Defense & Aerospace Business Report

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 the Trump administration’s $1.15 trillion 2027 defense budget request and opposition from veteran Republican lawmakers to funding key programs like the Golden Dome missile defense project through reconciliation as a GOP civil war erupts over reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, complicating efforts to fund the Department of Homeland Security; President Trump — citing a request from Pakistan — again extended the ceasefire with Iran to negotiate a deal as both US and Iranian forces seize ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and announced a three-week ceasefire e

Army Aviation just came away from its biggest conference of the year, but does the new budget give them reason to celebrate? Army aviation legend retired Major General Jeff Schloesser looks at that plus operations, MV-75 updates, and lots more. And the week’s headlines, including a deep dive on the FY27 airpower budget. Powered by GE Aerospace!

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomic Aeronautical Systems, Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the defense and security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the new report he co-authored with his research associate Chris Park — “Last Rounds? Status of Key Munitions at the Iran War Ceasefire;” whether low US inventories will weaken deterrence and warfighting capacity especially in the Indo-Pacific; the Trump administration’s 2027 defense budget request; how long it will take to replenish depleted stocks of precision air defense as well as strike weapons; the kind of weapons America needs; and the role of allies and partners in increasing production capacity.

Todd Harrison of the American Enterprise Institute joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to preview the Trump administration’s $1.15 trillion 2027 defense budget request; what will be included in the Reconciliation 2.0 measure that will boost 2027 military spending to $1.5 trillion; what would be included in a supplemental funding measure for Iran war costs; and analysis of Navy, Air Force and Army department budgets.

On today’s Look Ahead program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss what’s next as both Tehran and Washington test the ceasefire adopted last week that paused the US-Israel war on Iran; whether higher government spending to offset higher energy and other societal costs in the wake of the conflict will reduce resources for defense; what to expect as the Trump administration prepares to submit its 2027 defense spending request to Congress; thoughts on drone and counter-drone warfare; tradeoffs nations are making among drones, novel capabilities and legacy systems; what to expect at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space conference and tradeshow next week; and a look at the week ahead in Washington and beyond.

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 record week on Wall Street as stocks soared and energy prices plunged after Iran said it would open the Strait of Hormuz, but prices increased sharply over the weekend announced the closure of the strait to protest Washington’s blockade despite a ceasefire agreement; President Trump’s threat to resume strikes unless a deal is reached; impact of jet fuel prices on air carriers cut flights; implications of a merger between United and American air lines and whether regulators would approve the creation of the world’s largest air carrier that would also control half of domestic air travel; takeaways from the National Space Symposium; look ahead to the administration’s 2027 defense budget submission to Congress on Wednesday; Peter Magyar’s election as Hungary’s next prime minister;

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 the prospect of a deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran that would curb its nuclear ambitions that was facilitated by a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon after talks in Washington; whether a resumption of hostilities in South Lebanon will trigger a response from Iran; impact of Iranian statement that the Strait of Hormuz will be open through the current ceasefire; efforts by lawmakers to curb Trump’s war powers as well as renew FISA; Britain and France’s maritime coalition meeting in Paris; Xi Jinping’s criticism that the world can’t afford to revert to the law o

The US/Israeli action against Iran has gained attention for its use of advanced offensive weapons and platforms. But defenses have also been busy, and burning through munitions at a brisk rate. Dr. Tom Karako, Director of the Air and Missile Defense program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins us to dive deep on defenses. Plus the week’s airpower headlines. Powered by GE Aerospace!

Cavas Ships co-hosts Chris Cavas and Chris Servello join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss what they expect to hear from US Navy leaders at the Sea-Air-Space conference and tradeshow next week. Cavas Ships will produce daily content and our coverage is sponsored by RTX.

On today’s Technology Report program, Dr. Jim Lewis of the Center for European Policy Analysis and Mark Montgomery of the Defense of Democracies and a Cyberspace Solarium Commission senior adviser join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss Iran’s cyber operations against the United States; how personnel and budget cuts to the government cyber workforce and a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security make it harder to defend against attack; how Iranian capabilities compare to those of Russia and China, and why they don’t collaborate; how Anthropic’s Mythos and Palantir’s Maven are changing US military operations; the US government’s push to blacklist Anthropic and President Trump’s pro-Palantir tweet; what to expect from the administration’s upcoming cyber budget request; what it will take to implement the president’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz; and whether high operational tempo and depleting weapons stocks will undermine US deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.

