Emerging Tech Horizons

ETI provides research and analyses to inform the development and integration of emerging technologies into the defense industrial base. This podcast will feature topics and speakers focusing on emerging technologies.

Beyond Attrition: Integrating Drone and Unmanned Systems into the Future of U.S. Warfare 06/03/2026

Beyond Attrition: Integrating Drone and Unmanned Systems into the Future of U.S. Warfare After more than four years of conflict, the war in Ukraine has produced an unprecedented body of data on rapid innovation, emerging technology, and the evolving role of drone warfare and unmanned systems on the modern battlefield. The pressing question for U.S. defense planners is which of those lessons can be translated to the U.S. way of war, and which, if applied too directly, risk misdirecting future force development. In this episode, host Dr. Arun Seraphin is joined by Anna Kim, Associate Research Fellow at the Emerging Technologies Institute (ETI), and Matt Dooley, President and CEO of Fidelium and Chair of the NDIA Robotics Division, to discuss their ETI white paper, "Beyond Attrition: Interpreting the Limits of Lessons from Ukraine for Future US Force Development." The paper examines what full integration of drone technologies, autonomous systems, and emerging military technologies into the U.S. Joint Force would actually require. The conversation explores why Ukraine's battlefield innovation and drone-driven "iteration under fire" model cannot be copied wholesale into the U.S. statutory and industrial environment, the enduring importance of combined arms warfare, and why the future force depends on integrating attritable unmanned systems with legacy maneuver platforms rather than choosing between them. Kim and Dooley also discuss the Army's Transformation in Contact (TiC) and Human Machine Integrated Formation (HMIF) initiatives, Project Convergence, and the Pentagon's Drone Dominance program, along with the production, sustainment, and training challenges of fielding robotic, autonomous, and emerging technology-enabled warfare capabilities at the scale a future fight will demand. Read ETI’s White Paper "Beyond Attrition: Interpreting the Limits of Lessons from Ukraine for Future US Force Development": https://www.emergingtechnologiesinstitute.org/publications/brief-series/beyond-attrition Learn more about NDIA's Robotics Division: https://www.ndia.org/divisions/robotics For updates on our content, sign up for our weekly mailer: https://www.emergingtechnologiesinstitute.org/sign-up SAVE THE DATE: 2026 NDIA Future Force Capabilities Conference & Exhibition, June 8–10, 2026, at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, NV — where Anna and Matt will continue the conversation: https://ndiaffc.org 2026 NDIA Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference and Exhibition September 9-10, 2026, at the Walter E. Washington DC Convention Center: ndiatechexpo.org Be sure to follow us on social media for updates, early access to upcoming events, inside scoops, & more: LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4htROo0 Twitter: https://bit.ly/48LHAx3 Facebook: https://bit.ly/47vlht8 And for more podcasts, articles, & publications on emerging technology, check out our website at: ndiaeti.org /episode/index/show/ndiaeti/id/41493590

Fight the Base: Military Infrastructure Resilience Against Cyberattacks in a Contested Battlespace 05/27/2026

Connecting the Factory to the Fight: AI-Enabled Software and Proactive Defense Supply Chains 05/20/2026

Start in Elementary School: Building America’s Defense STEM Pipeline 05/13/2026

Beyond the Battlefield: Emerging Technology, AI, and the Future Force of War 05/06/2026

Human Systems at the Speed of Acquisition: How Defense Innovation Is Reshaping the Workforce 04/29/2026

Human Systems at the Speed of Acquisition: How Defense Innovation Is Reshaping the Workforce The Department of War (DoW) is moving faster than ever—embracing commercial technology, autonomous systems, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled capabilities. But this acceleration raises a critical question: what happens to the human in the loop? Recorded at the NDIA Human Systems Conference, Arun Seraphin speaks with four leaders working at the intersection of technology, personnel, and defense innovation: Dr. Eric Sikorski, Stuart Michelson, Jenn McNamara, and Jesse Flint. Together, they examine how evolving priorities within the Department of War (DoW) are accelerating adoption of autonomous systems and Artificial Intelligence (AI), while placing new demands on the workforce responsible for operating them. The discussion reveals that rapid defense innovation often outpaces workforce readiness and can create challenges in training, integration, and scalability. This episode highlights how NDIA members across industry, academia, and government are advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI), autonomous systems, and human performance strategies to ensure the Department of Defense (DoD) workforce can effectively support next-generation missions at speed. See here for more information on NDIA's Human Systems Division: For updates on our content, sign up for our weekly mailer: SAVE THE DATE: 2026 NDIA Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference and Exhibition September 9-10, 2026, at the Walter E. Washington DC Convention Center: Be sure to follow us on social media for updates, early access to upcoming events, inside scoops, & more: LinkedIn: Twitter: Facebook: And for more podcasts, articles, & publications all things emerging tech, check out our website at: ndiaeti.org #EmergingTechnologies #DefenseInnovation #ArtificialIntelligence #DefenseAcquisition Keywords: - Defense innovation - autonomous systems - Artificial intelligence (AI) - Department of Defense (DoD) /episode/index/show/ndiaeti/id/41051165

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Multi-Agent Systems in Defense Policy Modeling 04/22/2026

