Building the Base

In this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula sit down with Ken Bedingfield, Chief Financial Officer and President of Missile Solutions at L3Harris. This episode was recorded on December 6, 2025 at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, CA. Ken discusses his journey across the defense industrial base, from leadership at a traditional prime to serving as the 20th employee and CEO at venture-backed counter-UAS startup Epirus, to his current dual role at L3Harris. The conversation explores the fundamental shift from requirements-driven to capacity-driven defense strategy, and examines how L3Harris operates as the "tweener" between traditional primes and startups by making decisions in days rather than weeks.Five key takeaways from today's episode:Defense has shifted from requirements to capacity: The industry is moving away from chasing the last bit of capability or technology toward building production capacity at scale. Capacity itself has become a deterrent, driven by recognition of current conflicts and the real-world depletion of munitions stockpiles.Commercial contracting models benefit traditional primes too: L3Harris already derives 20% of sales through commercial models and strongly supports acquisition reform including eliminating cost accounting standards, reducing requirements, and expanding commerciality definitions; reforms often assumed to benefit only new entrants.Solid rocket motor production faces unique scaling challenges: Aerojet Rocketdyne's Camden, Arkansas facility spans 2,500 acres with 200 buildings and highly specialized regulations around explosive loads, storage, and safety. Scaling production requires understanding these complexities, suggesting new entrants should consider partnerships rather than building parallel capacity.Successful partnerships require mission alignment over technology hype: L3Harris positions itself as "connective tissue" between technology and mission capability. For example, partnering with Palantir to integrate AI into world-class electro-optic sensors rather than trying to build computer vision capabilities in-house. The key question for partnerships is "are we moving fast enough?"Public companies can innovate with the right focus: L3Harris has self-funded R&D in communications for 20 years without charging the government, and is transitioning other product lines to similar commercial models. While managing quarterly earnings and public market expectations isn't easy, publicly traded companies can find creative ways to invest and move at speed.Claude is AI and can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.

In this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula sit down with Paul Kwan, Managing Director at General Catalyst, where he leads the global resilience investment team, recorded live at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley. Paul traces his path from reading The Hunt for Red October in sixth grade to becoming one of the original defense tech VCs, and walks through what venture capital actually is and how it differs from private equity. He discusses General Catalyst's 25 years in the space, including backing Anduril early on, and explains how private capital funds R&D for the next generation of defense companies. The conversation covers the economics of VC, common misconceptions about venture capital and technology development, and Paul's reaction to Secretary Hegseth's acquisition reform speech.Five key takeaways from today's episode:Venture capital funds operate on 10-year timeframes compared to private equity's typical 5-7 year windows—a structural difference that allows VCs to take a longer-term approach while defense companies work through the challenges of manufacturing hardware at scale.Private investors fund R&D upfront in the venture model, betting that a small percentage of portfolio companies will become large enough to go public or get acquired, a different approach than traditional models where government funded product development from the start.Re-industrialization requires investment across the entire industrial stack. Beyond defense platforms, success depends on building out manufacturing software, testing infrastructure, electronic supply chains, and energy systems to enable production at the speed and cost needed.Large fundraises reflect market confidence in future contract awards. When VCs invest significant capital, they're anticipating that government contracts will follow. If those contracts don't materialize, it creates challenges for the innovation ecosystem that funded product development.First-of-its-kind defense tech business models represent new market categories. These companies may be valued differently than traditional defense contractors, similar to how technology disruptors in other industries trade at different multiples than legacy incumbents in their sectors.

In this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula sit down with Matthew Steckman, President and Chief Business Officer of Anduril Industries, recorded live at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley. Matt discusses his path from being among the first dozen employees at Palantir's DC office to co-founding Anduril, which has grown from operating out of his backyard shed in 2017 to a 7,000-person international company with over 20 product lines. The conversation covers the founding team's decision to enter defense technology when venture capital investment in the sector was effectively prohibited, and examines the operational challenges of scaling both product development and manufacturing.Five key takeaways from today's episode:The defense investment landscape has shifted dramatically since 2017: When Anduril launched, venture capital firms had bylaws explicitly prohibiting defense investments, reflecting a broader belief that major conflicts were unlikely. Those restrictions have since been removed as the strategic environment changed.Successful defense tech requires focus on difficult capability gaps: Matt advises founders to identify problems the government needs solved but cannot source from traditional contractors, maintain discipline around product roadmap, and avoid diluting defense focus by chasing commercial opportunities that compromise technical requirements.Scale in defense requires product portfolio breadth: Unlike enterprise software companies that achieve scale through a few products in large markets, Anduril has expanded to over 20 product lines, reflecting the need to address multiple segments of the defense market to build a substantial business.Manufacturing strategy must account for demand unpredictability: Anduril addresses high-mix, low-rate production challenges by designing products with commercial components, centralizing manufacturing operations at their Ohio facility, and building flexibility across production lines to handle variable government forecasting.Acquisition reform progress is incremental but cumulative: Having observed four cycles of acquisition reform over two decades, Matt notes that while individual reforms don't eliminate all obstacles, each iteration reduces friction and enables program managers to leverage new authorities more effectively.

