Defense & Aerospace Report

On today’s Look Ahead program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the attack that damaged a Qatari liquified natural gas carrier in the Strait of Hormuz; what’s next for US defense spending including prospects for Reconciliation 3.0; surprises in the Trump administration’s $88 billion Iran war supplemental request; whether the assertion that the “American way of war” is dead; Saab’s big week including the sale of 16 new Gripen E fighters to Ukraine and Canada’s decision to pick HDW over Hanwha to supply 12 new non-nuclear attack submarines; Britain’s plan to increase defense spending by $20 billion; expectations from NATO’s Ankara summit; and a look at the week ahead and in Washington and beyond.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Business Roundtable, sponsored by Bell, Dr. “Rocket” Ron Epstein of Bank of America Securities, Sash Tusa of Agency Partners, and Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic advisory consultancy join host Vago Muradian to discuss Wall Street’s continuing rally in the wake of the US-Iran deal; outlook for air travel as analysts adjust war’s impact on energy and air travel; Castlelake’s $7.3 billion offer to acquire the European discount carrier; expectations as NATO leaders convene in Ankara for the alliance’s annual summit; Saab’s massive week as Ukraine ordered 16 of the company’s most advanced Gripen E fighter aircraft, on top of the 16 C-D versions of the jets donated by the Swedish government, and signature of a nearly $5 billion contract for three of the Swedish firm’s A26 submarines; how the Gripen order could boost Saab’s prospects as Canada’s next fighter and whether HDW’s loss will boost Hanwha’s offer over the German company’s proposal in Ottawa’s competition for a dozen new attack submarines; Thales buys drone and robotics maker Exail after Safran scrapped it’s $2.3 billion offer to buy the French firm; continuing consequences for Rheinmetall and Thales of Germany’s decision to cancel the six-ship F126 frigate program; KNDS’ decision to pull its initial public offering; the Federal Aviation Administration’s move to create new rules for supersonic civil transports; and RocketLab’s $8 billion acquisition of Iridium to compete against SpaceX and its StarLink product.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Business Roundtable, sponsored by Bell, Dr. “Rocket” Ron Epstein of Bank of America Securities, Sash Tusa of Agency Partners, and Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic advisory consultancy join host Vago Muradian to discuss a Wall Street rally after a brutal drop; what’s for the Iran war as Washington and Tehran trade fire; Trump administration’s expected request for $88 billion to cover Iran war costs as the president hosted US defense executives at the White House accelerate production to refill depleted US weapons stocks; Lockheed Martin’s seven-year $35 billion to quadruple THAAD interceptor production; budget deliberations continue in Washington as White House proposes taking $1.7 billion from the Navy to pay for the E-7 radar planes Congress forced the administration to buy for the US Air Force; British Prime Minister Kier Starmer’s decision to step down, clearing the way for former Manchester Mayor and new Member of Parliament Andy Burnham to challenge his leadership of the Labour Party; NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s Washington visit to woo Trump to ensure an Ankara Summit July 7 and 8 that mirrors the recent G7 meeting; whether the US move to withdraw capabilities from Europe is part of a strategy to drive European nations into turning to Washington to buy stop gap capabilities; France orders 5,000 more quadcopters from Harmattan AI after the two-year-old startup delivered 1,000 quadcopters in six months; Air Force acceptance of the T-7 Red Hawk trainers, but with an airworthiness risk classified as “serious” because a Boeing supplier hasn’t released data on some unspecified safety-critical elements needed to sustain the aircraft; questions about Rheinmetall’s strategy of purchasing Lurssen’s naval business and take over construction of six large frigates for the Deutsche Marine after Berlin cancelled the F116 project; China Eastern’s order of 25 A330neo for more than $9 billion and China Southern’s purchase of $3.6 billion worth of 777s from Boeing; and Babcock’s full-year results.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former DoD Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss President Trump’s derailing of the budget process by refusing to sign a bipartisan housing affordability measure until lawmakers pass his SAVE Act that critics maintain is a voter suppression measure; prospects for Reconciliation 3.0 as lawmakers move to tie it to portions of the SAVE measure; House and Senate authorization and appropriations processes move ahead as the administration is expected to request $88 billion to cover Iran war costs; analysis of ongoing US-Iran negotiations — as well as direct contact between American military officials and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — as Tehran fired on a Singaporean tanker for using an unauthorized transit corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, shutting traffic as Iranian officials continue efforts to assert ownership of the key waterway; Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s efforts at the Gulf Cooperation Council to sell the deal to nervous allies as Saudi Arabia opened direct talks with Iran; Israel’s continuing operations fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon; NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s visit to Washington to pave the way for a smooth alliance summit 7-8 July in Ankara as the administration considers deep cuts in US capabilities available to NATO and fires Gen. Chris Donahue, the top US Army commander in Europe; Ukraine turns the tables on Russia and Crimea; China sails its newest aircraft carrier — the Fujian — through the Taiwan Strait and pressures US states and private American firms to cut ties with Taipei; US efforts to modernize alliances across Asia whether through new operational concepts or economic ties; South Korea’s investment in the United States and whether US lawmakers will allow the US Navy to buy foreign-made ships; Japan’s $2.3 trillion industrial plan; Kim Jong Un commission’s North Korea’s largest ever new destroyer on the 76th anniversary of north’s invasion of the south; and reflections as America celebrates its 250th birthday.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss his new book — “Lethal Autonomy: The Future of Warfare Whether We Like It or Not” — how the book differs from his earlier report on the future of war for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; how warfare across air, land, sea, space and cyber are changing; the culture change needed within the military services as change makes existing platforms obsolete; focusing more on the “survivability” problem, rather than “lethality”; role of humans on an increasingly autonomous battlefield; getting on the right side of the cost imposition curve; and how US forces would fare against China if they drained their precision strike and air defense weapons stocks against Iran.

