Speaker 1: Of warfare has always driven innovation.
Speaker 2: Today's pace is relentless.
Speaker 1: Nations like China and Russia are advancing their technologies rapidly
Speaker 1: with low cost, scalable drones and aren't held back by
Speaker 1: the very thing that makes America who we are, the
Speaker 1: rule of law. America's military dominance hinges on reclaiming the
Speaker 1: technological weed, leveraging insights from the battlefield as adversaries deploy
Speaker 1: expendable systems with devastating impact, and ensuring that our policies
Speaker 1: and policy makers understand the threat that slow policymaking, slow procurement,
Speaker 1: and a slow bureaucracy present. Today, we visit Five Mile, Utah,
Speaker 1: where an American company, Vector is keeping us in the
Speaker 1: fight using American technology, American workers, and American.
Speaker 2: Innovation in the desert just outside Salt Lake.
Speaker 1: On a base in Five Mile Utah, our brave men
Speaker 1: and women of the Armed Forces gear up for a
Speaker 1: training exercise using grown technology provided by an American company
Speaker 1: called Vector, whose employees are hard at work in a.
Speaker 2: Factory just a few miles away.
Speaker 1: We came all the way out to the Beehive State
Speaker 1: to meet Andy yakulis veteran and founder of vectoring, Andy,
Speaker 1: It is great to be out here in the great
Speaker 1: state of Utah learning about your company, VECTOR, about your
Speaker 1: own service to this country, which I want you.
Speaker 2: To tell us about that of your colleagues. I can't
Speaker 2: tell you how encouraged.
Speaker 1: I am getting outside of Washington, DC, which is always encouraging,
Speaker 1: but to be out here with real Americans who are
Speaker 1: trying to change the landscape not only of warfare, but
Speaker 1: of the process by which we decide how we fund
Speaker 1: certain weapons systems.
Speaker 3: US about Dector, Doctor Roberts, thank you so much for
Speaker 3: being here. Thank you for traveling out to Utah. We're
Speaker 3: very happy to have you. Vector is what we call
Speaker 3: modern warfare as a service. We think warfare has changed.
Speaker 3: Is this revolutionary revolution of military affairs that we're seeing
Speaker 3: in Ukraine and Israel and other flashpoints around the world.
Speaker 3: And we think because technology is being used in warfare
Speaker 3: in ways never seen before and at a rate and
Speaker 3: pace never seen before, we think we need to change
Speaker 3: how we sell technology to the Department of War.
Speaker 1: China's military expansion from AI drones to a navy poised
Speaker 1: to surpass hours, and Russia's drone tactics and active conflicts
Speaker 1: signal a new arms race. Companies like Vector are answering
Speaker 1: the threat. Andy I was just completely blown away by
Speaker 1: what we saw a little while ago.
Speaker 2: The drones themselves are impressive, don't get me wrong.
Speaker 4: But what's clear to.
Speaker 1: Me is that in addition to the innovation of the technology,
Speaker 1: you and your colleagues have figured out an innovation in
Speaker 1: how our war department might actually procure these drones.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's right. Some ways, we're not selling the drone.
Speaker 3: We're selling a capability. We're providing a capability, because that's
Speaker 3: what we think makes the difference on the battlefield in
Speaker 3: Ukraine and the battlefields in Gaza is this immense capability
Speaker 3: that drones provide. And so what we found is rarely
Speaker 3: is a drone ready for the military out of the box.
Speaker 3: What Vector provides is a capability, not just a product.
Speaker 3: We embed with our military customers. We teach them how
Speaker 3: to not just technically employ a drone, but to tactically
Speaker 3: use that drone and the way they would in a
Speaker 3: combat scenario. And so in a lot of ways, we
Speaker 3: are selling a capability, not just a product, and that's
Speaker 3: very different. Where rarely do you have a company that
Speaker 3: builds products does product development, but also does all the
Speaker 3: tactical training, all the tactical integration of those products all
Speaker 3: together as a concer service.
