The Drone Ultimatum

Nic Adams is the Director of Government Relations at Overland AI.

Nic on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-adams208/

Overland AI: https://www.overland.ai/

Steve on X: https://x.com/StevenSimoni

Steve on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevensimoni/

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Our website: https://www.thedroneultimatum.com/

This week on The Drone Ultimatum, Nic Adams, Director of Government Relations at Overland AI, joins us to discuss what it actually takes for a defense startup to move from promising technology to real military programs.

We cover:
How defense appropriations become actual contracts
The realities of Pentagon procurement and production
Autonomous ground vehicles and the future of land warfare
Why robots will increasingly take on dangerous missions
Lessons from Ukraine and the changing battlefield
Building defense companies that can scale

Nic also shares his perspective on Congress, budgeting, acquisition timelines, and what founders often misunderstand about selling into the Department of Defense.

Omar Javaid is the CEO of Rampart Communications, a company that provides resilient wireless communications with physical layer encryption, protecting against cyber and EW threats.

Omar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ojavaid/

Rampart Communications: https://rampartcommunications.com/

Steve on X: https://x.com/StevenSimoni

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Our website: https://www.thedroneultimatum.com/

Omar Javaid is the CEO of Rampart Communications, a company developing advanced wireless communications technologies for defense and national security applications. Before founding Rampart, Omar spent years working on cutting-edge communications technology, including time at Qualcomm, giving him a unique perspective on both commercial innovation and military capability.

In this conversation, Omar explains how wireless communications remain one of the most important—and least appreciated—foundations of modern warfare. The discussion explores the technical and operational challenges facing military communications, electronic warfare, and autonomous systems as conflicts continue to evolve.

Steve and Omar also discuss lessons emerging from Ukraine, the changing nature of electronic attack and countermeasures, the realities of building a defense startup, and why solving difficult communications problems creates long-term strategic advantages.

The conversation expands beyond technology into geopolitics, America’s defense industrial base, alliance dynamics, and the importance of preparing for future conflicts. Throughout the episode, Omar combines deep technical experience with broader strategic thinking, offering insights relevant to founders, operators, investors, and defense professionals alike.

Stephen Ziegenfuss is the Co-Founder of Vertical Autonomy, a company building next-generation unmanned systems.

Stephen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-ziegenfuss-6139546/

Vertical Autonomy: https://www.verticalautonomy.com/

Steve on X: https://x.com/StevenSimoni

Steve on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevensimoni/

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Our website: https://www.thedroneultimatum.com/

Stephen Zeigenfuss, Co-Founder of Vertical Autonomy, joins The Drone Ultimatum to discuss what it really takes to build tactical unmanned aircraft.

The conversation explores lessons from decades of UAV development, why operator feedback matters more than perfect engineering, what Ukraine has revealed about modern drone warfare, and how Vertical Autonomy is approaching the next generation of Group 3 aircraft.

Whether you’re interested in defense acquisition, military aviation, or the future of autonomous systems, this episode provides a practical perspective on where tactical drones are headed.

Brett Velicovich is the founder of Powerus and a former intelligence professional who spent years supporting special operations and drone missions before working alongside frontline units in Ukraine.

Brett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-velicovich-86a3651a/

Brett on X: https://x.com/TheDroneWarrior

Powerus: https://www.power.us/

Steve on X: https://x.com/StevenSimoni

Steve on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevensimoni/

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Our website: https://www.thedroneultimatum.com/|

Episode Description

In this conversation, Brett explains why he calls Powerus a “revenge business”—a response to years of watching companies ignore feedback from operators with real-world experience. He discusses how lessons learned in Ukraine directly influenced the company’s approach to building and fielding new capabilities.

The discussion explores the accelerating evolution of drone warfare, counter-drone systems, autonomy, and AI. Brett shares why he believes future conflicts will reward speed, adaptability, and distributed systems over traditional assumptions about military power, while also examining how current conflicts are reshaping defense priorities.

The episode also covers defense acquisitions, scaling a startup in the national security ecosystem, and the importance of staying closely connected to operators in the field.

Throughout the conversation, Brett offers an operator’s perspective on where defense technology is heading and what founders should understand before building for the Department of Defense.

Yadin Soffer, co-founder and CEO of Traysar Industries, joins Steve to discuss why the future of warfare may be shifting beneath the surface.

Yadin on X: https://x.com/yadinsoffer

Yadin on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yadinsoffer/

Traysar: https://www.traysar.com/

Steve on X: https://x.com/StevenSimoni

Steve on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevensimoni/

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Our website: https://www.thedroneultimatum.com/

After building and exiting a fintech company, Yadin made the leap into defense to tackle one of the military’s toughest operational problems: autonomous systems for subterranean environments.

The conversation explores how lessons from Ukraine, Gaza, and other modern conflicts are changing assumptions about maneuver warfare. As the air domain becomes increasingly contested by drones and precision fires, Yadin argues that tunnels and underground infrastructure are becoming the next critical battlespace.

Steve and Yadin also discuss what it’s like building an early-stage defense startup—from fundraising and navigating the Pentagon acquisition process to working with DARPA and balancing rapid commercial development with government customers.

The episode closes with a broader discussion on defense innovation, startup strategy, and where autonomous systems are headed over the next decade.