hero
In Defense
of the
West
November 23rd-24th
USS Hornet Air and Space Museum
Background Foreground
Liberty is the wellspring of prosperity, yet everywhere we turn it is under attack.
Whether it's personal liberties like freedom of speech, association, and belief, or the self-determination of free nations, everywhere we look, would-be tyrants are trying to seize the fruits of the golden age being built by the principles of the West.
To defend the integrity of democracy and the integrity of democratic nations we need tools of both personal defense, and national defense.
In an age of misinformation and bias against the citizen, and missiles and drones against a country, the mandate is clear:
Build
defend
What can we do?
Throw a hackathon that can move the needle and raise awareness. Develop new ideas, build them, test them, get them funded, get them used. Join engineers, founders, military officers, and investors for a two-day hackathon held aboard the legendary USS Hornet in November in Alameda with a Hardware Showcase
National Defense Tech Mission Profiles in RF Systems, UAV Platforms, and Intelligence
Problem Sponsor
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors

Mission Profiles

UAV Challenge

UAV Operations

Radio Challenge

Radio Communications

Intel Challenge

Intelligence

Speakers

Ben Kohlmann

Ben Kohlmann

F/A-18 Pilot, Cubit Capital

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Neal Conlon

Neal Conlon

USMC Veteran and Executive Sales Leader

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Dymtro Kushneruk

Dymtro Kushneruk

Consul General of Ukraine in San Francisco

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Judges

Jeff Wright

Jeff Wright

Chief of Fires and Autonomy @ Special Operations Command - Pacific

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Steve Taub

Steve Taub

Senior Commercialization Advisor @ DARPA

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Dan Madden

Dan Madden

Principal, National Security @ Squadra Ventures

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Mike Schaefer

Mike Schaefer

Green Beret, UC Berkely

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Art Trevethan

Art Trevethan

CRUX Defense

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Chris Gentile

Chris Gentile

General Manager Tactical Autonomy @ Merlin

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Frank Reyes

Frank Reyes

US Navy, MD @ Maximus

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David Vernal

David Vernal

Former Director of Intelligence, Sixteenth Air Force

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Manveer Sandhu

Manveer Sandhu

Defense VC @ Plug and Play and Airforce Intel Analyst

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Morgan Hirtzig

Morgan Hirtzig

Investor @ Venrock VC & U.S. Navy

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Dan Morse

Dan Morse

Former 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment & 75th Innovation Command

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Junaid Islam

Junaid Islam

Secure Communications Expert

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Jonathan Lacoste

Jonathan Lacoste

GP @ Space VC

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Suffiyan Malik

Suffiyan Malik

DraperU Ventures

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Cassandra Carothers

Cassandra Carothers

Managing Partner @ Departure Capital

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Will Lukach

Will Lukach

F15-E Pilot, Head of Strategy @ Sailplane

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Romeo Ayalin

Romeo Ayalin

Futurist and Innovator

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Andrew Gibbs

Andrew Gibbs

Anduril Industries

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Katie Vasquez

Katie Vasquez

Calibrate Ventures

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Zal Bilmoria

Zal Bilmoria

Founding Partner @ Refactor Capital

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Cameron Sinko

Cameron Sinko

Anduril Industries

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Margarita Geleta

Margarita Geleta

Researcher @ BAIR/Stanford

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Michael Laframboise

Michael Laframboise

CEO @ Aurelius Systems

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Cameron Rowe

Cameron Rowe

Founder @ Hover

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Elizabeth Soule

Elizabeth Soule

VP @ Hanwha Asset Management

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Tejashwa Tiwari

Tejashwa Tiwari

Product @ Codeium

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Yash Mittal

Yash Mittal

Product @ Codeium

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Joshua Vounatsos

Joshua Vounatsos

Founder @ Horizont University

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Hyperstition Hyperstition Incorporated