Defense & Aerospace Business Report

On this episode of the Defense & Aerospace Report Strategy Series, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a commissioner on the bi-partisan, bi-cameral National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the commission’s final report released last week, “Charting the Future of Biotechnology.”

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Chris Servello, co-host of our Cavas Ships podcast, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss takeaways from the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space conference and tradeshow last week; and Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners discusses the continuing defense and aerospace implications of President Trump’s pause on sweeping tariffs for 90 days as he ratcheted up taxes on Chinese goods; Beijing’s retaliation that includes restricting rare earth elements and permanent magnets; executive orders on US export control reform, a maritime strategy and acquisition and program reforms; 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, Sash Tusa of the independent equity research firm Agency Partners, and Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic advisory consultancy join host Vago Muradian to discuss a roller coaster week for world markets as a selloff in US bonds prompted President Trump to pause for 90 days the tariffs he imposed last week; the 10 percent across the board tariffs as well as a 25 percent surcharge on steel and aluminum the president retained; China tariffs of about 150 percent and Beijing retaliation; the bond sell off as yields rose from 3.9 to 4.5 percent and what that means as Congress prepares to borrow more money as lawmakers seek to raise America’s borrowing to cover a massive tax cut package; Delta rescinded its guidance in the fact of uncertainty; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s decision to cancel $5 billion in services contracts; the outlook for US services firms as the government

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 Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend now with 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 crash in worldwide markets and the US bond market in the wake of President Trump’s tariffs; how an unprecedented US bond selloff and spike in US borrowing rates drove the president to freeze tariffs for 90 days, but raise tariffs on China and demand Beijing call him to make a deal; instead, China retaliated by imposing tariffs on American goods and blocking rare earth mineral exports, stressing they will win a trade war and any other kind of war with America; Republicans lawmakers are driving a $5 trillion tax cut package just as US borrowing rates are going up; Defense Secretary Pete H

Where do airpower, charity, and bourbon intersect? Retired E-2 Hawkeye legend Rear Admiral Scott Sanders has the answer. And CSIS’s Dr. Tom Karako joins us with the latest on air and missile defense, especially Golden Dome. All powered by GE!

On this episode of the Defense & Aerospace Report Strategy Series, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Becca Wasser and Phil Sheers of the Center for a New American Security join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the new report they coauthored “From Production Lines to Front Lines: Revitalizing the U.S. Defense Industrial Base for Future Great Power Conflict.”

Scott Forney, the president of General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss how the electromagnetic catapults and advanced arresting gear developed and made for the first of the Ford class are being improved for subsequent ships; gauging the progress of Chinese efforts to field electromagnetic systems on their carriers; lessons from electromagnetic catapults and arresting gear that are improving other capabilities and products; the Long-Range Maneuvering Projectile; the partnership with RAFAEL to develop the Bullseye precision cruise missile that leverages of the Israeli company’s Icebreaker weapon; work the company is doing on fission power; role in the Trump administration’s “Giolden Dome” air and missile defense system; impact of Trump’s tariffs on performance and more.

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 global market reaction to President Trump’s sweeping tariffs that are being compared by economists as the largest abrupt tax hikes since the Vietnam war if not World War 2; how aerospace and defense stocks fared as the Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 10 percent of its value in two days driving markets to their worst day since 2020; despite a warning by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that nations not retaliate otherwise they would face higher tariffs, nations retaliated anyway including China that blocked rare earth exports to the United States; Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell dryly noted that tariffs risk higher inflation and lower economic growth; despite the loss of nearly $6 trillion in market value and da

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Nick Waite, a director at Clarion Defence producing the Apex Innovation Conference April 23-24, 2025, at the Gaylord National Harbor outside Washington, DC, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the upcoming event from agenda and speakers to a discount for listeners of our show; and Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners discusses the strategic and defense implications of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs including that China was not deterred from imposing sanctions of its own on the United States; whether foreign defense and aerospace firms will grow their US industrial footprint; the changing nature of manufacturing and why returning the industrial workforce to past levels is implausible; the outlook for US defense spending as the Senate proposes $100 billion in additional funding over the coming years; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s decision to skip the Ukraine Contact Group to attend Central Americ

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 Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend now with 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 tariffs on nations worldwide — driving markets to their worst day since 2020 — as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warns nations not to retaliate otherwise they will face higher tariffs; president’s decision to fire three National Security Council staffers and NSA Director Gen. Tim Haugh and his deputy at conservative activist Laura Loomer’s request; Republican lawmakers near reconciliation measure to cut cuts and government spending as well as give the Pentagon more money; House Speaker Mike Johnson weakens his own grip on power over whether lawmakers with young children

It’s been a huge couple of weeks in airpower, with more coming soon. Boeing’s win in the Next Generation Air Dominance program is the biggest story, but there are so many more that we’re catching you up this week with a full All Wings Considered episode; Vago and J.J. break down all the stories and try to make some sense out of them. All powered by GE!

