Defense & Aerospace Report

Defense & Aerospace Report, sponsored by Bell

Welcome to the Defense and Aerospace Report podcast, our weekly podcast on the global defense and aerospace business sponsored by Bell, and hosted by Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. Each week, we’ll bring you interviews with industry leaders and the business’ best analysts to put events in context, identify trends and keep an eye on what’s next in a fast-moving world. Defense & Aerospace Report is your global source for national security and aerospace news, thought leadership and analysis, founded and edited by Vago Muradian.

  1. 4 HR AGO

    Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast [May 25, ’26 Business 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 Agency Partners, and Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic advisory consultancy join host Vago Muradian to discuss a roaring Wall Street despite rising inflation and worries about higher interest rates; energy prices drop as Washington and Tehran again are on the verge of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as nations led by Britain and France prepare to participation in an international mission to help reopen the critical waterway; the prospect of ongoing operations prompts the US Air Force to cancel the RAF Benevolent Fund’s annual Royal International Air Tattoo, the weekend before the Farnborough International Airshow in July; after President Trump’s visit to Beijing, China said it would order 200 Boeing jetliners and GE Aerospace engines; GOP senators rebel over Trump’s $1.8 billion fund to compensate allies and $1 billion White House ballroom, blocking a reconciliation package to bolster Pentagon spending; after cutting 5,000 US troops from Germany and canceling the rotational deployment of 4,000 soldiers to Poland, Trump says 5,000 American troops will be permanently based in Poland to reward right-wing President Karol Nawrocki as Washington reconsiders capabilities it will make available to NATO; Sweden picks Naval Group’s Amiral Rona’ch-class FDI frigate over Babcock’s Type 31 for four-ship, $4 billion contract; mounting pressure for British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to resign; Airbus production delays as a French court holds the company and Air France accountable for a 2009 crash that killed 228; and a Seattle jury found Boeing not guilty of wrongdoing in a suit brought by Poland’s LOT airlines after the company’s 737 Max jetliners were grounded in the wake of two deadly crashes that killed 346.

    59 min
  2. 3 DAYS AGO

    Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast [May 22, ’26 Washington Roundtable]

    On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored by L3Harris, 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 outlook for reconciliation as Senate GOP lawmakers rebelled against President Trump’s $1.8 billion fund to compensate allies prosecuted for their actions and $1 billion to pay for a new White House ballroom after the president backed Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn in Texas and Sen. Bill Cassidy lost his Louisiana primary in Louisiana; prospect of a deal between Washington and Tehran as Iran continues efforts to formalize its control over the Strait of Hormuz; Vladimir Putin’s escalating provocations against the Baltics as Washington reconsiders its obligations to NATO and shifts troops in Europe; reverberations of Trump’s summit with Xi Jinping as the Chinese leader hosted Putin; Washington’s move to shift more operational control to South Korea as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Taikichi hold a landmark meeting; Seoul and New Delhi strike a security agreement as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Rome to ink another security deal; and Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would evict Palestinian Bedouins from a West Bank village in retaliation for an ICC warrant seeking his arrest.

    1hr 11min
  3. 15 MAY

    Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast [May 15, ’26 Washington Roundtable]

    On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored by L3Harris, 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 Congress and the Trump administration’s $1.15 trillion defense budget request, Reconciliation 2.0 as well as a new 3.0 version; lawmaker reaction to Pentagon’s claim the Iran war has cost $29 billion; update on talks to end the US-Israel war on Iran as the CIA estimates Tehran has reconstituted much of its capabilities as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed except to shipping Iran allows; news reports that Emirati and Saudi aircraft participated in operations against Iran as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited the UAE where Israeli air defenses troops are stationed; Saudi Arabia proposes a nonaggression pact with Iran; in the first of four planned summits, President Trump flatters Xi Jinping but the Chinese leader warns of Taiwan as a flashpoint in the relationship that could lead to conflict as American eagerness for more business for US firms fails to land deals; Vladimir Putin suggests his Ukraine war is coming to an end even as he continues to bombard the country and Kyiv disrupts Moscow’s Victory Day commemorations; bipartisan lawmakers force a vote on Ukraine aid as the administration continues to punish Europe for not supporting the Iran war by abruptly canceling a planned nine-month deployment to Poland of 4,000 troops from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division, some of whom had already arrived in the country to help deter Russian aggression; and an update on redistricting and their impact on November’s elections.

    1hr 5min

About

Welcome to the Defense and Aerospace Report podcast, our weekly podcast on the global defense and aerospace business sponsored by Bell, and hosted by Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. Each week, we’ll bring you interviews with industry leaders and the business’ best analysts to put events in context, identify trends and keep an eye on what’s next in a fast-moving world. Defense & Aerospace Report is your global source for national security and aerospace news, thought leadership and analysis, founded and edited by Vago Muradian.

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