Defense & Aerospace Report

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 Wall Street ended the week strong before the Labor Day holiday, the US government hits RTX with a $200 million fine for improperly sharing technology with China as analysts ask whether more companies will also be penalized, Serbia orders Rafale fighters by Dassault Aviation while Thailand opts for the E- and F-model of the Gripen by Saab, whey Airbus and Sikorsky both decided against bidding for a UK helicopter contract, UK defense budget outlook as Starmer government makes clear cuts are coming, Britain and Germany strike a wide-ranging treaty that spans defense, science, technology and deeper economic cooperation, defense industrial implications as Germany’s right wing AFD party gains ground in Thuringia, and Britain concludes arms being used by Israel in Gaza could be used in violation of international humanitarian law, immediately suspending 30 licenses for components for fighter planes, helicopters and drones.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Mark Montgomery, a retired US Navy rear admiral and former INDOPACOM J-3 who is now the senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend now with the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss a US presidential campaign in full swing, controversy over former President Trump’s campaign visit to Arlington Cemetery, Ukraine continues its advance into Russia as analysts say Moscow lacks the people or equipment to stop it, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s visit to Beijing as China is accused of stealing US internet service provider data and Indo-Pacific Commander Adm. Sam Paparo says US ships might have to escort Filipino ships being bullied by Chinese forces, the US Navy awards Korea’s Hanwha Ocean a contract to repair a US logistics support ship, and Middle East tensions soar as Israel launches air strikes in the West Bank as Jerusalem agrees to suspend Gaza strikes to allow a UN emergency vaccination drive after the first polio case in a generation was detected in the enclave.

The Collaborative Combat Aircraft promises to redefine how the U.S. Air Force flies and fights. But what is it, and how do we get from here to there? The author of a new report on CCAs, Gregory Allen, director of the Wadhwani Center for AI and Advanced Technology at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, join us with some of the answers. And of course, we have headlines in airpower. Thanks, GE!

Bill Lynn, former deputy defense secretary and current Leonardo DRS Chairman and CEO, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the budget outlook, growth markets in a tight budget environment, how the two presidential candidates would impact defense spending if elected, the impact of the Biden administration’s first ever defense industrial strategy, whether long-running reform efforts are changing how the Pentagon does business, how the company decides what to make in house and what to buy from suppliers as analysts suggest that vertical integration is increasingly key to accelerating programs and better controlling cost, how the Pentagon will regard industry for their investment as companies like Anduril raise private capital to develop weapons for the Pentagon, and a status report on Leonardo DRS as the second anniversary of it’s December 2022 listing approaches.

Todd Harrison of the American Enterprise Institute joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the budget outlook as Congress prepares to return to DC early next month, the Pentagon’s innovation efforts, why vertical integration will be increasingly important for Pentagon contractors, Anduril’s growth strategy, and why former President Trump’s endorsement of a Space National Guard is a bad idea.

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discusses his takeaways from the Democratic National Convention and compares national security messaging from both parties presidential campaigns, a growing sense that the Russo-Ukrainian war is approaching stalemate in 2025, his latest essay “The Four Rungs on the Defense Wall of Worry,” and a look at the week ahead.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Business Roundtable, sponsored by Bell, Dr. Rocket Ron Epstein of Bank of America Securities and Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic advisory consultancy, join host Vago Muradian discuss Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s statement that the central bank would cut interest rates by half a percent especially after employment figures were adjusted downward; Sierra Nevada wins the US Army’s High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System or HADES spyplane contract; Boeing sells 36 new AH-64 helicopters to South Korea, but the company’s 777X jetliner is grounded after the company discovered a structural issue that will be expensive to fix; the last of 23 VH-92 helicopters were delivered to the Marine Corps by Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky as the president’s new helicopter, but it can’t replace aging Blackhawks and Sea Kings until the new aircraft is cleared to land on the White House lawn; companies like Bell that selected Spirit AeroSystems for defense aerostructures work are said to be considering ending those contracts after Boeing buys its former unit; and NASA decides two astronauts stuck in space since their Boeing StarLiner experienced problems on its maiden flight to the International Space Station will return to earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in February.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Cavas Ships co-host Chris Servello, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim join host Vago Muradian discuss takeaways from the Democratic convention that nominated Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as the party’s candidates for president and vice president; national security themes from Chicago; Ukraine’s offensive into Russia continues as Russian forces gain ground in Donbas; Beijing protests senior US officials meeting with the Dalai Lama; Chinese and Philippine ships collide in the South China Sea; the Gaza war continues as hopes of a ceasefire fade; Iran wavers on attacking Israel; and top Israel security leaders warn that Jewish extremists represent an existential threat to Israel.

Modernization, low reenlistment, recruitment challenges, and re-orienting a force for great power competition aren’t just concerns for the active Air Force. We’ll talk these issues and more with the Chief of the Air Force Reserve, Lieutenant General John Healy. And of course, the week’s top headlines in airpower. All powered by GE!

James Chew, the global group director for aerospace and defense at Cadence Design Systems who also is the chair of the National Defense Industrial Association’s Science and Engineering Technology Division, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss how DoD can better harness commercial innovation for military needs, the key to greater agility, making tradeoffs to field systems at the speed of relevance at affordable cost, impact of microelectronics investment and where else the government needs to invest to bolster US industrial capacity, and whether efforts to throttle adversary nations like China can succeed.