Kevin McLaughlin grew up around airfields watching his father teach young Air Force and Marine pilots how to fly.
One of his dad’s students, a young lieutenant from the Air Force Academy, used to take him out to the flight line at Laredo Air Force Base, sit him on the trainer jets, and let him imagine what it might be like to fly one day.
“From that point on, I was hooked,” said McLaughlin, now CEO of C Speed, a U.S.-based technology company specializing in persistent surveillance and integrated ISR solutions. “I wanted to go to the Air Force Academy and be a pilot just like him and my dad.”
Poor eyesight ultimately shattered his pilot dream, but he still made it to the Academy and went on to pursue a career in space operations that turned into 34 years of military service followed by an opportunity to bring his expertise to the world of GovCon.
McLaughlin served as deputy commander of U.S. Cyber Command from 2014 to 2017, overseeing more than 12,000 military cyber personnel and executing global cyberspace operations, Defense Department network defense, critical infrastructure protection, and the creation and certification of all 133 DOD cyber teams.
That same sense of purpose he had in the military still drives him today at C Speed.
“Industry must move faster and deliver more affordably than ever before,” said McLaughlin. “Warfighters don’t have the luxury of waiting years for capability — they need solutions now, at scale, and at a cost that makes sense. That’s where C Speed is changing the game. Our ability to deploy rapidly and integrate seamlessly is revolutionizing how critical technologies reach the field.
The Nature and Character of War
Understanding the way war has — and hasn’t — changed is critical to C Speed’s approach. McLaughlin said that while the nature of war as violent, unpredictable and deeply human has not changed, the character of war has. And it’s transforming faster than ever as AI, autonomy and low-cost attritable systems rewrite how conflicts unfold.
In Ukraine, for example, swarms of low-cost drones act as electronic mercenaries. Across the globe, countries that can afford to invest in space and cyber operations are doing so with the kind of commitment that recognizes the risk of falling behind. The pace and scale of change, McLaughlin said, is unlike anything before it.
“It’s forcing governments, industry and militaries to rethink how they build, respond and innovate,” he said. “In the end, the real advantage will belong to those who can adapt the fastest — across every part of society, not just on the battlefield.”
Private sector and government leaders today can learn much from the changing character of war, he said. The biggest lesson may be that speed and adaptability are everything. Decade-long acquisition cycles and proprietary systems are relics of the past. Today’s technology advances quickly. Adversaries are already keeping up.
“Leaders — both in government and industry — need to think differently, act faster and build systems that can evolve in real time,” McLaughlin said.
That isn’t exclusive to the public sector. Commercial companies are delivering capabilities that were once exclusively governmental. And they’re doing so faster, at lower cost and designed for immediate integration. Size is no longer a differentiator, he said. Instead, agility and the ability to process at the edge, in real time, is separating top solutions providers from those still stuck in the slow methods of the past.
“Those who can innovate at mission speed will lead the next generation of defense and deterrence,” he said. “At C Speed, that’s exactly how we’re thinking about the future. We’re focused on open, technology-agnostic solutions that can plug into any command-and-control system or platform.”
Golden Dome and LightWave
The company is also committed to innovating in the United States. It is reinvesting in U.S.-based manufacturing to keep that innovation cycle fast, flexible and at pace with mission demands. For C Speed, it’s not about owning the whole tech stack but about seamlessly connecting across it, fostering the kind of collaboration that unlocks capabilities where they’re needed most, he said.
Modern, low-cost, agile, and very capable radar and integrated surveillance systems are critical to defending borders and critical infrastructure inside the U.S., in the areas of responsibility of combatant commands, and inside the territories of allies, he said. And the capabilities play into C Speed’s new Golden Dome for America program.
McLaughlin said one of today’s biggest challenges is that warfare spans two extremes. On one end are highly sophisticated and costly threats such as hypersonic weapons, ballistic missiles and anti-satellite systems. On the other are low-cost, AI-enabled capabilities like drone swarms that can strike at scale and speed.
“That creates a fundamental problem: how do you defend effectively without bankrupting yourself?” he added. “We can’t afford to keep using million-dollar interceptors to take out hundred-dollar drones.”
Programs like Golden Dome and currently deployed systems are tackling today’s defense challenges head-on — protecting national borders, countering long-range cruise missiles, and defending against mass swarms of small drones, he said. C Speed is proud to contribute to this mission not as a standalone provider, but as a strategic partner to industry, he said.
