On today’s Land Warfare Series program, sponsored American Rheinmetall, Dr Jerry McGinn, the Pentagon’s former deputy industrial base chief who’s now the director of the Center for the Industrial Base at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss a new report he co-authored with his colleagues Jason Paul “JP” Gresh and Alek Jovovic — “Preparing U.S. Land Forces to Fight in an Era of Strategic and Technological Disruption” — as well as the ongoing “right to repair” debate among the Pentagon, Congress and industry that lawmakers will address when they return to Washington after the Nov. 3, 2026, election. Our coverage of the Association of the United States Army’s recent conference and trade show was sponsored by Lockheed Martin.

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 budget dynamics when lawmakers return to Washington after the Nov. 3 election; how 2026 could have repercussions for 2027 and 2028; whether the Pentagon could be forced to reimburse contractors for their investment to expand and speed production if Congress fails to fund programs; how investigations of defense firms could play out if Democrats take power and make good on their pledge to probe contract awards; takeaways from earnings as Boeing, CACI, HII, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Textron report; whether there are any upsides as Washington drives to normalize relations and trade with Russia; and a look ahead to the week in Washington and beyond.

On today’s program, Dr. Jim Lewis, a Distinguished Fellow with the Tech Policy Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the recent cyber attack that shut down refrigerators at French grocery stores; how hackers are using AI to identify vulnerabilities that are being increasingly exploited; how defenders need to change their game as Chinese AI tools are turned to attack Japan and Taiwan; security of US elections; reforming the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; countering disinformation; and the right way to regulate AI companies.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Dr. Darrell Bricker, the CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs who advises on the agenda of the annual Halifax International Security Forum, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss polling on the upcoming US midterm elections and the top issues for voters; President Trump’s popularity and the strength of his base; popularity of Democrats; issues motivating demonstrations in Europe and elsewhere and whether comparisons to 1968 are accurate; how the United States is seen by the world; Prime Minister Mark Carney’s popularity in Canada and his efforts to forge a future less dependent on the United States; and more.

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 the Nov. 3 election and his budget outlook; a look at the Air Force’s budget request for to grow the force over the coming years; energy impact of renewed air strikes on Iran after the election; a look at earnings as BoozAllen Hamilton, CACI, GE Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX and others report results; the Pentagon’s 10-year, $78 billion “framework” agreement with Lockheed Martin for 850 F-35 Lightning II fighters; takeaways from the fifth annual Historical Analysis Annual Conference (HAAC) that covered wargaming, data richness, Ukraine, drones and Taiwan; and a look at the week ahead in Washington and beyond.