Lt. Gen. Christian Badia, German Air Force, the director general for planning at Germany’s defense ministry, discusses Berlin’s military spending increases, improving standardization to rapidly improve European capabilities, deterring Russia, and changing culture with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the Atlantic Council think tank’s Washington headquarters.
Michael Chertoff, the former secretary of homeland security who is now the executive chairman of the Chertoff Group consultancy and co-chair of the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity discusses how to counter Russian disinformation and election meddling against the United States and its allies with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the Center for Strategic and International Studies after Chertof adressed a conference marking the launch of a new report, “Russia’s Attacks on Democratic Justice Systems,” by Suzanne Spaulding, Devi Nair and Arthur Nelson. Chertoff and former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen — the co-founders of the transatlantic election integrity commission — drafted a commentary that was posted on CNN’s website on April 30, 2019, asking candidates to pledge that they won’t accept help from malign foreign powers.
Gen. James Jones, USMC Ret., executive chairman emeritus of the Atlantic Council and former national security adviser, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander and US Marine Corps commandant, discusses the importance of winning the 5G technology competition with China, engaging allies and tensions with Turkey with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the think tank’s annual International Conference on Cyber Engagement at George Washington University.
Andrei Sannikov, chairman of the European Belarus Foundation, discusses Russia’s interference in the country’s affairs, countering Moscow and the role of the West in promoting freedom in former Soviet republics with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted after a luncheon discussion on Capitol Hill sponsored by the Free Russia Foundation.
Brig. Gen. Jean Bouillaud, French Army, the commander of the French Army’s Aviation School, discusses strategy, operational lessons, emerging threats and modernization with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the Army Aviation Association of America’s 2019 conference and tradeshow in Nashville, Tenn., where our coverage was sponsored by Bell and Leonardo DRS.
Luke Savoie, president of L3 Technologies Surveillance and Strike Systems, discusses the company’s partnership with AVX and the merits of the aircraft the two have developed to pursue the US Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program, otherwise known as the Capability Set 1 of the service’s Future Vertical Lift effort with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual conference and tradeshow in Nashville, Tenn., where our coverage was sponsored by Bell and Leonardo DRS.
Keith Flail, the vice president for advanced vertical lift systems at Bell, a Textron company, discusses development of the V-280 Valor tiltrotor demonstrator and the US Army’s requirements for the Capability Set 3 of the Future Vertical Lift program with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the Army Aviation Association of America’s 2019 conference and tradeshow in Nashville, Tenn., where our coverage was sponsored by Bell and Leonardo DRS.
Heidi Hardt, PhD, assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Irvine, discusses her new book — “NATO’s Lessons in Crisis: Institutional Memory in International Organizations” — and how large institutions remember lessons learned with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.
Janne Kuusela, the policy director at Finland’s defense ministry, discusses closer cooperation with Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Norway, understanding Russia, countering disinformation, better cyber security and the country’s competition for a new fighter aircraft with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview, conducted at the residence of Sweden’s ambassador to the United States, followed an Atlantic Council event in Washington marking 10th anniversary of the Nordic Defense Cooperation agreement to improve collaboration among Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Col. Randy Rotte, US Army Ret., the director of global sales and marketing for cargo helicopters and future vertical lift at Boeing Defense, Space & Security, discusses the first flight of the Defiant aircraft developed cooperatively by the company and Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, the attributes of the co-axial, compound design and suitability for the US Army’s Capability Set 1, and the service’s decision to cut funding for the Block II version of the CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopter with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the Army Aviation Association of America’s 2019 conference and trade show in Nashville, Tenn., where our coverage was sponsored by Bell and Leonardo DRS.