Paul Lemmo, the vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors, discusses the company's combat systems portfolio, heritage and future with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the Surface Navy Association's 2020 national symposium. We are an SNA media partner and our coverage was sponsored by GE Marine and Leonardo DRS.

Eric Stewart, the president of the US-Poland Business Council, discusses the key strategic and industrial relationship between Washington and Warsaw with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

Rear Adm. Gene Black, USN, the US Navy's director of surface warfare or N96, discusses the service's new Integrated Force Structure Assessment that plans to incorporate medium and large displacement unmanned vessels into its future fleet, the requirements for a new large surface combatant, new longer-range weapon for the fleet and better training for sailors with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2020 Surface Navy Association's national symposium where our coverage was sponsored by GE Marine and Leonardo DRS.

Gen. James McConville, US Army, the US Army chief of staff, discusses how his service is preparing for the future in an era of great power competition with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian on Jan. 14, 2020, at the Atlantic Council think tank’s Commanders Series, sponsored by Saab.

Fincantieri Marinette Marine plans a major upgrade and expansion of its shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin should it secure the prime contractor award for the US Navy’s FFG(X) frigate program, shipyard president Rick Hunt told reporters Jan. 8.  Several new facilities would be built at the yard to accommodate the frigates, Hunt said, including a major new assembly hall. The upgrades are needed to accommodate the frigates which, at about 7,400 tons, would be more than twice the size of the littoral combat ships (LCS) now in series production at Marinette.

Timed with the release of his Vector 6, we spoke to Acting Navy Secretary Tom Modly this week about his priorities, the Surface Navy Association's upcoming National Symposium, and the soon-to-be-released Integrated Force Structure Assessment. Catch the full 15-minute conversation on our Monday podcast.

Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones, the chairman of the UK Joint Intelligence Committee, discusses cyber threats and security with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2019 Halifax International Security Forum. Our coverage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS. Northrop Grumman sponsors our weekly Cyber Report and cyber coverage.

Slawomir Dębski, PhD, the director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs, discuses the new book he co-edited with Daniel Hamilton of Foreign Policy Institute, "Europe Whole and Free: Vision and Reality," with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2019 Halifax International Security Forum. Our coverage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS.

Darrell Bricker, PhD, the CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, discusses the latest global security poll unveiled at the opening of the 2019 Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada, with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. Our coverage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS.

The steady drizzle and grey skies did not dampen the spirits of hundreds of sailors and family members as the guided-missile cruiser Leyte Gulf found its way back to Naval Station Norfolk Jan. 4, after 283 days away from home. The ship left Norfolk with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group on March 27.

Jaime Morin, PhD, the vice president for defense systems operations at the Aerospace Corp., and Bill LaPlante, PhD, the senior vice president and general manager for MITRE’s National Security Sector, discuss how to ensure that a new Space Force is correctly established with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2019 West Coast Aerospace Forum. The event was organized by Aerospace Corp, MITRE, the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Our coverage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS.

Brig. Gen. Dave Kumashiro, USAF, the director of joint force integration at US Air Force headquarters, discusses efforts to improve joint multi-domain command and control with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the West Coast Aerospace Forum at the Rand think tank in Santa Monica, Calif. The event is sponsored by Rand, Mitre, Aerospace Corp., the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Our overage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS.

Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley, US Army, the deputy commanding general and director of the Futures and Concepts Center at of US Army Futures Command, and Rear Adm. John "Oscar" Meier, USN, the commander of the US Navy Warfare Development Command, discuss efforts to improve joint multi-domain command and control with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the West Coast Aerospace Forum at the Rand think tank in Santa Monica, Calif. The event is sponsored by Rand, Mitre, Aerospace Corp., the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Our overage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS.

Eliot Cohen, PhD, the dean of Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies, discusses US strategy, civil-military relations and his upcoming book on military lessons from William Shakespeare's work with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2019 Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada. Our coverage is sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS.

Mike Coulter, the senior vice president for business development at Leonardo DRS, discusses the company's integrated shipboard power and unmanned capabilities as the US Navy seeks more electrical power on its warships for new weapons and a new generation of large and medium displacement unmanned vehicles with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the Surface Navy Association's 2020 national symposium. We are an SNA media partner and our coverage was sponsored by GE Marine and Leonardo DRS.

Stacie Pettyjohn, PhD, the director of the strategy and doctrine program at RAND Project Air Force, discusses contentious negotiations between Washington and Seoul and Tokyo on new basing agreements with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. Our coverage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS. Pettyjohn and RAND Senior Political Scientist Becca Wasser co-authored with “Competing in the Grey Zone: Russian Tactics and Western Responses.”

Stacie Pettyjohn, PhD, the director of the strategy and doctrine program at RAND Project Air Force, discusses her the report she co-authored with RAND Senior Political Scientist Becca Wasser "Competing in the Grey Zone: Russian Tactics and Western Responses" with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. Our coverage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS.

Alan Pellegrini, the CEO of Thales North America, discusses how the company is meeting the US Defense Department's new cyber security standards and artificial intelligence market growth with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2019 Reagan National Defense Forum where our coverage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS. Northrop Grumman sponsors our weekly Cyber Report and our cyber coverage.

