Gecko Robotics CEO: Don't disregard defense economics
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Jake Loosararian and a pair of wall-crawling robots. Photo: Courtesy of Gecko Robotics
Not enough people are paying attention to economics and its consequences for U.S. national security, according to Gecko Robotics CEO Jake Loosararian.
- "It's our debt, it's our energy production and reliance on very old infrastructure, as well as the same statement for manufacturing," he said in an interview with Axios.
- "If the cost of energy in China is like one-third the price of the cost of energy in the U.S.? Really bad."
Why he matters: Loosararian is at the helm of a company that keeps online U.S. warships and critical infrastructure.
- The team was last year tasked with building a maintenance baseline and inspecting welds for the $132 billion Columbia-class nuclear submarine program.
Q: When you hear "future of defense," what comes to mind?
A: I think about getting the chance to get to the future of defense. It's more around "what is the reality of our defense today?"
- It's hard for me to talk about future defense when the biggest problem for the Navy is, "Hey, we can't get our ships out of dry dock, and only one-third of them are available to defend Western values."
- As it relates to earning the right to build the future of defense, I think economics really drives this.
- I don't think the future of defense will change all that much, as it relates to big, manned tanks and aircraft carriers. I think it's going to become smarter. What will really drive the future of defense will be conflict.
Q: When will wars be waged solely by robots?
A: At the end of World War III. If we get there.
Q: What region of the world should we be watching? Why?
A: My real answer is the Middle East, and the reason, obviously, for that is because it's always been the place for us to watch and has spawned some of the largest conflicts, if you look throughout all of history.
- The contrarian answer is probably Africa.
Q: How many emails do you get a day, and how do you deal with them?
A: Probably about 350-450 emails a day.
- I have a fantastic executive assistant that is ferocious about prioritizing.
Q: What's your secret to a successful overnight flight?
A: I put those stupid eye covers on, and I just sit there and force myself to go to sleep.
- I also take off my shoes, which is yucky and disgusting. But it does help me relax for some reason. But I put [them] under the covers, under the blanket.
Q: What advice would you give your younger self?
A: Learning martial arts would've been the advice I'd give myself as a kid.
- Mostly it's for the discipline. The definition of humility is power under control, and I really love the idea of that.
Go deeper: Exclusive: Gecko Robotics to expand its U.S. Navy gigs
