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Amb. Pedro Morenés, Spain’s former defense minister and its current ambassador to the US, praises the deterrent power of unity, and discusses the nuances of NATO’s two-percent-of-GDP defense spending rule, how the ask is received by Spanish citizens, what global security risks should be on NATO’s threat radar, the security implications of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on European aluminum and steel exports, and much more during a June 13, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian in Washington. The interview was conducted at the 2018 EU Security & Defense Washington Symposium that was co-hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the European Union Delegation to the US.

Abigail Grace, a research associate in the Center for a New American Security think tank’s Asia-Pacific Security Program, says “it’s absolutely essential” for the US to “maintain cooperation, coordination and close discussions with” its Indo-Pacific allies, expresses concern about the lack of “a concrete” North Korean denuclearization deal following President Donald Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong-un, and more during a June 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor at the think tank’s “Strategic Competition: Maintaining the Edge” conference in Washington.

Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula, USAF Ret., dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, discusses establishing the US Space Force President Trump called for on June 18, why making it a standalone service is a question of “when” not “if,” how the Pentagon should approach its development and coordinate with other government agencies, and more during a June 29, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian in northern Virginia.

James Lewis, PhD, senior vice president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discusses the implications of China’s cyber theft of the US Navy’s Sea Dragon hypersonic submarine-launched missile and electronic warfare files, DoD cybersecurity reforms, US Cyber Command’s reemergence and elevation to a combatant command, the need for a national declaratory cyber retaliation strategy, and much more in a wide-ranging, June 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the think tank’s headquarters in Washington.

Samuel Bendett, an associate research analyst in the Center for Naval Analyses’ Russia Studies Program and a fellow in Russia studies at the American Foreign Policy Council, discusses the buzz surrounding Russia’s Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle, the failure of its Uran-9 unmanned ground vehicle program following secret combat testing in Syria, the outlook for Russian submarine and unmanned underwater vehicle innovation, and more during a June 27, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian in Washington.

Jorge Benitez, director of the Atlantic Council think tank’s NATOSource blog and a senior fellow in its Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, discusses what to expect from the 2018 NATO Summit in Brussels, what President Donald Trump’s’ strategic goals should be both there and at his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin later in July, how Trump’s diplomatic language may threaten the alliance and aide Putin’s efforts to disempower it, US Defense Secretary James Mattis’ role in American foreign policy, Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide’s June 26 remarks at the think tank and more in an interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian taped immediately after her speech in Washington.

In advance of next month’s NATO Summit, Ine Eriksen Søreide, Norway’s minister of foreign affairs, stresses the vital importance of alliance unity, says NATO should highlight its adaptability to an evolving security environment at the Brussels meeting, highlights her nation’s recent defense investments — including 52 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets (six of which have been delivered), five Boeing P-8 Poseidon military aircraft and four submarines — and much more during a wide-ranging, June 26, 2018, address and subsequent Q&A with Damon Wilson, executive vice president of the Atlantic Council think tank, at its offices in Washington.

Damon Wilson, executive vice president of the Atlantic Council think tank, says that President Donald Trump should use the 2018 NATO Summit in July as an opportunity to rally allies’ support ahead of his meeting with Russian President Putin later that month, makes recommendations for US strategy at the summit, and discusses how Trump should approach Russia, the possibility of Russian aggression after the summit and the World Cup, and more in a June 26, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian in Washington.