August 20, 2026
In a long-form essay, Stephen McBride argues that energy has driven every major shift in warfare, and that today's drones, lasers, jammers, and AI-enabled systems draw power in sudden spikes that generators were never built to supply. He profiles Chariot Defense as the company built for that problem, calling it the world's first power prime: a platform company whose systems enable the rest of the force.
The essay walks through the Amphora family, from the two-soldier-carry Amphora 24 to the trailer-mounted Amphora 400 that can power lasers, high-power microwave weapons, and field hospitals. Both plug into the NATO port on Army vehicles, charging while the engine runs and feeding power back when it's off, with Chariot's software deciding what gets power and when. McBride describes Chariot as a hardware company whose real value is software that improves across its deployed fleet, and quotes CEO Adam Warmoth: "We're focused on batteries as power, not batteries as energy."