EP 65 — Scientific Systems' Kunal Mehra on Affordable Mass Revolution

The Ukrainian conflict revealed a stark reality that should light a fire under American defense planners: modern warfare consumes weapons at rates that would exhaust our entire arsenal in months, not years. In his conversation with Dave on the latest DIB Innovators, Kunal Mehra, President of Scientific Systems, brings a unique perspective to solving this crisis, shaped by his family's experience fleeing partition-era India and his father's determination to strengthen democratic nations through advanced technology.

Kunal argues that our addiction to "exquisite systems" has created a fundamental mismatch between 20th century military thinking and 21st century threats. The solution requires abandoning the hardware-defined military model in favor of software-defined capabilities that can rapidly turn commercial platforms into effective weapon systems. Scientific Systems' CMA platform demonstrates this approach across three layers: individual platform navigation without GPS, collaborative swarm coordination, and cross-domain orchestration. This architecture has proven adaptable from sea floor to space, enabling autonomous kill chain closure from detection to engagement.

Topics discussed:

• The affordable mass imperative and why exquisite systems fail against distributed threats across vast Pacific distances with adversaries achieving numerical superiority.
• CMA software architecture's three-layer approach: platform-level navigation without GPS, swarm collaboration for complex missions, and cross-domain orchestration for autonomous kill chains.
• How underwater development environments naturally replicate contested battlefield conditions, forcing edge-based AI decision making with limited communication and sensor data.
• The acquisition system evolution from winner-take-all programs to separated software/hardware procurement with constant competition cycles every six months.
• Strategic approaches to crossing the valley of death through end-user demonstration, congressional relationships, and clear value propositions to prime contractors.
• Why the defense industrial base needs billion-dollar software companies with developers embedded in operational environments for real-time capability iteration.
• The capital allocation shift as venture firms recognize defense market disruption opportunities beyond traditional West Coast unicorns.
• Project Replicator and DIU methodologies for rapid capability fielding using OTAs and special authorities to bypass traditional acquisition timelines.
• Dual-use technology applications in urban air mobility, industrial automation, and re-industrialization efforts requiring edge-based autonomy capabilities.  

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Guest Quote: 

“It's been said the Department of Defense does not have a tech innovation problem. We have a tech adoption problem. And I think that's really the biggest challenge. This is well understood. How do we, We have a acquisition system that was developed by Robert McNamara going back to the ‘50s that is really well-suited toward buying $50 million aircraft and $100 million satellites. It's not well equipped to buy your latest and greatest piece of software or a $10,000 drone that's going to be outdated in 18 months.”