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For those maybe already in this field, I'd like to hear your experiences. Here are some questions that come to mind:
- What distinguishes a defense startup apart from just some nerds "blowing things up in the desert"?
- Aside from accidents in testing, what are the common pitfalls of this field of study?
- Are there stories that come to mind about notable contractors that encountered problems? Notable successes?
- What legal risks are there in the development and procurement process? I'd assume just by virtue of searching certain topics or even acquiring parts you'd be having some very serious conversations with officials. Do these startups have a formal way to announce their intentions ahead of time before trouble erupts?
- What is the general consensus of this field when it is not war time? Is it generally feast or famine, or is the demand for defense tech relatively constant?
- Are these startups typically VC funded on the open market, or does your government typically fund ideas it needs/wants?
- What are the limitations of the concepts that may be researched? Surely you can't just come up with an idea for a particle disintegrator and start vaporizing cacti in the wild. Are defense contractors generally limited to missiles and things of that sort?
- What are the dominant traits that contractors generally have that make them a good fit for this field?