Jeff Bialos, the co-chair of the Aerospace, Defense and Security Group at the Eversheds Sutherland law firm who served as a former deputy undersecretary of defense for industrial affairs, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s effort cut 8 percent a year for five years from current spending to pay for new Trump administration priorities; why the cuts are significant and threaten to undermine US capabilities absent additional spending; the reality that 25 to 30 percent more spending may be needed to modernize the force, improve readiness and bolster weapons stocks; industrial strategy recommendations at a time when administration leaders advocate for startups over heritage firms; clarifying the rationale for the defense industry consolidation in the wake of the Cold War; how supply chains became steadily more global; the defense trade impact of Trump and his team’s rhetoric and policies on Ukraine, Europe as well as allies and partners; and  implications of tariffs and wholesale job cuts on program performance and costs.

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners and Chris Servello, the co-host of our Cavas Ships podcast joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to global ramifications of President Trump’s unprecedented meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; whether Kyiv’s European allies will be able to support Ukraine as Washington shuts off aid and demands access to oil, gas and rare earth minerals; the US president’s meetings with French, British and other leaders; Pentagon sends a Stryker brigade combat team to the border and prospect of military operations in Mexico; DoD continues efforts to redirect spending and the impact of the cuts on the heritage defense industrial base; Elon Musk and his team continue cutting government jobs including soon at the Defense Department; prospect that more senior military officers will be fired; update on budget dynamics on Capitol Hill and guidance from the Office of Management and Budget; and a look at the week ahead.

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners and Chris Servello, the co-host of our Cavas Ships podcast joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the firings of top US military officers including the the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Air Force’s vice chief as well as three judge advocate generals; how the moves will impact the force as well as recruiting and retention; what to expect from retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine as the nation’s 22nd chairman given his diverse background that includes service in the Air National Guard, as a fighter pilot, role in the counter-ISIS mission, the intelligence community as well as private industry and venture capital; industrial impact of the administration’s plan to redirect between 6 and 8 percent of spending each year for the coming five years to new priorities; how the administration’s betrayal of Ukraine and anti-Europe rhetoric will shape how allies and partners respond to Washington as nations work to establish a more than 700 billion fund for new weapons purchases and Germany privates considers the need for nuclear weapons; whether the White House’s purge of the civil service will distract intelligence and law enforcement personnel charged with keeping the nation safe from terrorist and other threats, precipitating a future tragedy; and a look at the week ahead.

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners and Chris Servello, the co-host of our Cavas Ships podcast joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss a week that sent allies and partners scrambling as President Trump moves to end the Ukraine war, rehabilitate Vladimir Putin, support Kyiv only if it hands over right to half its rare earth mineral deposits, and his team encourages hard right parties in Europe; Trump’s suggestion that a deal with Russia and China would allow defense spending to be cut by 50 percent; 25 percent tariffs on aluminum and steel; after a few strong messaging weeks, the administration’s game slips; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s drive to reallocate 8 percent of the Pentagon budget for new priorities contained in his 2026 budget planning guidance to the military services that would protect border, strategic deterrent programs, nuclear submarine and unmanned efforts, but would target the F-35 Lightning II fighter and other manned platforms as well as Army programs to pay for the “Iron Dome” air and missile defense system; Callan’s four scenarios to consider in light of the current chaos; an update on the collision between USS Harry S. Truman and a the merchant bulk carrier Besiktas-M on the entry to the Suez Canal; and a look at the week ahead.

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners and Chris Servello, the co-host of our Cavas Ships podcast joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman’s mark, the Trump administration’s effective messaging that bolstered the president’s popularity, Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth actively shapes his narrative at the Pentagon, how the administration can avoid making cuts that only create bigger future headaches, impact of President Trump’s new steel and aluminum tariffs, analysis of defense and aerospace earnings and 10K reports, and a look at the week ahead.

Dr. Jim Lewis, the director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Mark Montgomery, a retired US Navy rear admiral who is the senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Cyber Solarium 2.0 executive director, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the implications of the R1 Model by Chinese AI firm DeepSeek that sparked a market sell off on Wall Street; what makes it different from other AI models; how China used talent, technology and savvy thinking to compensate for technology restriction imposed on Beijing by Washington and its allies; why Chinese technology or military developments continue to surprise Western experts and what it says about US overconfidence; how better to control the flow of technology to China and whether there are lessons in the Cold War mechanisms like the Wassenaar Arrangement; whether President Trump’s $500 billion “Stargate” public private AI partnership is the right approach to better compete against China and advance American capabilities; the impact of Elon Musk’s drive to reorganize the US government at home and whether Trump’s muscular international rhetoric; and how the “grand bargain” Trump seeks with China could include handing Taiwan to Beijing.

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners and Chris Servello, the co-host of our Cavas Ships podcast joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss President Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico — that have been suspended for a month — as well as 10 percent on China, with threats to impose new ones on the EU and UK; the near-term implications on inflation and costs on US consumers as well as long-term impact on reordering of global trade patterns; how efforts to aggressively cut US government could backfire; whether Wall Street is as susceptible to disinformation as other aspects of American society; the messaging and disinformation surrounding the collision between a US Army helicopter and an American Airlines jetliner that left 67 dead; a look at least week’s earnings reports by leading companies including Boeing, General Dynamicsk, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and RTX; and a look at the week ahead.

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners and Chris Servello, the co-host of our Cavas Ships podcast joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the Trump administration’s first week; Pete Hegseth as the nation’s 29th defense secretary; whether the chairman and service chiefs will lost their jobs or retire over the coming months; repercussions of Trump’s “aggressive” call with the Danish prime minister over Greenland, the Panama Canal and spat with Colombia over deportations; look ahead to earnings as Boeing pre-reports another $4 billion loss; and a look at the week ahead.

Justin Sherman, the founder of Global Cyber Strategies advisory firm and nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss why it’s important to ban TikTok, the supply chain questions raised by the Chinese social media app; what makes similar apps problematic from a security standpoint and what needs to happen to address known vulnerabilities; whether the sale of the US side of TikTok solves the problem; some cyber priorities for the incoming administration; why curtailing cyber regulation will undermine collective security at a time when adversaries are stepping up their cyber game and penetrating critical US and allied communications and other networks; how to counter Russian and Chinese operations to disrupt critical undersea infrastructure; and ways to increase the production of cyber talent.

On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners and Chris Servello, the co-host of our Cavas Ships podcast joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss President Trump’s first day in office; messages from the inauguration, executive orders and actions since; the firing of Adm. Linda Fagan as US Coast Guard commandant and other senior military changes under guise of countering diversity, equity and inclusion; Trump’s comments about using force to take the Panama Canal, targeting drug cartels in Mexico, Greenland as well as tariffs on Canada and Mexico; the defense budget outlook as both GOP and Freedom Caucus members call for dramatic increased in the Pentagon budget of $200 billion or more over the coming years; outlook for shipbuilding expect at the Surface Navy Association’s conference and tradeshow; and a look at the week ahead.