Defense & Aerospace Report

Military aircraft aren’t just for superpowers anymore. An increasing number of less traditional countries are beginning to make big inroads in the global market. Our friend Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, tells us all about it. Plus the week’s headlines in airpower. Powered by GE Aerospace!

On today’s Land Warfare Series program, sponsored American Rheinmetall, Tim Cahill, the president of Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss accelerating and increasing production of top priority air defense weapons like the PAC-3 missile; how the company is working with the government to pare back unnecessary requirements and specifications or redesign and substitute components to speed or simply production; investing in the supply chain and navigating bottlenecks; pooling procurement of key materials across Lockheed Martin to benefit from better economies of purchasing scale; and what happens if projected spending on new weaponry fails to materialize. Our coverage of AUSA is sponsored by Lockheed Martin.

On today’s Technology Report, sponsored by Clarion Defence, joining Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian from Apex Europe 2026 are Bryan Grubert, the chief growth officer at optical and laser systems company Attalon; Karl Hearne, the business development manager at sovereign UK unmanned aircraft-maker Drone Evolution; and Henry Price, founder and CEO of startup British missile-maker Cody Aerospace. To learn more about attendance and sponsorship opportunities visit http://APEXdefense.org

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 implications of President Trump’s steady efforts to normalize relations with Russia including the recent deal with Vladimir Putin to acquire 4 million tons of diesel fuel to reduce costs increased by the Iran war; the ongoing Iran war; major Pentagon deals including the US Navy’s contract with RTX for Standard Missile-6 weapons and the subcontractor to Boeing to triple production of seeks for Lockheed Martin’s PAC-3 missile; the US Air Force and Defense Innovation Unit’s decision to award contracts to several competitors in the service’s Massed Modular Aiorcraft competition for a lower cost replacement for the Reaper aircraft; the Navy’s contract with Anduril for submarine parts; expectations as companies prepare to release third quarter earnings; and a look at the week ahead and 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 new all time high for Wall Street; weeks after signing tougher sanctions on Moscow, President Trump partners with Vladimir Putin to reduce oil prices before the November election by buying 4 million tons of Russian diesel; whether the effort will succeed to cut oil prices as it bolster’s Russia’s war coffers against Ukraine; the administration’s warning to Kyiv against striking Russia even as Moscow escalates attacks on Ukrainian civilians; British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s agreement to enhance military and economic cooperation between the countries that could extend to the Global Combat Air Program; the US Air Force’s abrupt withdrawal of US bombers from Britain over concerns of Iranian attack; analysis of US Navy’s $24.4 billion award to Raytheon for Standard Missile-6 production, the $14.7 billion award to Boeing to triple production of seekers for Lockheed Martin’s PAC-3 MSE or Missile Segment Enhancement, and the US Navy’s $6.6 billion contract to Anduril for nuclear submarine parts; the Air Force and Defense Innovation Unit tap seven competitors for the service’s Massed Modular Aircraft effort to succeed the Reaper, including Anduril, Chaos Industries, General Atomics, Grid Aero, Otto Aerospace, Shield AI and Swarm Aero; and Northrop Grumman’s YFQ-48A Talon Blue’s maiden autonomous flight.