Show Notes
On today's episode of Change Agents, Andy is joined by Brian Streem, the founder and CEO of Vermeer, a defense tech company with forward operations in Ukraine. He went from using drone technology and Hollywood projects ranging from Steven Spielberg movies, The Fast and the Furious films, and Beyonce music videos to the frontlines of war.
This technology lets drones navigate when GPS is jammed, spoofed or gone entirely. Brian pivoted his company into Vermeer in 2018, after the Department of Defense showed strong interest in his team's XR technology, building AR command controlled and visualization tools for unmanned swarms in GPS denied environments.
Video Chapters: (00:39) – Meet Brian Streem: Hollywood to the Frontlines (09:39) – The Pivot: From Film Sets to Defense Tech (10:19) – Landing DoD Funding & Moving Vermeer to Ukraine (21:06) – GPS Jamming & Spoofing Explained (25:33) – Fiber Optic vs FPV vs Starlink Drones (31:41) – The Outsider Advantage: Why Being in Kyiv Matters (35:10) – Drone Swarms, Autonomy & Kill-Authority Ethics (42:50) – Pentagon's $150M Drone Dominance Program (47:13) – Russia's Drone Tech: Speed, ATR & What's Next (50:14) – Pilot Psychology, War Outlook & Final Thoughts
Sponsors:
Firecracker Farm Use code IRONCLAD to get 15% off your first order at https://firecracker.farm/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Change Agents with Andy Stumpf
Today's guest is Zachary Levi. He famously played the title role in the NBC action series Chuck, and has been in films including Shazam!, Tangled, Harold and the Purple Crayon, American Underdog, and others. His most recent movie is a remake of the John Wayne western, Angel and the Badman, and co-stars Neal McDonough and Tommy Lee Jones. Levi is also spearheading a new film studio and artist community in Texas called Wyldwood Studios.
Mariana van Zeller is an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker renowned for her investigative reporting on global crime and black-market networks. She was the host and executive producer of National Geographic’s Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller, which explores illicit trafficking networks worldwide. She hosted the podcast “The Hidden Third”, which looks at grey markets and stories from “the hidden third of the world.”
Brittany Butler is a novelist and former CIA targeting officer. Her latest book, The Patriot’s Daughter, is out now.
This interview was recorded in July. In the interview, she said, “There is a science-based history of Russia trying to develop a pneumonic plague super-weapon.” This weekend, that exact scenario may have unfolded.
Shane Smith the is the editor in chief of VICE News and co-founder VICE. He has spent his life reporting from some of the most dangerous places on earth, including, recently Iran.