Adam Warmoth, Founder & CEO of Chariot Defense, fielded with the 101st Airborne at GRTC six months after first check by pulling silicon carbide power electronics and high-voltage lithium directly from Tesla and eVTOL supply chains. Their M424 hybridizes tactical vehicles and generators to deliver 4-5x higher charge rates than trucks alone, resulting in 3-5x drone sortie rates while almost eliminating generator signature during critical windows. Adam breaks down why the operational shift from 12-hour patrols to 96-hour missions made 2590 batteries obsolete for drones, EW, and edge compute.
He also explains his counterintuitive supply chain play: pay premium prices to US and allied automotive suppliers now to serve as early demand signal for companies reshoring critical minerals and battery production, helping them scale down cost curves while securing provenance requirements.
Topics discussed:
- Building hybrid power systems using silicon carbide power electronics and high-voltage lithium from Tesla and eVTOL commercial supply chains
- Solving the 96-hour mission power constraint where platoons can only carry enough 2590 batteries for 12-hour patrol operations
- Achieving 3-5x drone sortie rates by delivering 4-5x higher charge rates than tactical vehicles alone through hybridization architecture
- Eliminating generator thermal and acoustic signatures during critical windows to prevent infrared detection and targeting
- Fielding from first check to 101st Airborne GRTC deployment in 6 months using Anduril-informed go-to-market and capture strategies
- Leveraging automotive supply chains at premium prices to serve as demand signal for reshoring critical minerals and battery production
- Providing uninterrupted four nines and five nines uptime for C2 and edge compute requiring data center power with no grid
- Designing for power density and burst capability rather than energy storage to enable passive sensing with active engagement surge
- Navigating Navy certification bottlenecks for high-voltage systems while maintaining commercial technology adoption speed
Listen to more episodes:
Apple
Spotify
YouTube
Website