Defence is the New Black
The US Space Force spends more than $30 billion a year, and that is only the portion you are allowed to see.
In 2019 the United States formally declared space an operational military domain, sitting alongside land, sea, air and cyber. Jason Carvalho and Laura Todd trace what has happened in the six years since, and why the shift from communications utility to contested military theatre went largely unremarked by the people who depend on it every day.
The conversation moves through the mechanics rather than the headlines. Why removing GPS makes modern warfare dramatically less precise. How governments went from building space capability to buying it, and what it means that their suppliers now move faster than their own procurement systems. Why China, the United States, Russia and Europe have all arrived at the same conclusion about the orbital layer at the same time. And why defence contracts, spanning decades rather than quarters, have become the most stable revenue model in the sector and the reason venture capital is moving toward dual-use companies.
Laura and Jason close on the argument underneath the argument: defence may be the narrative, but resources, energy, data and orbital logistics are the objective. Control the infrastructure and you control the economy built on top of it.
Chapters
00:00 The line was crossed
01:00 Introductions and disclaimer
02:30 What changed in the last decade
03:30 Space infrastructure is the backbone of modern warfare
08:00 Governments became customers, not builders
12:00 Renewed geopolitical competition in orbit
17:00 Where the defence money is actually going
21:00 Why investors follow the contracts
25:00 The real objective is resources
28:00 Defence as catalyst, infrastructure as the story
01:00 Introductions and disclaimer
02:30 What changed in the last decade
03:30 Space infrastructure is the backbone of modern warfare
08:00 Governments became customers, not builders
12:00 Renewed geopolitical competition in orbit
17:00 Where the defence money is actually going
21:00 Why investors follow the contracts
25:00 The real objective is resources
28:00 Defence as catalyst, infrastructure as the story
Next episode: Launch as a Sovereign Asset.
Hosted by Jason Carvalho, founder of Carvalho Capital and HUMANUS.VC, and Laura Todd, co-founder of EarthSavvy.ai and former VP of Space Exploration Future Programmes at Airbus. Nothing in this episode is financial advice.
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