Defense & Aerospace Report

Sam Bendett of the Center for Naval Analyses and Dr. Eugene Rumer, the director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace discuss takeaways from NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington including pledges of long-term aid to Ukraine as well as new air defense and other weaponry, the future of the Atlantic Alliance after the November election, how European leaders would work with a new Trump administration, an update on the Ukraine war as US officials suggest Kyiv is no longer in danger of losing, prospects for ending the conflict, latest on battlefield capabilities including unmanned systems, how China is helping Russian disinformation across the global south, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s very different meeting with Vladimir Putin that indicates the Russian leader is far from isolated with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Dr. Kathleen McInnis, the director of the Smart Women, Smart Power program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and CSIS Senior Fellow Dan Fata, who served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO during the Bush administration, discuss the need to expand the view of burden sharing with allies beyond military and hardware spending to infrastructure and other investment that enhances the alliance’s deterrence and warfighting capabilities, how to more efficiently direct resources as nations spend more money, concerns that Donald Trump will reduce support for NATO should he return to the White House, and why so many are gloomy about the alliance’s 75th anniversary gathering in Washington even as NATO has dramatically improved its spending, war planning, exercises and preparedness over the past few years with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

Byron Callan from Capital Alpha Partners discusses Japan's defense industry surge, Pentagon frustration with share buybacks, NATO themes, and potential allied investment changes with a new US leadership. The podcast covers historical investment trends, challenges in Japan's defense export strategy, government incentives for defense industry, comparisons of companies in defense and aerospace, and discussions on defense spending and development

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 discuss aerospace and defense stock performance as Wall Street edges higher on jobs figures and a stronger dollar, Sir Kier Starmer becomes Britain’s first Labour prime minister in 14 years as John Healey becomes defense secretary, France holds its second election round, Boeing appears to eye settlement to avoid criminal trial, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall floats notion of a Next Generation Air Dominance fighter that’s a third the price of the current plane or around the cost of an F-35, China’s JF-31 is reportedly about to enter service, Leonardo partners with Rheinmetall to lock up Italy’s 20 billion euro land systems modernization market, and Universal Hydrogen — once seen as the future of clean energy — folds.

Industry experts Dr. Rocket Ron Epstein, Sash Tusa, and Richard Aboulafia discuss stock market trends, Airbus profit warning impact, Boeing's legal woes, Anduril's funding raise, and DoD's Replicator program. The podcast also covers US election effects on global markets, AeroVironment's innovations, and challenges in defense technology.

Experts Dr. Cronin, Herson, Townsend, and Zakheim discuss US presidential debate aftermath, international elections, defense appropriations, GOP maneuvers, NATO summit expectations, China-North Korea tensions, Assange's plea deal, Israel-Lebanon agreement, and IDF draft ruling.

On this episode of our Land Warfare program, sponsored by American Rheinmetall, Doug Bush, the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss Ukraine war lessons that are shaping US Army acquisition efforts, increasing the adoption of novel technologies into core acquisition efforts, progress in increasing ammunition production and what will be needed to further surge if needed, role of allies and partners in increasing weapons and munition capacity, the Army’s central role in global US military logistics, the service’s new software policy that some claim will discourage innovative firms from pursing contracts, and 2026 budget pressures and how the service would spend more money if Congress raises funding levels.

Dr. Brendan Mulvaney and Clint 'Q' Hinote discuss China's air capabilities affecting US planning, potential delays in the Next-Gen Air Dominance program, China's rapid aerospace development, defense strategies, budget prioritization, and considerations on nuclear weapons in space. Insights on China's multi-layered defense system, advancements in next-gen aircraft technology, Taiwan defense strategies, and the importance of international agreements to avert space-based threats.

On this month’s innovation conversation to highlight key topics in the countdown to the Apex technology and innovation conference next January in Washington, sponsored by Clarion Defence, Rob Harper, the founder and chief executive of Rowden Technologies, discusses lessons that shaped the innovative British AI, data and machine learning company, lessons from the Ukraine war, the future of AI and how best to harness the technology for military applications, what human control of AI-enabled systems means, adapting commercial AI tools like GPT-4 for military uses, what governments can do to accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies, how small companies can negotiate the “valley of death” with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. To learn more about the Apex conference, sponsorship and attendance opportunities please visit apexevents.org

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Dr. Eugene Rumer, the director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Sam Bendett of the Center for Naval Analyses, discuss the dead terror attacks on two churches and a synagogue in Dagestan, Ukraine’s deadly strikes on Sevastopol, the first anniversary of late Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s run on Moscow, and analysis of Vladimir Putin’s trips to North Korea and Vietnam last week; and Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners discusses potential flaws with the Congressional Budget Office’s debt projections, a defense spending update, update on whether Congress will increase defense spending, analysis of former National Security Adviser Dr. Robert O’Brien’s Foreign Affairs article, whether defense will feature in the June 27 presidential debate, the industrial implications of recent major program cancellations or delays, Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider bomber statement, and a look at the week ahead with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.