Defense & Aerospace 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 Pentagon Russia chief Dr Evelyn Farkas of the McCain Institute at Arizona State University, 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 outlook for the Trump administration’s defense budget request as lawmakers return to DC to work on the National Defense Authorization Act, appropriations as current funding runs out Dec. 11, reconciliation and an Iran war supplemental as the next House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith of Washington says even $1.15 trillion is too much for defense; GOP rebuffs outgoing Kentucky Republican Tom Massie’s drive to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; President Trump’s envoys work with Vladimir Putin to deliver the new European security architecture the Russian leader as long sought as US, Ukraine and Russia talks in Abu Dhabi fail as Moscow maintains its maximalist demands on Ukrainian territory it doesn’t even control; as Jared Kushner and Steve Witkof arrive in Moscow after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin, Washington again downgrades StarLink service to hobble Ukraine; how a Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill will shape the administration’s war on Iran and pro-Russia Ukraine policy; Trump says he won’t go back to war with Iran but maintain the status quo to keep oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz; continuing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia; Gadi Eisenkot works to form a new Israeli government; Xi Jinping prepares to convene the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Shenzhen where he will host Trump and Putin; the Association of Southeast Asian Nations prepares to meet in Manila; Xi reiterates China’s need to unify with Taiwan; and reverberations from NVIDIA’s decision to fire its founder and CEO Jensen Huang for inappropriate relationships including with a Chinese spy, Alison Huang, and concerns the man who was a top China adviser to Trump may also have skirted US export controls to send advanced chips to the Singapore company owned by Beijing’s agent, Alison Huang, that then passed the chips to China.

The U.S. Air Force has announced a new force structure plan to carry it into the future. We get the strategist’s view from former Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy Lieutenant General Clint “Q” Hinote. (He speaks his mind; wait until you hear what he has to say about 5th generation aircraft and the best use for a B-21.) Plus the week’s headlines in airpower. Powered by GE!

DEFAERO Strategy Series [Nov 10, 26] CNA’s Bendett & Carnegie’s Rumer on Ukraine War, Peace Talks & Drone Warfare by Defense & Aerospace Report, sponsored by Bell

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 Democrat’s return to power in the House and Senate, and what that means for the Trump administration’s ambitious $1.5 trillion defense spending request and Iran war supplemental; whether the change in Washington will prompt governments worldwide to back away from efforts to develop “sovereign” weapons without US components; possible implications for US allies as Xi Jinping prepares to host a meeting with President Trump and Vladimir Putin to work together to end the Ukraine and Iran wars; and a look ahead to the 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 brutal week on Wall Street on AI worries; Democrats win a historic electoral landslide in the House and Senate, changing Washington’s domestic and foreign policy dynamic through the end of President Trump’s administration; outlook for defense spending as lawmakers return to DC after the election; how allies and partners see the election outcome; reports that the president’s envoys struck a deal with Vladimir Putin on European security that will be unveiled at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen where Trump and Putin will reportedly unveil the new initiative that appears not to have been negotiated in concern with European leaders; ShieldAI’s $5.3 billion deal to acquire radar-maker Echodyne; Embraer’s sale of three KC-390 tanker-transport aircraft to Greece as a piggyback on Portugal’s six-jet buy; Sierra Nevada joined Boeing and Lockheed Martin to withdraw from the US Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System competition to replace the T-45 Goshawk, leaving only Textron and Leonardo as the only bidder with the twin-engine M346 aircraft; the US Air Force’s nearly $700 million contract to Lockheed Martin for the AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon; and the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to retire floppy disks from the nation’s air traffic control system by 2028.