Speaker 4: And that's what Vector provides.
Speaker 1: Innovation in America has always been driven by what our
Speaker 1: warriors need, but old processes.
Speaker 2: Can't keep up.
Speaker 1: It's really difficult to have innovation within the War Department.
Speaker 2: Not because of poor intentions. These are great men and women.
Speaker 2: It's just the nature of bureaucracy.
Speaker 1: And it seems as if, in addition to minimizing the
Speaker 1: potential loss of life by our servicemen and women, which
Speaker 1: is what the technology will do, what Vector is also
Speaker 1: bringing to the table is maybe a more expeditious process
Speaker 1: by which our War Department might be very good at
Speaker 1: introducing innovation to our servicemen and women.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I always say that it's hard to start a company.
Speaker 3: It's hard to start a company that sells to the
Speaker 3: Department of War. It's hard to start a company that
Speaker 3: sells to the Department of War using a whole new model.
Speaker 3: And that's what Vector is, and so we're up for
Speaker 3: the challenge. But what we have devised our go to
Speaker 3: market is instead of selling a product, we're actually providing
Speaker 3: a service. And part of that service is the products themselves.
Speaker 3: We've sold hundreds and hundreds of drones to date, but
Speaker 3: actually what the Department of War is buying isn't the drone.
Speaker 3: They're buying the subscription service to Vector, to Vectors' tactical integrators,
Speaker 3: to Vector's training courses, to Vector's innovation and product development,
Speaker 3: and Actors products all together, all at the same time.
Speaker 3: And because technology evolves so fast, because technology is moving
Speaker 3: so fast in the battlefield, you cannot go through the
Speaker 3: legacy procurement method because it would be years before the
Speaker 3: military before a warfighter gets his hands on that drones.
Speaker 3: And so that's why we had to devise a new
Speaker 3: way to sell unmanned systems drones to the Department of War.
Speaker 3: I was in the United States Armory for eighteen years,
Speaker 3: ten of that in special operations, and again had the
Speaker 3: honor to lead men and women in combat overseas over
Speaker 3: a variety of.
Speaker 4: Missions.
Speaker 3: I was the recipient of a lot of bad military technology,
Speaker 3: and I was always that officer that asked, why why
Speaker 3: are we doing this mission? Why are we taking this risk?
Speaker 3: Why don't I have better technology. There's one specific mission
Speaker 3: where I remember lives were at stake, and none of
Speaker 3: the technology was integrated, nothing was really working, and it
Speaker 3: was very frustrating, and I realized that somebody needed to
Speaker 3: take a stand and do something, to find a way
Speaker 3: to provide technology to the war fighter faster.
Speaker 1: To lead in the modern arms race, America must draw
Speaker 1: on our heritage of innovation before our adversaries outpace US.
Speaker 1: Ukraine's conflict with Russia demonstrates how swiftly warfare evolves. Drones
Speaker 1: have leveled the playing field in mere years. Ukraine's drone
Speaker 1: wall has reshaped NATO's strategies and relationships with our allies
Speaker 1: as drone strikes increasingly drive battlefield losses. Cutting edge systems
Speaker 1: provide a model of American lethality without the need for boots.
Speaker 2: On the ground.
Speaker 4: Yew.
Speaker 3: Warfare has changed. There's no debating that we see that
Speaker 3: in the battlefields in Ukraine. We the American military have
Speaker 3: been paying very close attention to how warfare has changed.
Speaker 3: But I'm concerned about China too, because China isn't just
Speaker 3: paying attention. They are supplying a lot of the components
Speaker 3: of the drones that are going into the battlefield on
Speaker 3: both sides of Ukraine side, and the Russian side. China
Speaker 3: has been able to modernize their military in some ways
Speaker 3: much faster than the Americans have.
Speaker 4: There is no civilian military divide in China.