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Multi-Agent Systems in Defense Policy Modeling For decades, the U.S. government has tested weapons systems before deployment, but not the policies that govern them. That gap is starting to close through artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced modeling techniques. In this episode, Dr. Arun Seraphin sits down with Dr. David Metcalf and Dr. Doug Buettner to explore how AI, multi-agent systems, and simulation technologies are transforming how defense policy can be designed, tested, and implemented. What emerges is a new paradigm: policy that can be modeled and refined before it ever reaches the real world. The conversation explores how AI-powered multi-agent systems can simulate complex environments with multiple stakeholders, enabling policymakers to run thousands of “what if” scenarios in real time. As these systems scale, questions of bias, validation, and trust become central to whether artificial intelligence-driven insights can inform high-stakes decisions. Looking ahead, the challenge is no longer technical feasibility—it is whether institutions can adopt AI and multi-agent systems, build the right validation frameworks, and ensure that AI-driven policy decision-making remains accountable. NDIA ETI Brief -- “Using Data for Defense: Integrating Modeling & Simulation for Policymaking”: https://www.emergingtechnologiesinstitute.org/publications/brief-series/policy-and-modeling ADD WEBINAR ON POLICY MODELING – YOUTUBE VIDEO ADD LINK to AIRC SAVE THE DATE: 2026 NDIA Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference and Exhibition September 9-10, 2026, at the Walter E. Washington DC Convention Center: ndiatechexpo.org/ Be sure to follow us on social media for updates, early access to upcoming events, inside scoops, & more: LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4htROo0 Twitter: https://bit.ly/48LHAx3 Facebook: https://bit.ly/47vlht8 And for more podcasts, articles, & publications all things emerging tech, check out our website at: ndiaeti.org #EmergingTech #ArtificialIntelligence #PublicPolicy #DefenseInnovation /episode/index/show/ndiaeti/id/40886910

Microelectronics & Semiconductors: Strengthening Supply Chains for U.S. National Security 04/15/2026

Microelectronics & Semiconductors: Strengthening Supply Chains for U.S. National Security Over the past decade, microelectronics and semiconductors have become a cornerstone of U.S. national security and supply chain resilience, moving beyond a purely technical issue to a central focus of economic and defense policy in Washington. In this episode, host Dr. Arun Seraphin sits down with Grant Meyer, chair of the National Defense Industrial Association Electronics Division, to discuss the evolving role of the electronics industrial base in supporting U.S. defense capabilities and securing critical supply chains. The conversation explores how rising geopolitical competition and legislation such as the CHIPS and Science Act have accelerated federal attention on semiconductor manufacturing, microelectronics innovation, and resilient supply chains. Seraphin and Meyer also dive into the challenges of building a coherent national electronics strategy, including fragmented priorities across the industrial base and commercial technology sector, and the difficulty of aligning long-term defense acquisition timelines with fast-moving commercial cycles. Meyer draws on his extensive experience in defense electronics to explain why microelectronics and semiconductors are foundational to modern military systems and national security infrastructure. Check out Meyer’s NDIA division here: NDIA ETI Report – “Modernizing Defense Microelectronics: Challenges and Opportunities”: ETH Podcast on Report: ETH Podcast CHIPS Act and Microelectronics - Tech 101 Webinar: Microelectronics - Be sure to follow us on social media for updates, early access to upcoming events, inside scoops, & more: LinkedIn: Twitter: Facebook: And for more podcasts, articles, & publications all things emerging tech, check out our website at: ndiaeti.org #ETI #EmergingTech #SupplyChains #Microelectronics #Semiconductors /episode/index/show/ndiaeti/id/40520725

James Chew of Intel on How Commercial Microelectronics Can Reshape the Defense Industry 04/08/2026

Inside the New DoD Appropriations Reality: Defense Industrial Base, Munitions, & Golden Dome Signals 04/01/2026

Optimizing the Warfighter: Can the Military Turn Data into Decisions at the Edge 03/25/2026

Optimizing the Warfighter: Can the Military Turn Data into Decisions at the Edge The U.S. military has spent decades optimizing platforms while largely underinvesting in the system that actually operates them: the warfighter. As body-worn technologies mature, that imbalance is becoming harder to justify. In this episode, Sonya Rahmani, Warfighter Performance Lead at Booz Allen, joins Dr. Arun Seraphin to argue that the future of military advantage lies in treating the warfighter as an integrated system—one that spans cognitive, physiological, and tactical domains. The challenge is no longer collecting data but transforming it into actionable insights using Defense AI Technology. The conversation explores why the real bottlenecks are not just in AI or sensing, but in power management, system integration, and cybersecurity. Warfighters cannot manage fragmented devices, incompatible batteries, or constant data streams. The burden must shift from the individual to the system—through automation, edge computing, and intelligent filtering powered by Defense AI Technology. Rahmani also explains why commercial wearable technologies, while essential, are insufficient on their own. Devices built for connected, civilian environments must be fundamentally reengineered for disconnected operations, cybersecurity risks, and mission-specific demands in modern defense environments. Learn more about Booz Allen’s Defense Technology: https://www.boozallen.com/defense SAVE THE DATE: 2026 NDIA Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference and Exhibition September 9-10, 2026, at the Walter E. Washington DC Convention Center: ndiatechexpo.org/ Be sure to follow us on social media for updates, early access to upcoming events, inside scoops, & more: LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4htROo0 Twitter: https://bit.ly/48LHAx3 Facebook: https://bit.ly/47vlht8 And for more podcasts, articles, & publications all things emerging tech, check out our website at: ndiaeti.org /episode/index/show/ndiaeti/id/40561310