Defense & Aerospace Report

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, Michael Herson of American Defense International, Dr. Kathleen McInnis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Cavas Ships podcast co-host Chris Servello join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the expectation the National Defense Authorization Act, appropriations and disaster relief legislation will move quickly after lawmakers return to Washington after the election; Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s “heartburn letter”to the Hill; Israel kills Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar; President Biden deploys America’s premier air and missile defense system to Israel to relieve pressure on US warships guarding Israel while calling on Jerusalem to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza otherwise risk weapons deliveries; the US Navy demonstrates its ability to reload weapons at sea; US aircraft including B-2 stealth bombers strike Houthi missile sites and storage facilities in Yemen; former President Trump calls Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy a great salesman who never should have let the war start as the Ukrainian leader says he told the former president that either Kyiv joins NATO or it develops nuclear weapons; South Korean intelligence says North Korea is deploying 12,000 troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine; four Indo-Pacific defense ministers join NATO ministers; and China’s economy sputters as Beijing escalates tensions around Taiwan.

We review The Aerospace Event with two of our fellow presenters there – Richard Aboulafia, who you know from our business report, and Dr. Kevin Michaels, both managing directors at AeroDynamic Advisory. And we have the week’s headlines in airpower. All powered by GE!

On this Land Warfare episode, sponsored by American Rheinmetall, Dan Roper, a retired US army colonel who’s the director of national security studies at the Association of the United States Army reviews the key takes from this week's AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition; and Stephanie Meyer, a PHD candidate who’s helping lead Auburn university’s entry into Indy autonomous challenge — a 12-team unmanned racing circuit that is developing cutting edge technologies that can improve future unmanned air and ground vehicles with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

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.

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, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Venter for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss President Biden’s call for Congress to approve emergency aid in the wake of two devastating and deadly hurricanes; electoral impact of historic amounts of disinformation that have hampered rescue and recovery efforts; update on Russia’s war on Ukraine as as Moscow makes incremental progress as Russian casualties top 600,000; Ukraine’s efforts to stockpile ammunition and protect itself from US election outcome next month; Laos hosts ASEAN; Beijing overreacts despite a measured address by Lai Ching-te on Taiwan’s National Day; Vice President Harris names Iran as a leading threat; Israel Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu calls on Lebanon to rid itself of Hezbollah as Israel continues operations in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank, as Jerusalem considers retaliation against Iran’s recent missile attack that’s expected to target the country’s oil infrastructure.

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.