Speaker 3: They can force a Chinese tech company to build drones,
Speaker 3: to build war fighting technology much easier than we can
Speaker 3: do here in the United States. And so China is
Speaker 3: modernizing very fast.
Speaker 1: So if China in any country can use drones as
Speaker 1: one way vehicles, are they ammunition?
Speaker 3: In some ways they are Kevin. We actually don't even
Speaker 3: like the word drone anymore. We prefer the word pilot
Speaker 3: ammunition because the drone is really just a vehicle to
Speaker 3: deliver a munition on the battlefield. The dagger in action
Speaker 3: drones are being used in ways that have changed the battlefield.
Speaker 3: But they're also could potentially save a lot of American lives.
Speaker 3: Now a drone goes into a house where a bad
Speaker 3: guy is and an American service member might.
Speaker 4: Not need to or a law enforcement professional might not
Speaker 4: need to.
Speaker 3: We are keeping back humans a little bit further from
Speaker 3: the and that will save.
Speaker 4: A lot of American lives. And we're really really proud
Speaker 4: of that.
Speaker 3: This is again why our people are will get up
Speaker 3: every morning and work really hard is because we know
Speaker 3: that we're building technology that could save lives in the future.
Speaker 3: Everyone always asks me about automation. You can see how
Speaker 3: meticulous it is to actually put a drone together, and
Speaker 3: it'll be this way for a while. And so we
Speaker 3: need good old fashioned American talent here and you know,
Speaker 3: the great state of Utah to hand hand build every drone,
Speaker 3: which is meticulous, and it's hard to get the price
Speaker 3: points right, especially women their churnable concept. But for American jobs,
Speaker 3: for reindustrializing America.
Speaker 4: It's a sort of perfect skill set.
Speaker 3: It's a perfect opportunity to bring jobs back to America,
Speaker 3: bring jobs to a great state like Utah. And we're
Speaker 3: just fortunate there's a lot of great talent, a lot
Speaker 3: of hard working talent here in Utah, and there's no
Speaker 3: shortage of folks that are are wanting to sign up
Speaker 3: to either learn to build a drone, find a way
Speaker 3: to support their country, and a variety of different ways.
Speaker 3: In this case, build a drone for the United States Military,
Speaker 3: for the Department of War. And that's why you're seeing here,
Speaker 3: pretty cool thing here, so all encompassing form factor. UH
Speaker 3: military can buy this and train on not just technically
Speaker 3: had a fly drone, but fly real simulated not real,
Speaker 3: but simulated combat missions just like you would in Ukraine.
Speaker 3: So John John, here's what we call one of our
Speaker 3: communication integrators. So he's a former Ranger Regiment guys to
Speaker 3: sort of the Army, did a lot of work for
Speaker 3: Joint Special versus Command of Jaysak as well. Now, the
Speaker 3: good thing is like this new generation, it's like gamer generation.
Speaker 3: They're very accepting of the training once they get going,
Speaker 3: but they just need sort of the proper guidance and
Speaker 3: they need to be shown how the controls work. Once
Speaker 3: you sort of get them going, they receive it very
Speaker 3: very well.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 3: You can put on the goggles and you'll see what
Speaker 3: the drone in theory would see. Keep bringing your left
Speaker 3: stick up, up, up, up, and that should take the
Speaker 3: drone off up up up, okay, and then your right
Speaker 3: stick is your role.
Speaker 2: That's cool, so.
Speaker 4: You can see what the drone sees.
Speaker 3: And so in theory you're flying this drone ten fifteen
Speaker 3: twenty five miles towards the enemy and have the ability
Speaker 3: to strike enemy targets. Spend eight to ten hours on
Speaker 3: the stimulator and you'll be ready for war.
Speaker 4: Advanced training.
Speaker 2: So nine point nine hours from now, I would be better.
Speaker 4: You would be much better.
Speaker 2: You're seeing great craftsmanship.
