Épisodes

  • #62 What the QUAD Can Actually Do to Secure the Seas | Colin Gunn - Part 2

    #62 What the QUAD Can Actually Do to Secure the Seas | Colin Gunn - Part 2
    Dec 9 2025
    In Part 2 of the episode, Todd Crowley and Colin Gunn unpack how a 28-hour Group 3 platform, the Raider 330, plugs into a wider Indo-Pacific security fabric. They walk through how persistent ISR, sovereign cloud and federated data sharing can lift maritime domain awareness from ad hoc flights to an always-on picture.

    The discussion starts with the hard logistics: low-footprint basing, heavy-fuel operations, local manufacturing in South East Queensland and the reality of distributed production lines across the Quad. From there, they move into payloads and data: EO/IR, SAR/MTI, ViDAR and hyperspectral sensors and how edge AI turns terabytes of raw feed into kilobytes of decisions for commanders.

    For defence planners and Coast Guard leaders, the core question is tempo. Traditional ISR is episodic: launch, collect, process, act. Colin shows how persistent Group 3 drones, coupled with sovereign cloud and zero-trust data fabrics, give Indo-Pacific agencies continuous coverage, shared anomaly detection and the ability to cue patrols or satellites in seconds. It is a practical path to maritime domain awareness that respects national sovereignty while still supporting a Quad Coast Guard-led picture.

    The same architecture carries straight into disaster response and commercial risk. The episode lays out how these Group 3 drones can see through smoke and cloud over bushfires, map cyclone damage, restore basic connectivity and move critical stores when helicopters are grounded. The same feeds and fused analytics can also support shipping risk scoring, fisheries compliance and the protection of energy infrastructure across the region.

    If you are responsible for protecting sea lanes, lifting disaster response or planning the next wave of persistent ISR, this conversation gives you a clear model: one architecture, many missions, shared costs.

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    41 min
  • #61 What the QUAD Can Actually Do to Secure the Seas | Colin Gunn - Part 1

    #61 What the QUAD Can Actually Do to Secure the Seas | Colin Gunn - Part 1
    Dec 2 2025
    Colin Gunn argues the centre of gravity for maritime security has shifted. Coast Guards, border agencies, fisheries, aviation and SAR authorities already maintain daily sovereign presence across the Indo-Pacific. They hold sunk infrastructure, they operate in peacetime, and they’re trusted by Pacific partners. That makes them the logical starting point for a shared maritime picture that is persistent, sovereign-controlled, and politically neutral.

    The model is blunt: long-endurance Group 3 uncrewed aircraft such as the Raider 3-30 networked into a federated cloud where each nation keeps its own data keys but shares insights. Not raw feeds. Not intelligence giveaways. Just the picture that matters. The result is continuous Indo-Pacific maritime awareness that can be stood up within months, not years, and expanded across the Pacific without provoking anyone.

    They walks through what’s driving the shift: compressed warning times, readiness gaps across kit and personnel, and the strategic discomfort of waiting for AUKUS platforms while regional coercion intensifies. He also explains why Australia’s gap in Group 3 ISR and logistics is now unavoidable and how Coast Guard-first adoption could ease pressure on high-end assets like P-8s and Tritons.

    The conversation also covers the protected-logistics push coming out of the United States, how operator-led design changes capability cycles, and where early traction for Group 3 systems is appearing from the U.S. services to South America and the wider Indo-Pacific.
    If your remit includes maritime security, border protection, or regional partnerships, this episode gives a clear, executable pathway to lift awareness using capabilities your agencies already have.

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    30 min
  • #60 Weapon-Grade Carbon: Breaking the World's Quietest Dependency | Mark Livings - Part 2

    #60 Weapon-Grade Carbon: Breaking the World's Quietest Dependency | Mark Livings - Part 2
    Nov 25 2025
    Part 2 of this Intelligence Optimised episode goes from “carbon is everywhere” to “carbon decides who holds power” - in energy, defence, health and the wider Indo-Pacific.

    Todd Crowley continues the conversation with Mark Livings, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Sweet Atoms, to unpack how advanced carbon materials move from lab slide to sovereign capability. They break down super activated carbon for energy storage, hard carbon anodes that double capacity, flexible glassy carbon coatings that laugh at re-entry heat, and a new cathode material built from transition metals instead of rare earths.

    For defence and energy planners, the stakes are clear. Sovereign carbon underpins sovereign energy storage. Without it, lithium exposure, hydrogen leakage and foreign-controlled supply chains limit what Australia and its AUKUS partners can field, fuel and defend. With it, you can build batteries that carry more energy in a smaller footprint, plate submarines and missiles with stealthy, anti-fouling coatings, protect troops with lighter PPE, and keep critical sensors alive in extreme environments.

    The conversation also tackles how to grow this as a genuinely sovereign industry. Mark outlines a pathway from deep-tech R&D in Brisbane through pilot plants to export-ready advanced manufacturing, tied to Australian universities, public capital and strategic OEM partners. He sketches how an AUKUS materials corridor for advanced carbon could work in practice, and how IP is protected with a mix of patents and trade secrets.