In this episode recorded live from the December 2025 Reagan National Defense Forum, hosts Lauren Bedula and Hondo Geurts sit down with David Appel, Vice President of Global Government for Amazon Web Services. With 28 years at Raytheon before joining AWS, David brings a unique perspective on the evolution of the defense industrial base and the critical role cloud infrastructure plays in national security.David discusses why the traditional defense mindset of "deliver to the requirement" is giving way to a focus on mission outcomes, how AI dominance requires government to fully embrace cloud infrastructure, and why this moment represents an unprecedented opportunity for acquisition reform and innovation. From the convergence of financial institutions and defense to the global talent challenge, David shares insights on what it takes to transform how government operates in the digital age.Five Key Takeaways:Mission outcomes over requirements: The defense industrial base is shifting from a decades-old model of delivering to specifications toward understanding actual mission needs and innovating around outcomes, enabled by cloud and AI technologies.Not all clouds are created equal: Being a "smart buyer" of cloud services means understanding critical differences in security fabrics, infrastructure construction, and operational experience. True cloud adoption at scale is essential for AI leadership, not on-premise data centers rebranded as "cloud."Infrastructure liberation: Cloud frees organizations from spending resources on undifferentiated infrastructure work, allowing them to focus on mission-specific challenges. For startups and smaller companies especially, this levels the playing field to compete on mission expertise rather than capital resources.Talent through education: The talent challenge for cloud and AI isn't just about hiring, it's about trust and understanding. Investing in education for customers, operators, and the broader public is critical because people won't embrace technologies they don't understand.National security and economic prosperity are converging: The presence of financial institutions like JPMorgan at defense forums signals a fundamental shift; economic stability and market strength are now recognized as inseparable from national security, driving new investment and innovation across sectors.

In this episode recorded live from the 2025 Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, hosts Lauren Bedula and Hondo Geurts welcome back Ranking Member Adam Smith of the House Armed Services Committee for the second year in a row. Following his morning keynote address, Rep. Smith discusses the current state of defense innovation and acquisition reform, which he characterizes as a "good news, bad news situation" with significant progress on technology and industrial base transformation occurring alongside political challenges at the Pentagon. The conversation addresses the growth of the defense startup ecosystem, changes in congressional approach to defense programs, concerns about tariff impacts on supply chains, and differing views on foreign policy realism emerging from the forum's discussions.Five Key Takeaways:The defense startup ecosystem has grown substantially: Companies including Shield AI, Palantir, C3 AI, and various drone manufacturers are now developing capabilities like collaborative combat aircraft with private investment. Rep. Smith notes that approximately two-thirds of the companies sponsoring the Reagan Forum didn't exist when the forum began.Traditional defense contractors are adapting to increased competition: Rep. Smith observes that major defense primes historically preferred long-term, stable contracts with established subcontracting relationships but have demonstrated capacity to innovate when faced with competitive pressure from new entrants in the market.Congressional priorities on defense programs have evolved: Under bipartisan leadership, the House Armed Services Committee has moved away from a focus on district-specific funding toward emphasizing innovation and new technology development.Current tariff policy may complicate supply chain diversification efforts: Rep. Smith expresses concern that tariffs on countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Mexico could hinder efforts to reduce dependence on Chinese manufacturing. He indicates that some companies reconsidering moves out of China have paused plans due to tariff considerations affecting alternative locations.Debate continues over the definition of foreign policy realism: Rep. Smith distinguishes between what he considers "genuine realism," maintaining commitments to democratic values while making practical compromises, and approaches he views as reverting to great power competition without values-based considerations. He argues the latter approach carries risks based on historical precedents from earlier eras of international relations.