The Race to Stop Drones Is Just Beginning | Brett Velicovich, Powerus

Brett Velicovich is the founder of Powerus and a former intelligence professional who spent years supporting special operations and drone missions before working alongside frontline units in Ukraine.

Brett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-velicovich-86a3651a/

Brett on X: https://x.com/TheDroneWarrior

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Episode Description

In this conversation, Brett explains why he calls Powerus a “revenge business”—a response to years of watching companies ignore feedback from operators with real-world experience. He discusses how lessons learned in Ukraine directly influenced the company’s approach to building and fielding new capabilities.

The discussion explores the accelerating evolution of drone warfare, counter-drone systems, autonomy, and AI. Brett shares why he believes future conflicts will reward speed, adaptability, and distributed systems over traditional assumptions about military power, while also examining how current conflicts are reshaping defense priorities.

The episode also covers defense acquisitions, scaling a startup in the national security ecosystem, and the importance of staying closely connected to operators in the field.

Throughout the conversation, Brett offers an operator’s perspective on where defense technology is heading and what founders should understand before building for the Department of Defense.