Defense Unicorns

“The mountains are calling, and I must go.” – John Muir Meet Rob Slye, Mission Manager at Defense Unicorns. Before joining Defense Unicorns, Rob spent five years as an AI and Data Science PM, leading numerous client engagements across the DoW. Prior to that, he served for seven years as an active-duty naval officer working primarily in operations research. What drew Rob to Defense Unicorns? He wanted to join a defense startup that genuinely understood the technological struggles of the rank-and-file American warfighter. Having lived through the frustration of being forced to make do with outdated, overpriced, and ineffective software while in uniform, Rob saw that the Defense Unicorns team had lived it too—and they were finally doing something about it. We're so glad you're a Unicorn, Rob. 🦄

Living on the edge.

Fly a mission. Find a bug. Push a fix. Fly again. Same day. Updating F-22 software used to take days, a full maintenance crew, and a hangar. With UDS Fleet, a pilot can do it from a flight tablet in minutes, all at the disconnected edge. Read the full case study ➡️ https://hubs.li/Q04sR3G00 #UDSFleet #F22 #DevSecOps

We recently asked for your help getting Zarf to the 2,000 star milestone on GitHub. And you all delivered! We’re truly thrilled to have reached this milestone. Stars don’t directly translate to mission impact but they’re a great indicator of the number of missions out there that rely on Zarf to help them package, distribute and deploy software in some of the most challenging environments on earth … and beyond. It’s never too late to join Zarf on its mission. Stop by the GitHub repo and drop an additional star, become a contributor, join our Community Office Hours or have a live conversation on the OpenSSF or Kubernetes Slacks in #zarf. https://lnkd.in/giQTkHne

We're having a blast partnering with HERE at #DoDIIS2026! Find us at booth 1508 and let's talk about advancing mission-ready software delivery for soldiers. Patrick Eberhart Sam Kreimier Tommy Scherer Seth Kirchner Jeffrey 🦄 Rescignano

Congratulations to Robert 🦄 Slaughter on being named a finalist for the ColoradoBiz Top Entrepreneur award! From 13 years in the U.S. Air Force to transforming software delivery for America’s warfighters, Rob’s recognition reflects his entrepreneurial leadership and the dedication of our entire team. 🔗 https://bit.ly/4i7B9sC

We’re live at #DoDIIS with HERE! 🚀 Come meet the team and talk with us about advancing mission-ready software delivery for soldiers. You can also grab some swag while you’re here. 📍 Booth 1508 📅 August 9–12 | Tampa Convention Center See you at the booth! 👋 https://bit.ly/4qajhzu

"The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus." – Bruce Lee Meet Gary Steensgard 🦄, People Operations Lead at Defense Unicorns. Gary is a retired U.S. Army First Sergeant who transitioned his exceptional leadership into the civilian sector, building a robust HR career across manufacturing and defense industries in both large and small organizations. Whether he's collaborating across functions, identifying pain points, or implementing simple solutions, he brings a deep dedication to his people. What drew Gary to Defense Unicorns? Having worn the uniform himself, Gary knows firsthand how critical our work is to making the modern battlefield unsafe for our enemies. Hearing glowing things from every Unicorn he spoke with—combined with the chance to support and empower those teammates in People Operations—made this the opportunity of a lifetime. So glad you're a Unicorn, Gary. 🦄

They said it was just a small change.

Vendor lock is harmful to national security. That's why open source is one of our founding principles. We've outlined the three problems with vendor-locked systems and how our open-core business model and UDS products kill vendor lock. Oh, and we're proactive open source contributors, too. #OpenSource #NationalSecurity #DefenseTech #SoftwareModernization