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. 6h ago

    Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast [Sep 20, ’26 Business Report]

    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 to discuss an up week on Wall Street as the Iran war continues and Tehran-backed Houthi rebels move on Yemen’s oil-rich Marib province and strike Saudi energy facilities; President Trump declines a request from Riyadh for help, but approves the sale of F-35 Lighting II fighters despite concerns from US intelligence that the stealth jet’s technology could leak to China; implications of the EU’s offer of associate membership for Canada that Trump has said could be a “hostile act,” threatening to block trade with Europe; the Swedish government awarded Saab a $400 million contract to develop next-generation combat aircraft technologies; US Air Force leaders seek 500 Collaborative Combat Aircraft and another 500 Massed Modular Aircraft — envisioned as cheaper version of the MQ-9 Reaper — as well as new F-16 Fighting Falcon jets to fill out the service’s aging force structure; startup hypersonic aircraft maker Hermeus’ deal with Pratt & Whitney to build the jet maker’s F100 engines under license; Lockheed said that 22 days after signing a contract with General Motors for PAC-3 missile parts, the car maker started delivering the “mission critical” components; Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg’s statement that the ramp up 737 and 787 jet production would take longer than expected even as he expected certification of the Max 10 airliner to be secured soon; GE Aerospace’s confidence that mid-engine seal issues with its GE9X — the most powerful commercial aviation powerplant ever built — won’t delay Boeing’s 777X from entering service; and IndiGo’s Willie Walsh plan to build bigger fleet and turn New Delhi into an Asia gateway.

  2. 2d ago

    Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast [Sep 18, ’26 Washington Roundtable]

    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 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 reconciliation being punted to the lame duck session as work on appropriations and the National Defense Authorization Act conference accelerate; new Russia sanctions head to the White House for President Trump’s signature as the Pentagon reportedly prepares to withdraw tens of thousands of US troops from NATO; US and Iranian forces trade fire as the Pentagon says war costs top $33 billion; with control of the Bab al Mandab, Tehran-backed Houthi rebels advance on oil-rich Marib province and strike Saudi oil facilities as Trump rebuffed Saudi calls for help, striking his own deal with the Houthis for safe passage of US and Israeli ships; China’s effort to avoid the Bab al Mandab and Suez Canal by sailing the first commercial ship via a northern route from China to Europe via the Russian Arctic Coast; Trump approves F-35 fighters for Saudi Arabia despite intelligence community concerns the stealth jet’s technology could leak to China; Gulf states question US reliability as American forces pull back from regional bases meant to deter Iranian attack; Washington’s approval of a $2.8 billion in arms package for Israel including 2,000-pound bombs blocked by the Biden administration as the White House again blocks a visa for Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to visit the UN; as Washington woos Russia to peace in Ukraine with lucrative deals, Moscow ramps up attacks on Europe, with one of its warships firing flares at a Danish helicopter, Dutch rail lines sabotaged and a second Bulgarian ammunition depot since August that caught fire and exploded; Finland becomes the 10th nation to joins France’s nuclear deterrence initiative; as the US-Canada trade war continues, Prime Minister Mark Carney sought a trillion dollars in investment and the European Union offered the country associate member status that Trump said could be “a hostile act” and threatened to block trade with Europe; speculation about Xi Jinping’s health; South Korean President Lee Jae Myung rules out combat forces for the Gulf; and former Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl dies at age 84.

  3. Sep 13

    Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast [Sep 07, ’26 Business Report]

    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 to discuss a down week on Wall Street on energy worries as US and Iranian forces trade fire and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis rebels exert control over the Bab al-Mandab strike Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities; the US-Canada trade war as Ottawa seeks to attract $1 trillion in investment, positioning the country as a trade safe haven against President Trump’s volatility as it also seeks associate EU membership; Washington’s drive to resume trade ties with Russia even as Moscow continues to provoke Europe as the second Bulgarian arms depot catches fire and explodes since August and Reuters reported a US, UK and Norwegian operation in April interrupted — in real time — a Russian test of a new undersea system to disrupt seabed infrastructure near Norway’s Svalbard archipelago; France’s turn toward United Arab Emirates as a military partner on new weapons including the F5 version of Dassault’s Rafale fighter as Finance Minister Roland Lescure warned geopolitical risks including higher energy prices in the wake of the Iran war and bond market turmoil will drive up France’s debt servicing costs by 25 percent to 65 billion euros a year, squeezing everything from social to defense spending; Boeing and its engineers’ union send a tentative four-year agreement that would raise wages to 17,000 members for a vote as the current contract expires on Oct. 6; GE Aerospace’s proposed $11.5 billion acquisition of Consolidated Precision Products that would bolster the giant’s in-house capabilities as primes and suppliers work to bolster supply chains to meet surging commercial and defense demand; and reflections as America and the world commemorate the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000.

  4. Sep 11

    Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast [Sep 11, ’26 Washington Roundtable]

    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 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 where defense legislation stands as both the House and Senate adjourn and November elections loom; President Trump’s promise that voters receive $5,000 payments if GOP retains House and Senate; US and Iran continue to exchange fire as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis take the strategic ports from which to better control the Bab al Mandeb, striking a Saudi Aramco refinery in Jizan sending oil prices soaring; Ha’aretz report that the UAE warned Israel about the Hamas attack as Israeli forces destroyed Hezbollah’s underground facilities in South Lebanon; decision by a dozen nations to sanction trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank; Washington’s continuing efforts to broker Ukraine peace deal while seeking to normalize relations with Moscow even as Russia continues to wage hybrid operations against NATO including an April test of a system to attack European undersea infrastructure that was thwarted by UK, Norwegian and US forces; Canada and Germany step up to help Ukraine with air defense weapons; analysis of AfD’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt elections; the new bridge between Russia and North Korea; the Philippine defense minister’s viral video pushing back on China’s South China Sea provocations; big decisions for the US-South Korea alliance; what to expect from the BRICS summit this weekend in New Dehli; and lessons as America commemorates the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks that killed some 3,000 that changed global security as well as American politics.

4
out of 5
144 Ratings

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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