Speaker 1: And although your colleague here has to be focused on
Speaker 1: what he's doing and not talking with us, it's apparent
Speaker 1: from all of your staff and colleagues here they love
Speaker 1: being here.
Speaker 3: We just have a great culture and greet community here
Speaker 3: because of the flag on our shoulder and the flight
Speaker 3: that's here in our factory. Supporting the nation. Supporting this
Speaker 3: great nation is always first and foremost of our mission.
Speaker 1: Warfare transforms sometimes moment to moment. America must adapt faster,
Speaker 1: but sometimes we're our own worst enemy. Bureaucracy and complicated
Speaker 1: regulations stifle progress, delaying the delivery of cutting edge tools
Speaker 1: to our warriors while adversary's deployed drone swarms without hesitation.
Speaker 1: Past procurement systems, burdened by red tape, favored entrench defense
Speaker 1: contractors over agile innovators.
Speaker 3: Because technology evolves so fast. Because technology is moving so
Speaker 3: fast in the battlefield, you cannot go through the legacy
Speaker 3: of procurement method because it would be years before the
Speaker 3: military before a warfighter gets his hands on that drone.
Speaker 1: And it's apparent to me that the status quo of
Speaker 1: military procurement established in the nineteen eighties is not only outdated,
Speaker 1: but probably needs to be upended.
Speaker 3: It really does, Kevin. It's become a natural strategic vulnerability.
Speaker 3: We've been dependent upon China to produce components that go
Speaker 3: now into weapons of war, and now China has turned
Speaker 3: into our adversary, So we're dependent upon China to produce
Speaker 3: things that will go into weapons to potentially combat that
Speaker 3: very same adversary.
Speaker 4: That's a problem.
Speaker 1: But President Trump and Secretary Hegseth are signaling change. America
Speaker 1: is now prioritizing American manufacturer and war fighter ingenuity over
Speaker 1: the way things have always been done. To dominate, we
Speaker 1: must streamline policy and procurement, empowering innovators with immediate funding.
Speaker 1: Vector drives progress, ensuring superiority through relentless innovation.
Speaker 3: What we're doing here at VECTOR is we're onshoreing manufacturing.
Speaker 3: We're building things here in the United States, in the
Speaker 3: great State of Utah to make sure that our military
Speaker 3: is ready to go to war getst an adversary, hopefully
Speaker 3: just to deter them, but if our military needs it,
Speaker 3: we want to build those weapons here so that We're
Speaker 3: ready to combat those adversari on nations and not be
Speaker 3: dependent upon them to supply us with weapons of war
Speaker 3: to go to war against them.
Speaker 1: If Vector gets this right, it isn't just good for Vector,
Speaker 1: It's good for all Americans. But then that becomes the
Speaker 1: innovation for potentially the entire defense industrial complex, which, with
Speaker 1: all of its great intentions and success.
Speaker 2: Has to be updated as well.
Speaker 1: And now it's time to put the American made drone
Speaker 1: technology to the test. About to see is a real
Speaker 1: training exercise where our soldiers work alongside a Vector designed
Speaker 1: drone to take down.
Speaker 5: A threat.
Speaker 1: From Utah's rugged terrain to global battlefields, American innovation stands ready,
Speaker 1: disciplined and to America's superiority is forged in innovation and
Speaker 1: rooted in america first principles. We pursue drone dom not
Speaker 1: because the future is guaranteed, but because preparedness is a synthem.
Speaker 1: Without it, victory would be out of breach.
Speaker 2: For a military defined.
Speaker 1: By speed, strength and sovereignty. We must back the innovators
Speaker 1: delivering the tools required to make America battlefield ready again.
Speaker 2: This is our strength, this is our result.
Speaker 1: Stand with us, Fight with us together. We can secure
Speaker 1: tomorrow starting today, I'm Kevin Roberts.
Speaker 2: This is the next frontier.