Defense & Aerospace Report Defense & Aerospace Report, sponsored by Bell

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of the American Defense International lobbying firm, 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 to discuss the House and Senate’s defense budget moves and whether House amendments will stymie progress, prospects for SASC Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker’s proposal to dramatically increase defense spending, appropriations update, controversial new members for the House Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron make a powerful case why the democracies must continue to battle autocracies on the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings as a week after his felony conviction Donald Trump and the GOP leadership vow retaliation against the legal system and the former president’s opponents, Biden issues an executive order that closes the border to asylum seekers, Ukraine uses US weapons to weaken Russia’s hold on Crimea, India’s Narendra Modi is reelected to a third term, but his Bharatiya Janata Party loses seats, rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and Israel increases the past of its Gaza operation in the face of rising civilian casualties and increasing international pressure as Bibi Netanyahu continues to cling to power.

This week, we look at today’s airpower and yesterday’s. Dr. Tom Karako of CSIS brings us current on air and missile defense in the Middle East, Ukraine, and elsewhere. And a new monument to an American airman you may not have heard of; Kevin Billings joins us with the story of London’s new Billy Fiske memorial. Plus airpower headlines. Powered by GE!

On this month’s innovation conversation to highlight key topics in the countdown to the Apex technology and innovation conference next January in Washington, sponsored by Clarion Defence, Bryan Clark, the director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute think tank, discusses his June 12 Apex event — The New Iron Triangle: Achieving Adaptability and Scale in Defense Acquisition — highlighting a new report on how to better deliver needed capabilities at scale, challenges with the venture capital approach to funding a new crop of innovative defense companies and the government’s role in shepherding the worthiest ones to success, role of profit policies and prospect that government contractors can make commercial returns, lessons from the US Air Force’s recent Collaborative Combat Aircraft awards, role of  modularity, open architectures and rejecting nationality requirements in crafting a truly allied industry capability to address equipment needs and more with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. To learn more about the Apex conference, sponsorship and attendance opportunities please visit apexevents.org

On this episode of the Defense & Aerospace Report Strategy Series, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Andy Hoehn, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy during the Bush administration who is now the senior vice president for research and analysis at the Rand think tank, and Thom Shanker, a former New York Times deputy Washington editor who is now the director of the Project for Media & National Security at George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, discuss their book — Age of Danger: Keeping America Safe in an Era of New Superpowers, New Weapons, and New Threats — with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners discusses defense industry stock valuations and factors that would change investor sentiment, the prospect that Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker’s proposed defense spending increase will become reality, the need for a broader national strategy to deter China and Russia, the role of more targeted economic warfare in the wake of the White House’s Daleep Singh’s comments last week at the Brookings Institution, more analysis if what former President Trump’s reelection might mean in 2025-2028 as well as impact his conviction on felony charges will mean for the election, what to expect from the upcoming Eurosatory land warfare exhibition in Paris and Berlin Air Show, and a look 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 discuss a down week on Wall Street after weeks of strong gains, Boeing submits a safety plan to Federal Aviation Administration that declines to clear higher 737 production rates as top executives says certification of its Max 7 and 10 jets remains delayed, US and European weapons production is trending up but many worry it’s not fast enough whether for artillery shells or air defense weapons, Washington allows Ukraine to use American weapons to strike units in Russia that are attacking Kharkiv as French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg argue member nations should let Kyiv use Western weapons strike legitimate targets, Pentagon Acquisition and Sustainment Under Secretary Dr Bill LaPlante says Northrop Grumman is on track to deliver the first 40 of some 100 B-21 Raider bombers on a fixed price basis of $550 million apiece in 2019 dollars, an analysis of recent Northrop losses and their impact on the company, and takeaways from the European Business Aviation and Exhibition in Geneva.