The Missing Power Layer of Modern Warfare

March 25, 2026

Here's something that might surprise you — modern warfare’s biggest power challenge isn’t just weapons or tech, it’s the energy behind it all. Erin Price-Wright, talking with Adam Warmoth and Alex Miller, dives into how the Army’s old-school power systems — think diesel generators and lead-acid batteries — are buckling under the weight of distributed, electronics-heavy battles. Now, here’s where it gets interesting: the same commercial tech revolution that’s transforming EVs and aviation is also reshaping military power. According to Adam, startups are racing to get new hardware into soldiers’ hands faster, bypassing slow traditional procurement. And as Alex highlights, fuel convoys are not just inefficient — they’re a serious security risk. So what does this mean for you? The battlefield’s next big upgrade isn’t just about guns or drones, it’s about powering them smarter, cleaner, and faster. As Erin and her team from a16z point out, this shift could redefine how armies operate — and maybe even how you think about energy in your own world.

Erin Price-Wright speaks with Adam Warmoth, founder and CEO of Chariot Defense, and Alex Miller, CTO of the U.S. Army, about the power crisis at the heart of modern military operations. As the battlefield becomes more distributed and electronics-heavy, the Army's legacy power infrastructure, built around diesel generators and lead-acid batteries, is struggling to keep up. They examine how commercial breakthroughs in EV and aviation technology are being adapted for the front line, why fuel convoys are a military liability, and how procurement reform is letting startups get hardware into soldiers' hands faster than ever.

Resources:

Follow Adam Warmoth on X: https://x.com/AdamWarmoth

Follow Alex Miller on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-m-0983a5201/

Follow Erin Price-Wright on X: https://x.com/espricewright

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Audio Transcript