DefenseTech Forum | Q-Branch
Where emerging capability meets battlefield reality. Only at Q-Branch, 12 MAR 2026.
Defense tech is having a moment, but a lot of the conversation is still surface-level. We're saying the quiet part out loud, answering questions like:
Can the Pentagon truly find tech it doesn't know about?
What breaks when the most connected military on earth loses its signal?
Why is it so hard to evaluate next-gen weapons in real-world conditions?
What's the real cost to deftech founders of taking a VC's check?
How come we can't shoot down drones consistently?
Operators, founders, investors, and senior DoW leaders will come together for this lively dialogue. All moderated by straight shooters who won't let anyone hide behind talking points.
Schedule
1130 — Doors Open
1200 — What DefTech Startups Wish VCs Knew Before Writing the Check
1250 — The Discovery Problem: How DoW Finds Innovation It Doesn't Know Exists
1340 — Defense in Depth or Death by Database: Why No Single System Will Defeat All Drone Threats
1430 — The Airpower We Need vs. What the Pentagon Is Buying
1520 — No Range, No Data, No Clue: Why No One Knows If Your Capability Actually Works
1610 — When the Signal Dies: What Happens When the World's Most Connected Military Goes Dark
1700 - 1900 — HAPPY HOUR
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Panel Details
What Deftech Startups Wish VCs Knew Before Writing the Check
Def tech is the hottest sector in venture … so why does it feel like a conversation desperately in need of a translator? VCs try to shoehorn SaaS playbooks into a market where sales cycles stretch years, not quarters. Businesses in defense have learned to navigate the feast-or-famine landscape, but they gamble on VCs’ timelines anyway. Meanwhile, DoW innovation offices mimic VC strategies without sharing VC motivations, like running pitch days with no acquisition authority or budget behind them. They offer SBIR awards to hedge risk and fuel innovation, which VCs mistakenly then take as PMF. It’s past time for a cultural exchange.
Featuring:
Luke Fischer, CEO & Cofounder at SkyFi
Christine Keung, General Partner at J2 Ventures
Jerry Ramey, Managing Principal for Product & Vision at Dark Corner Solutions
Ali Hawks, PhD, CEO of BMNT, Ltd.
Mollie Jahner, Defense Technology Strategist
The Discovery Problem: How DoW Finds Innovation It Doesn't Know Exists
The military can't write requirements for tech it doesn't know about. Traditional procurement assumes clear specifications, but breakthrough innovation comes from discovering capabilities no one knew were possible. This panel examines how DoW is building discovery mechanisms to surface emerging tech, how innovation marketplaces connect unknown solutions to unmet needs, and what all that means for startups trying to break into defense.
Featuring:
Jerry Ramey, Managing Principal for Product & Vision at Dark Corner Solutions
Angela Aspito, Managing Director of Southwest Mission Acceleration Center
Erica Dill-Russell, Chief Commercial Officer at Kraken Technology Group
Zac Staples, Founder and CEO of Caliburn Technologies
Bobbye Jo Green, Head of Programming, STATION DC
Defense in Depth or Death by Database: Why No Single System Will Defeat All Drone Threats
"There's no silver bullet, no wonder weapon that will single-handedly defeat everything," says the commander of the Pentagon's new counter-drone task force. Why? Because adversaries modify their drones with $50 in parts from Amazon and firmware from GitHub—creating threats that single-layer detection systems have never seen. Your threat database updates quarterly while enemies adapt overnight. This panel reveals why the military is shifting to layered defense systems integrating multiple sensors, kinetic and non-kinetic defeat mechanisms, and adaptive AI to ensure that when one layer fails, another catches the threat.
Featuring:
Matt Rabinovitch, CEO of Teleidoscope
Donald "Chee" Gansberger, DIU AODR and CTO of JIATF 401
Chris Chase, Marine Liaison Officer to T2Com
Mike Benitez, CEO of Purple Rhombus
The Airpower We Need vs What the Pentagon Is Buying
The US just assembled its largest military force in the Middle East in over 20 years. It took six weeks. The reason is a procurement problem hiding in plain sight: we spend hundreds of millions per aircraft on a shrinking number of exquisite platforms when what actually works is cheaper, more numerous, and spread across every branch of the military. This conversation explores why the world's most expensive military keeps buying the wrong things — and how we can get it right.
Featuring:
Donald "Chee" Gansberger, DIU AODR and CTO of JIATF 401
Mike Smith, Chief of Staff at Darkhive and former commander of the 320th Special Tactics Squadron in Okinawa, Japan
Matt MacGregor, COO at Creative Defense Network
Dan "Fuel" Hixon, Operations Officer, 33rd Special Operations Squadron
No Range, No Data, No Clue: Why No One Knows If Your Capability Actually Works
The US pours billions into next-gen weapons and unmanned systems with almost no way to evaluate them in operationally relevant conditions. DoW-owned ranges aren't friendly to industry. And the few facilities that do exist weren't built to assess emerging tech against real-world threats. When a capability provider does get a system into the field, the results stay locked inside that unit, so the next command starts from zero. Here’s how we can do better for the warfighter.
Featuring:
Ross T. Guieb, Director, Bush Combat Development Complex at Texas A&M's RELLIS Campus
Micah Carlson, CEO & Founder of Defense Architecture Systems
Brandon Cates, CEO of Ametrine Inc.
Angela Aspito, Managing Director of Southwest Mission Acceleration Center
When the Signal Dies: What Happens When the World’s Most Connected Military Goes Dark
The top challenge keeping defense leaders up at night is command and control in contested environments. Spoilers: we still don’t have a solution. When satellites are jammed, networks are down, and adversaries own the spectrum, every layer of communication fails simultaneously: tactical radios, data links, ISR feeds, and the intelligence systems that depend on them. Here’s what we can do about it.
Featuring:
Tyler Sweatt, CEO at Second Front Systems
Anton Toutov, CEO and Cofounder at AstraNav