Mar 28, 2026 · 42 min
All modern hardware depends on good software, but in theU.S. military, most software sucks. Rob Slaughter, co-founder and CEO of Defense Unicorns, joins the show to unpack why this is happening and what they are doing to fix it. We dive into the rise of “software as a weapon system,” therole of open-source software in national security, and how Defense Unicorns is building an air-gapped, platform-agnostic software delivery model designed for real-world military environments. This episode is a must for anyone in defense. You’ll learn a ton about software—we guarantee! Links • Sign up for the newsletter! • Support us on Patreon! • Rob LinkedIn • Defense Unicorns website • Defense Unicorns LinkedIn • Defense Unicorns X • Defense Unicorns YouTube ---- Follow us on... • LinkedIn • Instagram • X • Facebook • Website ---- 00:00 00:43 intro 01:09 Defense Unicorns name 04:28 origin story 06:38 the 3 I's 08:46 software sustainment burden 09:13 wrong incentive structure 12:31 software as a weapon system 14:39 rising tech debt 16:18 open source 18:46 open is more secure? 20:43 SBOM 22:24 solutions 23:05 fighter jet software updates 24:43 submarine software 25:52 UDS 27:05 disconnected software 28:34 Chinese software underneath US systems 30:48 competition 33:43 crystal ball 35:15 $136M fundraise 37:56 magic wand - fixed price contracts 40:14 McDonald's ice cream #AI #Technology #Tech #Innovation #Cybersecurity #youtube #Military #DefenseTech #MilitaryTech #Startup #Software #Business