In a wide-ranging and high-energy conversation, Steve Bannon and Kevin Czinger discussed both self-defense tactics and revolutionary advancements in military-grade design and manufacturing through artificial intelligence and 3D printing.

The exchange opened with a visceral metaphor: surviving a real-world assault. Czinger noted, "Rule number one — always fight dirty,” listing practical self-defense moves like throwing dirt or objects at an opponent’s eyes. It was a segue into a deeper point about unconventional tactics — not just in combat, but in global technological competition.

Bannon then shifted the conversation toward the idea that modern weapons like cruise missiles are being reimagined — not with endless years of slow, committee-based engineering, but with algorithmic precision driven by AI and simulation. Czinger laid out a new framework for how weapon systems and complex machines can now be designed and produced in three main stages:

Design & Engineering (AI-Driven):
Traditionally, engineering teams would take months or years to develop flight or load-bearing models. Czinger explained that with modern artificial intelligence, this process is transformed into a near-real-time simulation. AI can compute thousands of micro-adjustments for structural integrity, stress tolerances, and aerodynamic load — optimizing everything before it’s even physically built. This process replaces manual meetings, equations, and design iterations with AI-powered “first-time-perfect” results.
3D Printing:
Once the AI completes a design, that structure can be fed directly into advanced 3D printing systems. Bannon probed into what "printing” means at this level — it’s not just plastic models. These are advanced materials being printed with precision, allowing for the fabrication of parts that traditionally required expensive tooling, molds, and months of setup.
Assembly & Production:
After printing, the parts are assembled. But unlike legacy manufacturing, this phase is streamlined due to the optimized and simulation-tested components. There are no surprises — because every part has already been digitally validated through simulated stress testing, aerodynamic modeling, and more.

Czinger emphasized that this end-to-end process — powered by AI and digital manufacturing — compresses timelines dramatically. What once took 15 months now takes 15 hours, and requires far fewer human engineers or meetings. AI has replaced "teams doing calculus” with machine learning models running continuous simulations in a virtual environment.

As Czinger put it, "Imagine playing a video game of race cars or rockets — but every frame of that video is a real-time physics calculation determining the best material distribution for performance.”

In short, the duo’s conversation wasn’t just about missiles or defense — it was about a new age of design, where precision, efficiency, and speed are being unleashed through digital means. It’s a new manufacturing battlefield — one Bannon framed as essential to national defense and industrial survival.

Watch this WarRoom Segment from Thursday more: