The Drone Ultimatum
The preeminent podcast for all things drones, defense tech, defense policy, and modern warfare. Featured guests include industry leaders, policy experts, military warfighters, business titans, and many more. Hosted by Steve Simoni, Co-founder & President of Allen Control Systems
Recent Episodes
Feb. 15, 2026
Reinventing Missile Production with Liquid Propulsion | Chandler Luzsicza, Galadyne
Chandler Luzsicza, Founder and CEO of Galadyne, joins us to break down why he’s betting on liquid propulsion to reinvent long-range missile production. A former SpaceX engineer who started working on liquid rockets as a teena...
Feb. 6, 2026
Air Defense, Counter-UAS, and Re-Industrializing the US Defense Base | Heather Armentrout, Kongsberg US
Heather Armentrout, President and General Manager of Kongsberg US, joins the show for a candid look at how a European defense leader is scaling real production inside the United States. We cover NASAMS, CROWS, and how lessons...
Jan. 30, 2026
Inside The Russia-Ukraine War: Capital, Tech, and Geopolitics | Perry Boyle and Denys Gurak
The war in Ukraine, defense tech, procurement, and private capital are colliding in real time, and most people in the West are missing what matters. Mentions: Disinformation by Ion Mihai Pacepa (Wikipedia) Match in a Haystack...
Jan. 24, 2026
Shipbuilding, USVs, and the Economics of Naval Autonomy | Austin Gray
Austin Gray, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Blue Water Autonomy, returns to the show to break down what it actually takes to build large unmanned ships that can operate for months without touch maintenance. We get i...
Jan. 17, 2026
Building American Drones in the New Age of Drone Warfare | Olaf Hichwa
Olaf Hichwa joins the podcast to break down the reality of modern drone warfare, FPVs, and why small drones now drive the majority of battlefield casualties. Drawing on direct exposure to Ukraine and deep experience building ...
Jan. 9, 2026
Modern War’s Cost Problem and America’s Response | Rep. Pat Harrigan (NC-10)
Congressman Pat Harrigan (NC-10), former Army Special Forces officer and defense manufacturer, joins the show to talk about why he ran for office after the fall of Afghanistan and what that moment signaled to adversaries. We ...
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