C Speed’s LightWave radar technology is designed specifically to detect and respond to lethal airborne threats quickly, effectively and affordably. What’s different? McLaughlin said it’s about producing options at scale and speed.
“We’re not here to replace what others have built — we’re here to strengthen it,” said McLaughlin. “Our LightWave radar and digital sensing platforms are designed to integrate seamlessly with existing systems, helping partners evolve faster and deliver more effectively. Because we design, engineer and manufacture in the U.S., we can rapidly tailor variants to specific mission needs and deploy at a pace and price point that traditional models simply can’t match.”
That flexibility is central to Golden Dome’s success, he said. By collaborating across the defense ecosystem, C Speed is helping accelerate the delivery of affordable, interoperable solutions that meet today’s threats with speed, precision and scale.
A Multifaceted Approach
The role of integrating multiple domains in real-time situational awareness in future warfare scenarios is vital, he said. In modern warfare, threats don’t confine themselves to a single domain. They can emerge across air, space and the electromagnetic spectrum. Many threats are designed to evade detection. Some have low radar signatures, others emit no radio frequency, and still others operate at altitudes or speeds that challenge traditional sensors.
“To detect and counter those kinds of threats, you need to integrate multiple domains and sensor types in real time,” McLaughlin said. “The most effective defense comes from layering different phenomenologies — radar, infrared, optical, electromagnetic — to create a complete picture of the battlespace.”
C Speed built its LightWave radar as a digital sensing platform designed to integrate seamlessly with cameras, passive RF sensors, and transponder-based systems like ADS-B or AIS, all feeding into a single command-and-control picture.
“That multi-domain integration gives commanders a far more accurate and timely understanding of what’s happening around them,” he said. “It increases reliability, improves decision speed and ultimately enhances mission success. The future of warfare will depend on that ability to see, understand and act across all domains — simultaneously.”
The Future of Warfare
The future of warfare will belong to those who can see, understand and act across all domains — and do it in real time, McLaughlin said.
But ethical considerations are also key when it comes to McLaughlin’s approach to operations. The same moral and legal principles that prohibit targeting citizens or hospitals with traditional weapons also apply to cyber operations or those built with AI, he said. But the concepts of sovereignty and responsibility have changed.
“When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, it forced the world to rethink what sovereignty meant — suddenly satellites could fly over every nation, and that became accepted under international norms,” he said. “We’ve seen similar reinterpretations in cyberspace, where data flows through networks that cross multiple borders every second.”
A similar ethical debate has surfaced around artificial intelligence and autonomy. Ensuring human judgment remains in the loop, and recognizing the limits of using AI-powered systems for offensive or defensive operations are key questions.
“Ultimately, I believe the American way of dealing with these dilemmas — through open debate among government, academia and the public — remains our greatest strength,” McLaughlin said. “But we no longer have a decade to decide where to draw the lines. We need to move quickly and thoughtfully to define how emerging technologies can be used responsibly in defense of our nation.”
In his own words — “At our core, C Speed is an American company, but our mission is global. We’re deeply committed to the security and defense of the United States and our allies, working closely within NATO frameworks and established international partnerships to strengthen collective defense. The threats we’re seeing today don’t respect boundaries — whether they’re drones crossing into allied airspace or emerging technologies that challenge traditional deterrence. That’s why we build interoperable, mission-ready solutions like our LightWave radar; designed to protect not just America, but our partners around the world. We take pride in delivering capabilities that reinforce unity, resilience and readiness across the defense ecosystem.
“Recent events in Europe — for example, the drone incursions over Poland — underscore why our technology matters. C Speed LightWave radar mounted on an aerostat could have detected and tracked those threats hundreds of kilometers out, giving decision-makers the early warning they need to protect critical infrastructure and populations. That’s the kind of real-world impact we’re focused on.
“We see ourselves as far more than a radar company. C Speed is a technology company — pioneering the integration of AI, cognitive sensing, and edge-based computing to create a network of intelligent, connected sensors that think, adapt and respond in real time. These aren’t future concepts; they’re operational capabilities we’re delivering today. Our mission is to lead the transformation of defense technology, bringing advanced, interoperable and cost-effective solutions to the forefront. In an era where speed, agility and collaboration will define success, C Speed is helping reshape how our nation and its allies detect, decide and defend.”