Todd Harrison of the American Enterprise Institute joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the new budgeting tool developed by AEI and the Center for Strategic and International Studies to illustrate tradeoffs needed to achieve Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s demand that the military services redirect 8 percent of their annual spending to new priorities over the coming five years; partners on the initiative; whether defense spending will increase or whether the military services will have to make difficult tradeoffs; Hegseth’s demand that combatant commands and military services headquarters be streamlined; some ideas for Space Force headquarters consolidation that could be applied elsewhere; how to make thoughtful decisions in a zero sum budget environment; whether future efforts at reform will be harder to achieve if this administration’s drive for change fail; more thoughtful potential approaches to driving major change; and costs that might be imposed on the system by wholesale p

Jason Pak and Carl Poppe, the senior director and director of business development for land systems at Hanwha Defense USA who are both West Point graduates and retired US Army artillerymen, join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the recent conclusion of the US Army’s trails as the service seeks a new, more mobile self-propelled howitzer; nature of the test conducted by the five entrants; how the Ukraine war has changed now land forces will use artillery; role of unmanned air systems to better direct and coordinate fires as well as technologies that will increasingly automate future howitzers and resupply systems; attributes of the the K9 Thunder howitzer and its K10 resupply vehicle; ways to increase artillery round production; integrating new munitions like long-range projectiles and better ballistics computers into future systems; the merits of wheeled and tracked self-propelled howitzers and Hanwha’s drive to develop a wheeled offering; and whether tariffs, retirements and personne

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners and Chris Servello, the co-host of our Cavas Ships podcast joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to budget and fiscal prospects as the Congressional Budget Office warns America will run out of money by September if not far sooner — depending on tax receipts; how the Trump administration’s intelligence assessment that puts transnational criminal organizations and terrorist at the top of the threat list could shape defense spending; impact of tariffs and calls for tariff relief from farmers that are leading exporters as well as other businesses hurt by crackdown on immigration; whether higher US tariffs will spark the American economic and jobs renaissance that the administration hopes; how allies and partners perceive this Trump administration from the last one; takeaways from last week’s shipbuilding hearing and whether Boeing or Northrop Grumman will win the US Navy’s FA-XX ne

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 down week on investor concerns about inflation and declining consumer confidence putting the Standard and Poor’s 500 on track for its worst quarter since 2022; budget officials warn the US government will run out of money in August unless Congress raises the debt limit; a week after President Trump taps Boeing as the winner of the manned combat aircraft portion of the US Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance program, House appropriators propose cutting funding for the new program, the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, and the B-21 Raider bomber; the Washington Post reports the Trump administration is preparing to cut the federal agencies by between 8 and 50 percent as the General Services Administr

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 Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend now with 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 an update on an appropriations measure and reconciliation package as US officials say America will run out of money in August; Maine Republican Sen Susan Collins sides with Democrats in arguing President Trump can’t pick and choose what to fund after Congress decides on appropriations; worried they might lose National Security Adviser Mike Waltz’s open congressional seat, GOP leaders have urged the White House to also rescind the nomination of New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik as America’s next United Nations ambassador; Trump imposes a 25 percent tax on all cars imported into the Uni

On this month’s innovation conversation to highlight key topics in the countdown to the Apex technology and innovation conference this April in Washington, sponsored by Clarion Defence, Chris Servello, the cohost of the Cavas Ships podcast and Defense & Aerospace Report’s editorial strategist, joins editor Vago Muradian to discuss the Apex conference’s program; and Doug Jankovich, the executive vice president at QinetiQ who leads the company’s AUKUS efforts, discusses the role the British-American firm plans in the Australia-UK-UK partnership; updates progress on the two major focus areas of the initiative, Pillar I to furnish Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines and Pillar 2 that spans technological cooperation across cyber, AI, hypersonics, quantum computing; the key to moving fast to deliver capability including more easily moving key personnel among partner nations; the role of off-the-shelf and bespoke technologies; and the case for AUKUS as the Trump administration considers the future of th

The Secret History: The big news of the week, the month, and perhaps the decade so far is Boeing’s F-47. We get its backstory today with two men who made the program happen – former Air Force secretary Frank Kendall and former Air Force acquisition executive Andrew Hunter. How does NGAD differ from F-22? What were the higher budget priorities that led to the NGAD pause? Was Boeing’s win winner-take-all? (No!) And lots more. Plus other airpower headlines. All powered by GE!

On this Land Warfare episode, sponsored by American Rheinmetall, Dr Harlan Ullman, a retired US Navy captain, strategist and chairman of the Killowen Group consultancy, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the commentary he cowrote with General the Lord David Richards, Britain’s former chief of defense staff — “Porcupine for Putin: How Europe Can Defend Itself Against Russia” that appeared in The Telegraph — why a porcupine strategy; the four chokepoints that need to be defended to thwart a Russian invasion; Europe’s window of action before Russia rearms; the capabilities needed to deter Moscow; drawing lessons from Ukraine; prioritizing unmanned capabilities that can be developed quickly and fielded in volume; the long-range strike weaponry; the importance of abundant war stocks; and the the role of British and French heavy units as a reserve force.

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 discuss the implications that US tax revenue might drop by 10 percent or $500 billion this year in the wake of job cuts at the Internal Revenue Service; the difference between the absence of war and peace as US officials continue to negotiate an end of the Ukraine war; while US officials take Vladimir Putin at his word that he doesn’t want to take “all” of Europe, European nations move rapidly to bolster their sovereign capabilities; investment across Asia as nations worry they will be next to be abandoned by the United States was Washington pursues a “grand Bargain” with China; Hanwha sells stock and buys a nearly 10 percent stake in Austal; the US Air Force’s decision to award the manned combat aircraft element of the Next Generation Air Dominance program to Boeing over Lockheed Martin; what the decision means for Lockheed Martin’s out