Goat Rodeo #53 - True Anomaly's $600M Raise, SOF Myths, and the Army's $253B Budget

Goat Rodeo #56 ft. Susanne Hake - Satellite Wars, Bears, and the U.S. Invasion of Cuba

This Episode: This week on Goat Rodeo, Garrett Smith and Simon Coon are joined by Susanne Hake, EVP and GM of US Government Programs at Vantor — formerly Maxar Intelligence, and a close partner of Reveal Technology. Susanne brings a career that spans the NSC, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Palantir, where she joined in 2013 long before defense tech was cool. The conversation opens on the state of the defense tech renaissance — and whether the wave of new entrants actually understand the slog ahead of them. From there, the crew gets into how Vantor images other satellites in orbit, what you can actually see at high resolution, and the story of China photographing one of Vantor's satellites after Vantor posted an image of theirs. The episode closes on the Nimitz deployment to the Caribbean, Trump's Western hemisphere doctrine, and Simon's thesis that the GWOT is over — long live the GWOT. 00:00 Trailer 00:43 Cold Open: Bears, Bison Poop, and Glacier vs. Yellowstone 05:01 Welcome + Introducing Susanne Hake from Vantor 07:36 The Defense Tech Renaissance — and Who Actually Gets It 16:18 How Vantor Stays Connected to the Warfighter 26:12 Space is Getting Crowded: True Anomaly, Mega-Constellations, and Non-Earth Imaging 30:25 UFOs, Aliens, and Susanne's Very Vague Non-Answer 37:53 Where Vantor is Headed: 3D Terrain, Change Detection, and Left of Launch 40:19 Is the US About to Attack Cuba? The GWOT is Over. Long Live the GWOT. 50:23 Simon's Shirt: French Punk Rock and Soccer Hooligans Our Podcast: National security, defense tech, and geopolitics; serious topics, but that doesn't mean we have to be boring about it. The Goat Rodeo Podcast brings you three military veterans turned defense insiders, breaking down the biggest stories shaping the future of warfare. Expect sharp insights, unfiltered debates, and the occasional defense industry hot take, because let's be honest, this space can be a total goat rodeo. Listen on other platforms: https://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcast [https://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcast]

Goat Rodeo #55 - Anduril Hits $61B, Palantir Vs DoW, Trump AI Executive Order

This Episode: This week on Goat Rodeo, Garrett Smith, Dave Caudle, and Simon Coon break down a massive week in defense tech. Anduril just raised $5 billion at a $61 billion valuation — and with 94% of all defense VC flowing into Series B and later rounds, the crew breaks down what it means now that the winners have been chosen. From there, Dave walks through Palantir's latest fight with the Defense Intelligence Agency and the commercial-first debate. The episode closes on Trump's draft AI executive order and a sharp debate on whether regulation actually makes innovation better or kills it. Our Podcast: National security, defense tech, and geopolitics; serious topics, but that doesn't mean we have to be boring about it. The Goat Rodeo Podcast brings you three military veterans turned defense insiders, breaking down the biggest stories shaping the future of warfare. Expect sharp insights, unfiltered debates, and the occasional defense industry hot take, because let's be honest, this space can be a total goat rodeo. Listen on other platforms: https://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcast [https://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcast]

Goat Rodeo #54 - UFO Files, Golden Dome's $1.2T Price Tag, and the Right to Repair

This Episode: This week on Goat Rodeo, Garrett Smith, Dave Caudle, and Simon Coon cover a packed week spanning government disclosure, a trillion-dollar missile defense debate, and a brewing fight over who owns the technology fielded to our warfighters. The conversation opens on President Trump's release of UFO and UAP files through the PURSUE program at war.gov — what's actually in the disclosure, whether it's a genuine step toward transparency or a distraction from a difficult news cycle, and what Secretary Rubio's comments about anomalous observations near nuclear facilities actually mean for national security. From there, the crew digs into the CBO's estimate that Golden Dome could cost $1.2 trillion — nearly seven times the administration's $175 billion projection — and whether a space-based missile defense system is a serious strategic program or an expensive flag in the ground. The episode closes on the right to repair debate inside the military, vendor lock-in, the push for government-owned technical data rights, and whether mandating open systems architecture could reshape the defense industrial base without killing the innovation economy. Our Podcast: National security, defense tech, and geopolitics; serious topics, but that doesn't mean we have to be boring about it. The Goat Rodeo Podcast brings you three military veterans turned defense insiders, breaking down the biggest stories shaping the future of warfare. Expect sharp insights, unfiltered debates, and the occasional defense industry hot take, because let's be honest, this space can be a total goat rodeo. Listen on other platforms: https://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcast [https://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcast]

Goat Rodeo #53 - True Anomaly's $600M Raise, SOF Myths, and the Army's $253B Budget

This Episode: This week on Goat Rodeo, Garrett Smith, Dave Caudle, and Simon Coon cover a packed week in defense venture, a debate about selling to Special Operations Forces, and a deep dive into the Army's historic budget request. The conversation opens on True Anomaly's $650 million Series D — bringing their valuation to $1.1 billion — and what the round signals about investor appetite for space security and orbital defense platforms. The crew then covers Scout AI's $100 million Series A, the largest in defense technology history, and breaks down their Fury platform and what autonomous robotic command and control actually looks like in practice. From there, Dave dives into the myths that defense startup founders believe about selling to Special Operations Forces, and SOF is a critical partner but not a scaling strategy.  The episode closes on the Army's $253 billion overall budget request — including an $18.7 billion RDT&E proposal, a nearly 13% increase — the collapse from 41 to 4 budget oversight lines, Palantir's Vantage dashboard, and Simon's broader argument that throwing money at a broken system doesn't fix the system. Our Podcast: National security, defense tech, and geopolitics; serious topics, but that doesn't mean we have to be boring about it. The Goat Rodeo Podcast brings you three military veterans turned defense insiders, breaking down the biggest stories shaping the future of warfare.  Expect sharp insights, unfiltered debates, and the occasional defense industry hot take, because let's be honest, this space can be a total goat rodeo. Listen on other platforms: https://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcast

Goat Rodeo #52 - Special Forces Polymarket Scandal, DHS Shutdown, and an $82M Firestorm Raise

This Episode: This week on Goat Rodeo, Garrett Smith and Simon Coon cover a packed week at the intersection of defense policy, government funding, and venture capital. The conversation opens on a bombshell case — a US Army Special Forces soldier who allegedly used classified information about the Venezuela operation to place $33,000 in bets on Polymarket, netting over $400,000 in profits. The crew breaks down the legal precedent, what it means for prediction markets going forward, and whether he had any chance of getting away with it. From there, Simon walks through the DHS shutdown resolution, the CBP and ICE funding fight, and what the reconciliation math actually means for the rest of the fiscal year. The episode closes on Firestorm Labs' $82 million Series B raise and what their drone fabrication platform signals about the future of forward-deployed manufacturing in the Indo-Pacific. Our Podcast: National security, defense tech, and geopolitics; serious topics, but that doesn't mean we have to be boring about it. The Goat Rodeo Podcast brings you three military veterans turned defense insiders, breaking down the biggest stories shaping the future of warfare. Expect sharp insights, unfiltered debates, and the occasional defense industry hot take, because let's be honest, this space can be a total goat rodeo. Listen on other platforms: https://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcast [https://linktr.ee/GoatRodeoPodcast]