Battlefield autonomy without the varnish.
Drone Wars follows the fast-changing collision of autonomy, battlefield adaptation, and national security. Its conversations pair technical detail with combat experience, moving from fiber optic drones in Ukraine to mines, air superiority, venture capital, and the treatment of American warfighters.
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Drone Wars is a defense technology podcast focused on autonomy as it actually touches war, industry, and national security. It treats drones as part of a larger battlefield system, not as a novelty. Mines, air superiority, fiber optic control links, manufacturing bottlenecks, venture funding, and the treatment of warfighters all sit inside the same conversation. The show's center of gravity is practical consequence. A mine is not just an object; it is a force that can freeze movement, close waterways, and reshape decisions under pressure. A drone is not just a platform; it is a way to create an effect when radio signals, air dominance, or legacy procurement no longer behave as expected. Recent episodes lean heavily on Ukraine as proof that warfare changes fast and punishes institutions that learn slowly. That gives the show urgency. It also gives it a blunt edge. Guests describe combat problems in plain operational terms, then connect those problems to factories, founders, funding, training, and policy habits. Matthew Walther brings EOD experience and a manufacturing lens to the enduring threat of mines. Joe Musselman frames defense technology through founders, builders, capital, and the need to serve American warfighters better. Troy Smothers connects fiber optic drones to Ukrainian battlefield adoption and nonprofit support for troops. Josh Cabo-Gunderson brings an Air Force pilot perspective to the future of manned and unmanned airpower. Across these conversations, Drone Wars keeps asking whether the United States can build and field what future conflict will require. The answers are rarely comfortable. They are often specific. The show is best for listeners who want military technology discussed by people thinking in terms of risk, speed, logistics, and lives on the line. It favors conviction over polish and battlefield effect over abstract strategy.
Made for: For listeners who follow defense technology, Ukraine lessons, military aviation, robotics, and national security startup culture. It especially suits people who want technical detail tied to operational stakes.
What sets it apart: Drone Wars connects emerging autonomous systems to older battlefield realities such as mines, air superiority, logistics, and procurement friction. Its edge comes from guests who discuss technology through lived military, manufacturing, nonprofit, and investment experience.
Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.
The future of warfare arrives as a battery invoice, and you get the uncomfortable footnotes.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A clear defense-tech thesis about talent, founders, and the capital that follows them.
Joe Musselman's Drone Wars lands on a familiar but still useful point: the bottleneck is often not hardware, but the people who can build new companies and the capital that follows them.
A ground-level look at fiber optic drones as battlefield tools and a path to industrial adoption.
Drone Wars follows Troy Smothers, a former U.S. Marine Corps infantry sergeant, as he makes the case for fiber optic drones as a way to keep direct communication with a payload while avoiding RF disruption.
Specialists walking through software's tradeoffs, one system at a time.
Founders and engineers on AI coding agents like Claude Code, and supply chain security.
Drone Wars interviews Brian Streem, founder and CEO of Vermeer, about vision-based navigation for drones operating without reliable GPS.
Drone Wars interviews Joe Musselman, founder and managing partner of Bravo Victor Venture Capital, about defense tech, national-security founders, and the Schoolhouse platform.
An interview with Garrett Smith, founder of Reveal Technology, discussing his transition from Marine to defense tech entrepreneur and lessons learned in the defense industry.
Troy Smothers links Drone Wars and the episode "Fiber Optic Drones in Ukraine Could Shape America's Future of Warfare" to a March 8, 2024 Forbes article and an eight-mile test in Utah.
Interview with an Air Force pilot discussing the future of manned vs unmanned aircraft and drone warfare.