The National Air and Space Museum is celebrating its 50th birthday by revealing a massive makeover, with all but two of its renovated galleries open to the public starting next week. We had a sneak peek at the newest exhibits, and get a look at the Museum’s past present and future with its director, Christopher Browne. And we have the week’s airpower headlines. Powered by GE Aerospace!

On today’s Technology Report program, Dr. Jim Lewis of the Center for European Policy Analysis and retired US Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a Cyberspace Solarium Commission senior adviser join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the implications of Senate Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Sen Mark Warner’s claim that Gen Josh Rudd, the director of the National Security Agency, told him that Anthropic’s Mythos AI model was able to breach “almost all’ classified systems in hours; how the administration should prepare a new era of cyber and data vulnerability in the wake of the debut of ever more powerful AI models; how soon before another model debuts that’s more powerful than Anthropic’s; gauging America’s lead over China’s AI capabilities; whether spending more is the only way to develop breakthrough AI products; and why AI isn’t just a financial bubble waiting to burst.

On today’s Look Ahead program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss what’s next now that Washington and Tehran have agreed to a 60-day ceasefire; a look at the US defense budget outlook as House and Senate Armed Services Committees finish their version of the National Defense Authorization Act, House defense appropriators finish their mark, and lawmakers await an Iran war supplemental and ponder the fate of the $350 billion Reconciliation 3.0 for the Pentagon; defense stock valuation drivers; takeaways from the Eurosatory ground warfare exhibition and conference last week in Paris; role of increasingly sophisticated Ukrainian, Turkish, and South Korean firms in Europe’s rearmament; whether Washington’s export control reforms and calls for deeper cooperation will entice European nations alienated by the administration’s rhetoric; and a look at the week ahead in Washington and behind.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Business Roundtable, sponsored by Bell, Dr. “Rocket” Ron Epstein of Bank of America Securities, Sash Tusa of Agency Partners, and Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic advisory consultancy join host Vago Muradian to discuss a Wall Street rally after Washington and Iran struck a 14-point deal that reopens the Strait of Hormuz; takeaways from the G7 meeting that endorsed Ukraine’s sovereignty and imposed new sanctions on Russia and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s announcement of a six-month review of US forces detailed to NATO; Britain’s decision to develop ITAR-free strike missiles and what’s next now that Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham was elected to Parliament; analysis of the Eurosatory land systems show in Paris where Ukraine seized the spotlight as an innovative and capable supplier; L3Harris delivery to the US Air Force of a former Qatari royal aircraft modified to serve Air Force One — as the VC-25B “Bridge” aircraft — until Boeing delivers two new purpose-built presidential aircraft; the Air Force’s award of six-year contracts to both Anduril and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to develop and delivery their Increment One versions of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft; Boeing’s withdrawal from the US Navy’s competition for a new training aircraft to replace the T-45 Goshawk, leaving Leonardo and Beechcraft to compete against Sierra Nevada with Northrop Grumman and General Atomics; Dassault’s Falcon 10X business jet makes its first flight; and after 10 years of research, Qantas took delivery of new Airbus 350-1000 jetliners that allow the carrier to launch more than 20-hour nonstop flights from Sydney to New York and London includes lighting and wellness features to attract passengers.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former DoD Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the appropriations process as the Senate Armed Services Committee finishes its version of the National Defense Authorization Act and the outlook for reconciliation and an Iran war supplemental; prospects for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act after President Trump directed his nominee to become the next Director of National Intelligence, US attorney Jay Clayton, to skip his confirmation hearing clearing the way for housing chief Bill Pulte to serve in an acting capacity; Washington and Tehran’s 14-point ceasefire memorandum of understanding giving the two sides 60-days to negotiate a lasting deal that reopens the Strait of Hormuz that lawmakers and Israel blast as too generous toward Iran; Vice President Vance’s warning to Jerusalem; G7’s support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and impose more sanctions on Russia as Britain and France organize nations for a military mission to restore traffic through the strait; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth launches another broadside at the alliance as Washington considers withdrawing key withdrawing air and naval capabilities; South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s invitation for Trump to lead a peace talks with North Korea; Beijing’s ability to strike Australia; and the Pentagon’s decision to change the US Indo-Pacific Command back to the US Pacific Command.