Mikhail Kasyanov, Russia's former prime minister who is now the leader of the People's Freedom Party, discusses the outlook for democracy in Russia in the wake of demonstrations across the nation with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2019 Halifax International Security Forum where our coverage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS.

Josef Joffe, PhD, the editor of Die Zeit and a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, discusses the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, what’s been accomplished and what’s next for Europe with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2019 Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada. Our coverage is sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS.

On this week’s Cyber Report, Rear Adm. William Metts, USN Ret., the director for strategy and program integration at Northrop Grumman Cyber and Intelligence Mission Solutions, discusses the difference between defensive and offensive cyber with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. Northrop Grumman sponsors the Cyber Report and our cyber coverage.

Uniforms are always a hot topic for sailors. The Navy's top officials have been getting an earful about what is and what's not in their seabags for the past few years as they make their rounds in the fleet. That's why the Navy's top uniformed personnel officer, Vice Adm. John B. Nowell, Jr. and his senior enlisted advisor, Fleet Master Chief (SS) Wes Koshoffer, now have fleet sailors chiming in directly to them on uniform issues, thanks to a bi-monthly uniform focus group.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va.  -- The champagne bottle hit the cold steel hull and bounced off it did not break. Undaunted, the Honorable Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy pulled back and again swung the glass bottle with the force of a baseball player hitting a home run.Uttering for the second time in 52-years Kennedy the words "I christen thee United States Ship John F. Kennedy, may God bless this ship and all who sail her" - the second swing did the job.

Peter Van Praagh, the president of the Halifax International Security Forum, discusses key takeaways from the 2019 gathering in Nova Scotia, Canada, the fight for democracy in Hong Kong and around the world, and the Forum’s year-long effort to craft a global China strategy with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at 2019 Halifax International Security Forum. Our coverage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS.

Figo Chan, vice convener for Hong Kong’s Civil Human Rights Front and organizer of the 2 million person march for democracy in June 2019, discusses Hong Konger’s struggle for democracy, the need for global support for justice and legislative elections with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2019 Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada. Our coverage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS. Chan accepted the HISF's annual John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service what was awarded to the people of Hong Kong.

WASHINGTON – A $22.2 billion block-buy contract for nine more SSN 774 Virginia-class submarines with an option for a tenth sub was announced Tuesday by the US Navy. Prime contractor General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) and major subcontractor Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding are the primary beneficiaries of the new deal.

Reps. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Seth Moulton, D-Mass., the co-chairs of the US Congress' Future of Defense Task Force, discuss their six-moth effort to craft a long-term US defense strategy with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2019 Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada. Our coverage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS.

On this week’s Cyber Report, Maj. Gen. Gregg Potter, US Army Ret., Northrop Grumman’s lead corporate executive for Fort Meade and Aberdeen Proving Ground, discusses integrating US Army electromagnetic warfare, cyber and information operations with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. Northrop Grumman sponsors the Cyber Report and our cyber coverage.

Self-satisfied blabbing about US cyber prowess at a time when too much of America’s government or civilian cyber infrastructure — whether cities large and small, facilities, businesses, communications systems and even cars — remain vulnerable to hacking or worse, attack is downright foolhardy and dangerous. Before bragging about how its breaking into the networks of other nations with a proven ability to be persistent cyber foes, it’s vital the administration do more to secure America’s infrastructure first.

On many levels, this year’s Paris Air Show was historic with the launch of two new, stealthy Western fighter programs that will dominate investment for Europe’s leading nations for the coming decade. At Le Bourget, France, Germany and Spain launched the New Generation Fighter, the manned element of the bigger Future Combat Air System program — SCAF in French — spearheaded by France’s Dassault Aviation and Airbus that is to include closely networked manned and unmanned combat aircraft. It constitutes many years of public and private work in Europe and France in particular on new stealthy manned and unmanned aircraft, including the Neuron demonstrator that was launched in 2006.

The Trump Administration's 2020 Budget Request Could Be, But OCO, F-15X, Carrier, Amphib, Space Force Raise Doubts

Now that President Trump has declared a national emergency to build his border wall, all eyes are on what will be cut to free the additional $7.5 billion he wants as a down payment for the project. Rather than the wall, that money would be better spend on buying new systems and capabilities the United States desperately needs as it faces rising global powers.

A student protest against China’s persecution of Uighurs at a Howard County high school highlights the potential cybersecurity implications of Americans using Chinese social media apps, according to Wilson Center analyst.

Lt. Col. Dakota Wood, USMC Ret., senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, discusses the guidance by Gen. David Berger, USMC, the new US Marine Corps commandant, to better prepare his force for rapidly emerging challenges, focusing on innovative concepts to deliver amphibious capability, importance of more numbers rather than fewer more “exquisite” platforms, the defense budget outlook and the need to make hard choices with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the think tank’s Washington headquarters after an address by Berger.

Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at the Heritage Foundation, discusses Washington's role in resolving rising tensions between South Korea and Japan with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC.

Patrick Cronin, chair for Asia-Pacific Security at the Hudson Institute, discusses China’s 2019 Defense White Paper with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian in Washington, DC.