    Across energy storage, critical materials, hydrogen, medical filtration and defence supply chains, the message is blunt: sovereign carbon is moving into the same category as critical minerals. Leaders who ignore it risk finding that their grids, fleets and compute all depend on someone else’s feedstock.

    If you shape policy, budgets or capability in this space, this episode will help you see where carbon materials fit in your next brief, program or investment round. Find deeper briefs inside Vaxa Bureau.
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    43 min
  • #59 Weapon-Grade Carbon: Breaking the World's Quietest Dependency | Mark Livings - Part 1

    #59 Weapon-Grade Carbon: Breaking the World's Quietest Dependency | Mark Livings - Part 1
    Nov 18 2025
    Advanced carbon is one of the quiet foundations of modern capability - running through batteries, sensors, drones, soldier systems, grid storage and data centres. More than 90 per cent of it comes from China. Part 1 of this episode of Intelligence Optimised looks directly at that dependence and explores what real sovereignty could look like for Australia and the wider Indo-Pacific.

    Todd Crowley speaks with Mark Livings, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Sweet Atoms, whose team converts agricultural waste into high-performance carbon. Their work sits at the intersection of energy storage, critical minerals and supply-chain resilience. For defence and energy planners, the message is simple: without sovereign carbon, there’s no sovereign energy, and without sovereign energy, there’s no sovereign compute, mobility or industry.

    The conversation traces the scale of the problem - from the spike in global demand for batteries to the consequences of leaning on foreign industrial systems for essential materials. Mark outlines how Australia’s agrifood sector produces enormous volumes of biomass waste, much of which can be valorised into advanced carbon suitable for batteries and other strategic uses. It’s a rare alignment of national assets: strong agriculture, abundant waste streams, and a pressing need for domestic materials capability.

    The conversation covers:
    ✔️ Energy storage becoming a core industrial input across sectors
    ✔️ Grid stability pressures and rising portable-power demand
    ✔️ Geopolitical friction straining energy-related supply chains
    ✔️ Local manufacturing potential by processing biomass at the source

    For leaders in energy, defence and government, the episode offers a clear view of what’s at stake: Australia’s ability to power its own infrastructure, support partners in the region and shield critical systems from offshore shocks. It’s a practical conversation about pathways, not promises.

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    36 min
  • #58 Welfare Trends & Future of Young Australian Men | Lachie Stuart

    #58 Welfare Trends & Future of Young Australian Men | Lachie Stuart
    Nov 11 2025
    Young Australian men are carrying more isolation, welfare reliance and aimless grind than many leaders realise - and that has direct consequences for workforce readiness and national resilience. In this episode of Intelligence Optimised Podcast, host Todd Crowley sits down with Lachie Stuart, founder of The Man That Can Project and former professional rugby player, to explore how purpose, responsibility and mateship rebuild capability at the individual and national level.

    Drawing on lived experience from elite sport to men’s groups, Lachie breaks down a practical “resilience loop”: set a clear North Star, make the hard choice that moves you towards it, and stack small wins until confidence catches up. He explains why resilience must be outcome-specific, how honest role models across work, family and health reshape identity, and why real mateship is inconvenient service - the kind that turns up, stays late and tells the truth. Todd brings the policy and national-security lens, connecting these personal shifts to boardroom priorities: safer crews, steadier teams and a stronger leadership pipeline across defence, government and critical industries.

    The conversation covers:
    ✔️ Playing through setbacks when the goal matters; language, culture and isolation shocks from time overseas;
    ✔️ The slide into booze and distractions when purpose is missing;
    ✔️ The turnaround powered by accountability, routine and community.
    ✔️ The data picture - rising welfare reliance and loneliness and points to interventions that work: early work exposure, rites of passage, activity-led catch-ups, and environments that reward contribution over posturing.

    For leaders, the brief is clear. Audit where your people are at. Create training grounds, not waiting rooms. Pair young men with credible mentors. Bake in small, repeatable challenges that build competence and pride. Australia’s future strength in the Indo-Pacific will come from men who are trained to serve something bigger than themselves - at home, on site and in uniform.

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    1 h et 5 min
  • #57 $73B Australia Al Backbone: Data Centres, Renewables | Pete McCrystal

    #57 $73B Australia Al Backbone: Data Centres, Renewables | Pete McCrystal
    Nov 4 2025
    Australia is moving fast to secure its digital sovereignty through new AI “factories” and national-scale data centres. In this episode of Intelligence Optimised Podcast, Todd Crowley speaks with Pete McCrystal about the Firmus–CDC–Nvidia alliance and the national push to establish “AI factories” across multiple states. Together, they unpack what sovereign capability really means when applied to the digital domain.

    In this episode:
    ✔️ Firmus–CDC–Nvidia alliance — and what “sovereign” control means in practice.
    ✔️ Energy and cooling needs for AI-scale data centres within Renewable Energy Zones.
    ✔️ Why infrastructure planners and policymakers must align on grid stability and capability uplift.
    ✔️ Lessons from global outages and liability risks when AI systems self-modify.
    ✔️ The practical meaning of the Critical Infrastructure Act for data, AI, and national control.
    ✔️ What success by 2028 could look like — from 3D-printed defence parts to domestic manufacturing revival.

