Defense & Aerospace Report DEFAERO Daily Pod [Aug 25, 25] Week in Review & Byron Callan’s Week Ahead
Aug 25, 2025
Byron Callan, an expert from Capital Alpha Partners, discusses the stalled Ukraine-Russia peace talks and their effects on defense industries. He highlights Europe's defense outlook amid tariff disputes and Mario Draghi's skepticism. Callan also examines civil-military relations, noting the deployment of National Guardsmen in U.S. cities and its implications for civil rights. The conversation touches on scaling drone production, recent technological advancements, and the upcoming key events in defense and aerospace.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Diplomacy Won't End The War Soon
- Byron Callan sees the recent US-Russia-Ukraine meetings as theatrics that produced no breakthrough and unlikely to change the war's trajectory.
- He expects the conflict to grind on into 2026 or beyond as neither side is sufficiently exhausted or incentivized to settle.
Long-Range Strikes Shift Battlefield Dynamics
- Callan highlights Ukraine's long-range strikes on Russian energy and new weapons like the Flamingo as shifting dynamics on the battlefield.
- He warns Russia may ramp up production of its own long-range missiles, raising escalation risks.
Russia’s Invasion Strengthens European Defense
- European defense investment is rising as nations respond to the invasion, with Germany and Poland notably modernizing and expanding forces.
- Callan sees Russia's invasion as a strategic blunder that pushed former neutral and adversarial states into closer NATO alignment.