On today’s Look Ahead program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners and Cavas Ships Podcast co-host Chris Servello join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the planned US Navy blockade of the Strait of Hormuz; what’s next in the US-Israel war on Iran; how the focus of US capabilities in the Middle East will impact America’s ability to deter conflict in the Indo-Pacific; what’s next for the conflict; outlook for the Iran war supplemental the Trump administration will seek; expectations as companies prepare to report earnings; and a look at the week ahead in Washington and beyond.

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 another up week on Wall Street after President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire in the US-Israel war on Iran and how the president’s Sunday announcement after US-Iran talks failed that America would blockade the Strait of Hormuz will impact energy markets and commercial transport; the administration’s stance — right after the ceasefire — that it would reduce its supplemental request from 240 billion to $100 billion; Trump’s renewed criticism of NATO during a meeting with Secretary General Mark Rutte; France’s decision to withdraw the last 129 tons of gold from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as part of an 18-month strategy to reduce reliance on the dollar; Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s decision

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored by L3Harris, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Cavas Ships podcast cohost Chris Servello, and 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 the two-week Pakistan-brokered ceasefire to allow for negotiations to end the US-Israel war on Iran; what’s at stake as Vice President JD Vance leads a Us delegation to Islamabad for direct talks with Iran; US and European pressure on Israel over its Lebanon strategy; NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s Oval Office meeting as President Trump continued to criticize the alliance; Vladimir Putin’s proposed Ukraine ceasefire for the duration of the Orthodox Easter; Vance’s rush to Budapest to boost the election prospects of Hungarian President Viktor Orban who’s lagging in the polls be

With all the airpower involved in Iran, we haven’t heard a lot about Naval air.  Vice Admiral John “Fozzie” Miller, former commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and U.S. Fifth Fleet, brings us up to date on naval action in Epic Fury and Naval aviation’s future. Plus a busy week’s headlines in airpower. Powered by GE Aerospace!

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomic Aeronautical Systems, John Gutierrez, a retired United States Marine Corps colonel who is now the executive director of the Michigan Office of Defense and Aerospace Innovation, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the new bipartisan five-year plan to position Michigan as the arsenal of democracy for the 21st century that was unveiled by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer during the Munich Security Conference in February.

On today’s Look Ahead 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 next phase in the US-Israel war on Iran as President Trump threatens to devastate the country’s power plants and bridges unless Tehran opens the Strait of Hormuz; the questions the war raises for the defense ecosystem; defense and aerospace stock performance in the wake of the conflict; the administration’s $1.5 budget request — $1.15 billion for the base budget and the rest through “Reconciliation 2.0” — plus an upcoming request for another $240 billion to cover war costs; and a look ahead to the major events of the coming week in Washington and beyond.

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 up week on Wall Street as President Trump says the US-Israel war on Iran will span another few weeks with power plants and bridges to be targeted over the coming days unless Tehran opens the Strait of Hormuz; impact of rising energy and aluminum prices on commercial air travel and jetliner demand as projected capacity drops from an increase of 5.4 percent to .2 percent; nations worldwide convene diplomatic and military leaders to plan a mission to restore traffic through the strait after the shooting stops; the Trump administration seeks $1.5 billion for defense in 2027 — $1.15 billion in the base budget and the remainder from Reconciliation 2.0 — plus another $200 billion to cover war costs; analysis of “skinny

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, and former DoD Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian discuss President Trump’s stance that the US-Israel war on Iran would continue another two to three weeks irrespective of a peace deal with Iran and will leave it other nations to restore traffic through the Strait of Hormuz; statements by the president and Secretary of State Marco Rubio that America would reconsider its membership in NATO after alliance members declined to participate in a Hormuz mission until after the shooting stops; views of Trump’s Wednesday address from Europe and the Indo-Pacific that sent energy prices soaring and markets falling; Britain convenes 40 nations to discuss “joint action” to reopen the strait that included Canada, France, Germany, India, and the United Arab Emirates; Trump

One of the world’s top airpower observers, Doug Barrie of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, has a new report out on UAVs. We also talk Russia, Iran, the future of NATO, and the best new whiskeys. Truly one to savor all the way through! Powered by GE Aerospace.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomic Aeronautical Systems, Sam Bendett of the Center for Naval Analyses and Dr. Eugene Rumer, the director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the latest on Russia’s war on Ukraine; the impact of higher energy prices on Moscow’s coffers; how Kyiv has turned the tables on Moscow and is now killing more Russian soldiers than are being recruited and trained; Ukrainian capabilities to counter drones that are being ordered by Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE; whether the income from these sales, reported to be in the billions of dollars, are sufficient to bolster Ukraine as it waits for another 90 billion euro loan from European nations that are being stalled by Hungary; President Trump’s threat to reconsider US membership in NATO after alliance members balked at deploying ships and personnel to restore traffic through the Strai