    Listeners gain a grounded view of how AI, energy, and infrastructure intersect in national resilience. The episode offers practical steps for policy, defence, and ICT leaders who need to prepare for an AI-enabled economy without ceding control of the core systems that power it.

    For Policy advisers, CIOs, defence planners, infrastructure executives, and anyone shaping Australia’s AI and energy strategy across the Indo-Pacific, this is a practical guide.

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    43 min
  • #56 Sovereign Digital Chains | Swaroop Tulsidas - Part 2

    #56 Sovereign Digital Chains | Swaroop Tulsidas - Part 2
    Oct 28 2025
    In part 1 of this two-part conversation, Intelligence Optimised explored practical sovereignty — how Australia can’t be fully sovereign in technology, but can be far more prepared. Todd Crowley and Swaroop Tulsidas (formerly of CSIRO and a key figure in the creation of Nature IQ) mapped the digital landscape: AI, IoT, cloud, and digital twins; the rise of Southeast Asian super apps; and the policy trade-offs shaping markets and data rights. That discussion set the stage — outlining how digital infrastructure and natural-capital intelligence can give governments and industry faster, more confident decisions in the Indo-Pacific.

    Now in part 2, the focus turns from capability mapping to execution and strategy.
    Swaroop and Todd examine what building true sovereign capability looks like when global supply chains tighten and political cycles shorten. They trace the long game — China’s 50-year rare-earths strategy — and contrast it with how democracies like Australia must build strategic consistency through public-private partnerships, adaptive procurement and trusted friend-shoring.

    The conversation broadens into manufacturing, capital and talent. From sovereign defence tech such as DroneShield to advanced materials startups and energy innovators like Aquila Earth, they show how regional collaboration and targeted investment can lift resilience without retreating from global markets. Southeast Asia’s industrial realignment emerges as both a test and an opportunity for Australia’s mid-power role: using its science base, venture capital and alliances to fill high-value gaps in AI, robotics and clean-energy supply chains.

    Listeners will gain perspective on:
    ✔️ How to identify which industries demand sovereign control — and which rely on partnerships
    ✔️ Why capital, not capability, is the real bottleneck for Australian innovation
    ✔️ What lessons India’s defence self-reliance offers for other sectors
    ✔️ How AI and automation can anchor a Southern Hemisphere industrial hub

    Across both parts, the message is consistent: sovereignty isn’t isolation — it’s preparedness.
    Part 1 charted the systems; Part 2 explains how to build and fund them. Together they form a grounded blueprint for leaders navigating risk, technology and power shifts in the Indo-Pacific decade ahead.

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    28 min
  • #55 Sovereign Digital Chains | Swaroop Tulsidas - Part 1

    #55 Sovereign Digital Chains | Swaroop Tulsidas - Part 1
    Oct 14 2025
    Australia can’t be fully sovereign in tech - but it can be more prepared.

    In this episode of Intelligence Optimised, Todd Crowley speaks with Swaroop Tulsidas - formerly of CSIRO and a key figure in the creation of Nature IQ - about practical sovereignty: how to cut risk in an interconnected world by building the right capabilities at home and choosing dependencies wisely.

    They map the landscape: AI, IoT, digital twins and cloud; the rise of super apps in Southeast Asia; and the policy trade-offs that shape markets and data rights. On the ground, examples matter. We examine Australian moves like an emerging sovereign large language model trained on local content, a digital twin platform for faster infrastructure design, and low-power IoT for agriculture (e.g., smart collars for welfare and tracking). Each points to sovereign digital infrastructure as a means to lift decision speed and reduce exposure in Indo-Pacific supply chains.

    The conversation tackles environmental regulation and investment timing. With the EPBC Act review flagging gaps, Australia needs clearer rules and faster approvals so capital can flow into housing, energy transition and critical industry without sidelining natural capital. We discuss sequencing natural-capital risk (start with direct exposure, then supply-chain Scope 3), and how predictive analytics and real-time monitoring help leaders move from reports to decisions.

    Hardware and materials remain hard limits. Australia depends on chips and compute built offshore, and on magnets tied to rare earths where China dominates mining, refining and manufacturing. That creates real risk if regional tensions escalate. Leaders should plan for alternatives, diversify suppliers, and back local processing and manufacturing where it moves the needle.

    Strategic takeaways:
    ✔️ Use AI digital twins for scenario planning and approvals to cut months from decisions.
    ✔️ Treat natural capital as an asset on the balance sheet to guide trade-offs.
    ✔️ Map supply chains for social and commodity risk; set triggers for rerouting and substitution.
    ✔️ Assume partial sovereignty: decide which dependencies you will own, share or insure.

    This is frank, usable insight for planners across defence, energy, agrifood, infrastructure and ICT in the Indo-Pacific.

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    33 min