Can the U.S. Still Build Things? Fixing the Industrial Base | Miles Arnone (Podcast #34)

The Drone Ultimatum

Miles Arnone, CEO of Re:Build Manufacturing, joins the podcast to explain why American manufacturing fell behind—and how to bring it back. We dive into defense supply chains, national security vulnerabilities, rare earth magnets, and why the U.S. can’t rely on overseas factories forever. Miles shares Re:Build’s long-term plan to re-industrialize the country by acquiring and integrating specialized manufacturing businesses. We also get into 3D printing myths, scalable drone production, and why designing for manufacturability matters more than ever.If you’re building in defense, hard tech, or industrial automation, this one’s for you.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Intro(1:15) Miles’ Engineering Background and MIT Experience(2:19) The COVID Wake-Up Call: Industrial Weakness and Mask Production(2:53) What Re:Build Manufacturing Actually Does(3:50) The Case for Industrial Re-shoring and National Security Implications: Rare Earth Magnets and Electric Motor Supply Chains(4:19) The Disappearance of Middle-Class Factory Jobs(5:39) Populism, Economic Frustration, and the American Dream(6:25) What to Reshore (and What Not To)(7:34) How Offshoring Kills Innovation at Home(8:55) Defense Procurement and the Cost of Complexity(9:04) Why Volume Production Beats Fancy Features in Warfare(9:57) 3D Printing Myths, Misuse, and Real Limits(12:34) The Case Against Containerized Drone Production(13:33) Centralizing Drone Platforms and Letting Companies Specialize in Payloads(14:13) How the U.S. Can Compete with DJI(15:30) Scaling to 10,000+ Drones Per Month(17:44) Government Role in Banning Chinese Components (DJI Ban, etc.)(18:10) Comparing Today’s Supply Chain Readiness to Pre-WWII Germany(21:10) Private Equity vs. Long-Term Industrial Investment Models(34:05) Slate Vehicle Case Study: Designing for Manufacturability(39:26) Mass Customization Without Manufacturing Complexity(46:37) Why Most Robotics Startups Fail at Real Factory Use Cases(49:08) Humanoid Robots in Manufacturing: Hype vs. Reality(50:32) AI, Robotics, and System Effects on Society(54:15) The Conveyor Belt Is Still the Best Robot(1:04:21) Weapons Integration and the Challenge of Scaling Production(1:09:09) Morality, War, and the Defense Contractor’s Responsibility(1:11:40) Populism, Social Instability, and the Need for Economic Inclusion(1:27:30) The Apprentice Model and Rebuilding Workforce Pathways(1:28:44) Why College Isn’t the Only Path to a Good Job(1:32:27) AI, Productivity, and the Risks of Technological Elitism(1:33:16) Civil Conflict vs. Nation-State Conflict: Which Is More Likely?(1:33:40) - Final Thoughts and Outro

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