DEFAERO Strategy Series [Jun 25, 26] Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall

Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast [Jun 26, ’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 President Trump’s derailing of the budget process by refusing to sign a bipartisan housing affordability measure until lawmakers pass his SAVE Act that critics maintain is a voter suppression measure; prospects for Reconciliation 3.0 as lawmakers move to tie it to portions of the SAVE measure; House and Senate authorization and appropriations processes move ahead as the administration is expected to request $88 billion to cover Iran war costs; analysis of ongoing US-Iran negotiations — as well as direct contact between American military officials and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — as Tehran fired on a Singaporean tanker for using an unauthorized transit corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, shutting traffic as Iranian officials continue efforts to assert ownership of the key waterway; Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s efforts at the Gulf Cooperation Council to sell the deal to nervous allies as Saudi Arabia opened direct talks with Iran; Israel’s continuing operations fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon; NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s visit to Washington to pave the way for a smooth alliance summit 7-8 July in Ankara as the administration considers deep cuts in US capabilities available to NATO and fires Gen. Chris Donahue, the top US Army commander in Europe; Ukraine turns the tables on Russia and Crimea; China sails its newest aircraft carrier — the Fujian — through the Taiwan Strait and pressures US states and private American firms to cut ties with Taipei; US efforts to modernize alliances across Asia whether through new operational concepts or economic ties; South Korea’s investment in the United States and whether US lawmakers will allow the US Navy to buy foreign-made ships; Japan’s $2.3 trillion industrial plan; Kim Jong Un commission’s North Korea’s largest ever new destroyer on the 76th anniversary of north’s invasion of the south; and reflections as America celebrates its 250th birthday.

DEFAERO Strategy Series [Jun 25, 26] Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss his new book — “Lethal Autonomy: The Future of Warfare Whether We Like It or Not” — how the book differs from his earlier report on the future of war for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; how warfare across air, land, sea, space and cyber are changing; the culture change needed within the military services as change makes existing platforms obsolete; focusing more on the “survivability” problem, rather than “lethality”; role of humans on an increasingly autonomous battlefield; getting on the right side of the cost imposition curve; and how US forces would fare against China if they drained their precision strike and air defense weapons stocks against Iran.

Defense & Aerospace Air Power Podcast [Jun 24, 26] Season 4 E22 Airpower on the Mall

The National Air and Space Museum is celebrating its 50th birthday by revealing a massive makeover, with all but two of its renovated galleries open to the public starting next week. We had a sneak peek at the newest exhibits, and get a look at the Museum’s past present and future with its director, Christopher Browne. And we have the week’s airpower headlines. Powered by GE Aerospace!

Defense & Aerospace Technology Report [Jun 23, 26] Jim Lewis & Mark Montgomery

On today’s Technology Report program, Dr. Jim Lewis of the Center for European Policy Analysis and retired US Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a Cyberspace Solarium Commission senior adviser join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the implications of Senate Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Sen Mark Warner’s claim that Gen Josh Rudd, the director of the National Security Agency, told him that Anthropic’s Mythos AI model was able to breach “almost all’ classified systems in hours; how the administration should prepare a new era of cyber and data vulnerability in the wake of the debut of ever more powerful AI models; how soon before another model debuts that’s more powerful than Anthropic’s; gauging America’s lead over China’s AI capabilities; whether spending more is the only way to develop breakthrough AI products; and why AI isn’t just a financial bubble waiting to burst.

Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast [Jun 22, 2026] Look Ahead w/ Byron Callan

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 now that Washington and Tehran have agreed to a 60-day ceasefire; a look at the US defense budget outlook as House and Senate Armed Services Committees finish their version of the National Defense Authorization Act, House defense appropriators finish their mark, and lawmakers await an Iran war supplemental and ponder the fate of the $350 billion Reconciliation 3.0 for the Pentagon; defense stock valuation drivers; takeaways from the Eurosatory ground warfare exhibition and conference last week in Paris; role of increasingly sophisticated Ukrainian, Turkish, and South Korean firms in Europe’s rearmament; whether Washington’s export control reforms and calls for deeper cooperation will entice European nations alienated by the administration’s rhetoric; and a look at the week ahead in Washington and behind.