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 prospect of a ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran, including best and worst scenarios; the need for investment in drones as well as manned platforms; the House Armed Services Committee’s $1.15 trillion 2027 National Defense Authorization Act as House appropriators mark to $1.07 trillion; dim outlook for the $350 billion Reconciliation 3.0 for the Pentagon; President Trump’s planned meeting with top US defense executives to accelerate weapons production to restock depleted stocks; and the SpaceX initial public offering and defense capital market.

Mesh Feigenbaum, a managing partner at Engineered Metal Tech who is one of the world’s leading experts on the gigantic forging presses that are critical for the worldwide aerospace and defense supply chain and author of two recent commentaries — “Aerospace’s Hidden Bottleneck” in Aviation Week and “Rate Readiness at Risk: The Global Shortage of Large Hydraulic Forging Presses” in the Forging Industry Association magazine’s May issue — joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss approaches the US government should consider to underwrite an industrial capability vital for national security as well as American economic prosperity; whether Airbus and Boeing will be able to sustain ambitious production including the US giant’s goal of boosting the 737 rate to 70 jets a month; whether capacity is sufficient to sustain a surge in defense production; and what it will take to encourage US investment to as Europe and Asia step up.

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 Iran’s strikes on Israel in retaliation for Jerusalem’s strikes near Beirut — despite a warning from President Trump that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu not strike close to the Lebanese capital that could derail US-Iran talks; Washington’s decision to cancel the deployment of US Tomahawk cruise missiles to Germany to avoid antagonizing Russia, prompting Berlin to consider buying the US weapons; the House Armed Services Committee approves its version of the Trump administration’s proposed $1.15 trillion 2027 defense spending request; Reconciliation 3.0 for the Pentagon in the wake of Senate passage of Reconciliation 2.0 for border and immigration funding; Honeywell’s Investor Day as the firm prepares to split into three companies; startup valuations and portfolio shaping; and a look at the week ahead in Washington and beyond.

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 as Washington and Tehran appear on the verge of a ceasefire deal; energy price impact given disruption to global energy flows and facilities; prospect US industry will get contracts to help rebuild Iran; analysis of the House Armed Services Committee chairman’s markup for the Trump administration’s proposed $1.15 trillion 2027 defense spending request; outlook for passage of the budget, Reconciliation 3.0 and an Iran war supplemental; SpaceX’s initial public offering that’s expected to hit a record valuation of $1.8 trillion; and a look at the week ahead in Washington and beyond.

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 outlook for the latest round of talks between Washington and Tehran as US forces strike Iranian bases accused of threatening American warships and aircraft; the prospect of a US credibility gap and what it means; Washington’s plans for Cuba and why they’re immaterial; GOP senators rebel against President Trump’s compensation fund for allies and White House ballroom plans, jeopardizing reconciliation funding for the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon; themes from last week’s congressional hearings; and a look at the week ahead in Washington and beyond.

Dr. Sampriti Bhattacharyya, the founder and CEO of Navier — an innovative company that’s developed scalable, hybrid-electric hydrofoil technologies to for faster and more efficient commercial or military vessels — joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the technology and how it can revolutionize military and commercial maritime operations; the importance of hybrid-electric propulsion especially to stealthy applications; learning lessons from past programs to craft better future solutions; access to capital in a competitive innovation market; doing business with the Pentagon as it seeks to change what it buys and how; and how best to create an innovative national technological ecosystem.

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 drop in European defense stock prices on investor perceptions that the Ukraine war is ending, mitigating the need for European military modernization, despite the ongoing war and the continuing threat posed by Russia; US defense budget outlook as Senate and House conduct hearings as lawmakers plot a third reconciliation package to bolster spending; bipartisan skepticism about the cost of the Iran war and future impact on operations and maintenance in the wake of the conflict; a look at the Defense Autonomous Working Group fund; President Trump shifts on Taiwan in the wake of summit with Xi Jinping in Beijing during which the Chinese leader made clear his focus on absorbing the island democracy and the US leader sees an opportunity to realize his “grand bargain” between the world’s leading economies and military powers; and a look at the week ahead in Washington and beyond.

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 why the end of the Iran war would be good news for the US defense industry; what to expect the upcoming summit between President Trump and China’s Xi Jinping; how nations worldwide are realigning defense purchases to reduce their dependence on US suppliers without alarming Washington; US defense budget deliberations as lawmakers return to the Capitol; what happens if Democrats won’t retake the House or Senate; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s video lambasting heritage contractors while touting commercial and fixed-price contract terms as outlined by the president’s recent executive order; first quarter earnings thoughts; and a look at the week ahead in Washington and beyond.

Justin Sherman, the founder of Global Cyber Strategies, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative, and the author of the book “Navigating Technology and National Security” joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the cyber aspects of the Trump administration’s 2027 federal spending request, changes lawmakers should consider to improve cyber security, impact of new AI models like Anthropic’s Mythos on improving cyber defenses, the administration’s interest in testing AI models before their release and how such tests should be conducted, and growing role of AI in warfare and the government’s oversight over contractors during military operations.