On this Washington Roundtable episode of the Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast, sponsored by Bell, our guests are Dov Zakheim, PhD, former DoD comptroller, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute and Jim Townsend, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO who is now with the Center for a New American Security.

Topics:

— Congress prepares to markup Biden administration’s budget request and weighs magnitude of defense spending plus up

— Bipartisan sentiment on increasing Pentagon budget

— What next in Russia’s war on Ukraine as conflict passed the 100-day mark

— European efforts to stand up to Russia and whether unity remains as France, Germany and Italy work to find “face saving” way for Vladimir Putin to end war

— New aid for Ukraine including US long-range precision rocket artillery

— Negotiating Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO with Turkey, Hungary and Slovenia

— China’s continuing balancing act between supporting Russia and avoiding US ire over Ukraine war

— Beijing’s economic woes as COVID lockdowns are eased in Shanghai and elsewhere

— New Chinese trade and security pact and the 10 nations targeted by Foreign Minister Wang Yi

— Australia’s regional diplomacy

— Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia and burying the hatchet with Mohamed bin Salman

— What’s next for Iran nuclear deal in the wake of IAEA report finding radioactive residue at three “undeclared” Iranian sites