procurement bottleneck. Drawing on frontline observations from Ukraine, the panel unpacks what’s working, what isn’t, and how public–private teams can field “60% solutions” and iterate to advantage.

What you’ll learn
• Why the future fight is unmanned, networked, and algorithmically piloted—and why swarms change everything
• How Ukraine’s garage-to-factory surge built millions of FPV drones and a rapid feedback loop between engineers and operators
• The counter-drone problem set: air & missile defense, high-power microwave/laser point defense, and scaling against mass
• Inside Ukraine’s digital backbone: Delta/iStar battle management, sensor-to-shooter compression, and unit-level “app stores”
• How U.S. acquisition must evolve: from rigid “requirements” to problem statements, embedded engineers, and rapid fielding
• What adversaries (Russia, China, Iran, North Korea) are learning - and why not engaging industry is the bigger risk

Speakers
• Nataliya Bugayova – Moderator
• Gen. David Petraeus, USA (Ret.)
• Major Gen. Charlie Cleveland, USA (Ret.)
• Joey Gagnard – SOF veteran; U.S.–Ukraine defense industrial collaboration
• Alec Bierbauer – Co-architect of the armed Predator program

Chapters
00:00 Opening & frame: innovation as combat power
01:17 Petraeus: Unmanned & algorithmic warfare; preparing for swarms
02:16 Air & missile defense lessons; counter-drone urgency
03:22 Evolving threats (Shahed variants) & the action–reaction race
06:35 To Joey: U.S.–Ukraine industrial collaboration—what’s working
07:12 The Ukrainian feedback loop & garage-to-frontline iteration
11:01 “Battlefield labs” and engineer–operator teaming
12:51 Delta platform, unit-level catalogs, and incentives
14:42 Sensor-to-shooter compression; why software wins
17:15 Cleveland: Make adaptability the central competence
21:26 Bierbauer: Predator origins, problem statements over specs
27:32 Rapid fielding: send it, learn fast, iterate
29:40 Integrating at scale: turning innovation into advantage
33:43 Palantir & embedding with units; why it succeeded
39:28 Public–private partnership and managing risk
40:52 Threat-driven signals: short-range air defense & low-cost counters
42:07 Strategy add-ons: sanctions & choking the war economy
43:30 Audience Question- Ralph Goff: What adversaries are learning from Ukraine
45:51 Close

Key takeaways
• Speed beats pedigree: field, learn, iterate beats waiting for perfect
• Put builders with users: embed engineers at the edge.
• Write problem statements, not shopping lists.
• Software-centric C2 (Delta/iStar) is now a weapon system.
• Adversaries are studying the same lab - move faster.
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