Defense & Aerospace Report

On this Land Warfare episode, sponsored by American Rheinmetall, Dr. John Nagl, a retired US Army lieutenant colonel who is now a professor of Warfighting Studies in the Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations at the Army War College, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the work he co-authored with Katie Crombe — A Call to Action: Lessons from Ukraine for the Future Force — the strategic, operational and tactical lessons of the war; lessons that are applicable to Europe, the Indo-Pacific and universally; the notion of transparency on the battlefield and its implications for operations; harnessing rapid innovation cycles and fielding capabilities at speed and scale; role of the Army in Europe and the Indo-Pacific; and how the Ukraine war ends.

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners discusses the latest headlines and looks at the week ahead with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Business Roundtable, sponsored by Bell, Dr. Rocket Ron Epstein of Bank of America Securities, Sash Tusa of the independent equity research firm Agency Partners, and Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic advisory consultancy join host Vago Muradian to discuss Wall Street’s new highs on stronger than expected bank and financial earnings; Boeing pre-reports third quarter earnings including a $3 billion charge, 17,000 layoffs, the end of 767 freighter production, and delayed 777X deliveries as the company accuses the International Association of Machinists of negotiating in bad faith, a charge the union makes about the jetmaker; Airbus blames CFM and Spirit AeroSystems for its woes; France announces the new F5 version of the Dassault Aviation’s Rafale and the a combat unmanned vehicle; the Justice Department accuses Saab of corruption in Brazil; and what to expect at the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference and tradeshow as well as The Aerospace Event.

Join former Pentagon Comptroller Dov Zakheim, Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend, and Asia-Pacific Security Chair Patrick Cronin as they delve into pressing global issues. They analyze President Biden's call for emergency aid post-hurricanes and the impact of disinformation on recovery efforts. The trio discusses Russia's war in Ukraine, emphasizing military aid and electoral implications. They also explore U.S.-China relations, Taiwan's precarious situation, and escalating tensions in the Middle East with a focus on Israel and Iran's conflicts.

As the People’s Republic of China celebrates 75 years as a nation, its military capability and territorial ambitions continue to expand. Dr. Brendan Mulvaney, Director of the China Aerospace Studies Institute at National Defense University, updates us on what that means for their challenge to US air capabilities. And we have a bumper crop of airpower headlines, including about the SR-71. All powered by GE!

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Dr. Jerry McGinn, the director of the Baroni Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss his new report — “Before the Balloon Goes Up: Mobilizing the Defense Industrial Base now to Prepare for Future Conflict” — why he believes the United States isn’t prepared for prolonged future conflicts; industrial lessons from World War II, MRAP vehicles, Covid-19, and the Ukraine war; the importance of senior leadership in driving change; why 2024 is different than 1938; what America has to do to step up its production capacity; how to harness commercial industry for the challenge ahead; role of allies and partners; and an update on the Biden administration’s first ever National Defense Industrial Strategy.

On this Land Warfare episode, sponsored by American Rheinmetall, Gen. Randy George, the US Army’s 41st chief of staff, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the biggest lessons from Russia’s war on Ukraine; the problems that Russia, China and other adversaries are posing that must be solved; whether different armies are needed to fight in Europe and Asia, and what’s common between them; preparing the force intellectually, operationally, doctrinally and culturally for the highly kinetic nature of a possible future fight; how to move faster to field needed capabilities at scale; modernizing on a flat budget; his “Transforming in Contact” initiative and how much of the Army has to change to transform the force; the changing nature of advantage and building a culture that can adapt rapidly to maintain advantage despite changing threats; what the Army needs from industry; tradeoffs that can be made among the military services to better coordinate roles, missions and capabilities; recruiting and training the right personnel; and a look ahead to the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference and tradeshow Oct. 14-16, 2024.

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Sam Bendett of the Center for Naval Analyses discusses Ukraine’s withdrawal from Vuledhar and the implications of the latest Russian advance in Donbas, the latest on the war including the capture of one of Russia’s few Okhotnik combat drones, how weather will change the fight, topics for discussion at the Association of the United States Army’s conference and tradeshow next week, and lessons from analytical failures associated with the Russo-Ukrainian war; and Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners discusses defense implications of the conflict between Israel and Iran one the first anniversary of Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel that precipitated a broader regional war, defense and industrials scenarios to consider as US elections approach, Army issues to consider at AUSA, the impact of deadly hurricanes on public perceptions of defense spending, and a look at the week ahead with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Business Roundtable, sponsored by Bell, Dr. Rocket Ron Epstein of Bank of America Securities, Sash Tusa of the independent equity research firm Agency Partners, and Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic advisory consultancy join host Vago Muradian Wall Street ends on a high on stronger than expected US jobs growth, French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron tells US financiers how grave the country’s financial situation is, Xi Jinping announces a major government stimulus plan as the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 75th anniversary, Boeing’s strike continues as the company’s management considers the scope of an equity raise and questions arise about the valuation of the planned acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, and as Iran strikes Israel with history’s largest ballistic missile attack, some thoughts on the economics of air and missile defense.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored in part by Hanwha Defense USA, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Cavas Ships co-host Chris Servello, and Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the US presidential race enters its last month as a devastating hurricane and growing unrest in the Middle East could decide who ends up in the White House, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iran retaliates with a massive ballistic missile barrage, Jerusalem vows retaliation and President Biden confirms strikes on Iran’s energy facilities have been discussed in a move that sends oil prices soaring, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte succeeds Jens Stoltenberg as NATO’s new secretary general, Ukraine retreats from Vuledhar as Russia’s strategy of throwing of men and weapons into fight helps gain ground in Donbas, the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 75th anniversary by dialing up coercion in the South China Sea, and Shigeru Ishiba succeed Fumio Kishida as Japan’s 65th prime minister.