On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Mark Montgomery of the Defense of Democracies and a Cyberspace Solarium Commission senior adviser joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the first ever rescue of two US Army aviators shot down in the Strait of Hormuz by an unmanned surface vehicle and whether the US military is ready for the tactical, operational and strategic implications of an increasingly AI-enabled force; the impact of AI on how military members think and work; the right balance for the government in encouraging and enabling AI adopting while protecting against vulnerabilities it could cause; how the government needs to structure vetting of AI models; ensuring US access to the chips that are vital to the burgeoning AI ecosystem; the Trump administration’s approach to Taiwan and how to improve interoperability with the island democracy; and the changing dynamics of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Nigel Inkster, a former director of operations and intelligence at Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service who is now a senior adviser for Cyber Security and China at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to review President Trump’s summit meeting with Xi Jinping last week and what to expect from the Chinese leader’s meeting with Vladimir Putin this week in Beijing; the implications of Trump executing his “grand bargain” that trades Taiwan for stability in the Indo-Pacific; whether Washington’s mixed messages and depleted arsenal increases the prospect of conflict; the lessons Beijing has taken from US actions in Venezuela and Iran; how Beijing is capitalizing on the Washington’s focused efforts to shatter the rules-based order created in the wake of World War II to prevent another global conflict; the dissolution of that rules-based order and whether Beijing has the will use its vast resources to enact a new order that supplants the United States; and the impact of AI on cybersecurity.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Eric Fanning, the president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the defense budget outlook and best and worst case scenarios as Trump administration works to advance its $1.15 trillion 2027 Pentagon spending request, Reconciliation 2.0 and an Iran war supplemental; how more spending gets translated into contracts after contracting officers were culled in the name of reducing DoD headcount and improving efficiency; whether the defense and aerospace industry can absorb so much funding at once; implications of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest broadside against heritage contractors and whether the working relationship is more productive in private; the administration’s commercial approach to development and production and ensuring a level playing field for heritage and new firms; protecting intellectual property as the military services revert to proprietary architectures; right to repair; and the strategy the administration is using to determine where it invests public money in private firms.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Steve Grundman, a former Pentagon industrial base chief now with the Atlantic Council and the Grundman Advisory consultancy, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest social media broadside against heritage defense contractors, criticizing them for failing to deliver while padding their pockets, making the case for more funding and greater reliance on commercial fixed-price approaches to develop and acquire new weapons; the prospect the administration’s ambitious budget and priorities will be supported by lawmakers; the strategy that’s shaping the administration’s defense planning and spending; roles of heritage and new economy defense contractors; whether the administration’s commercial contracting approach will succeed in cutting acquisition costs; the implications of shifting from open architectures to proprietary ones; and the decline in defense stock values.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Sam Bendett of the Center for Naval Analyses and Dr. Eugene Rumer, the director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the prospect of a ceasefire during Russia’s May 9 Victory Day commemoration; Ukraine’s ability to strike ever deeper into Russia, bringing the conflict to more Russians in more places; Russia’s continuing ability to strike Ukraine’s energy infrastructure; shifting battlefield dynamic as Kyiv increasingly uses unmanned ground vehicles to hold Russian forces at bay by inflicting 1,000 casualties a day; impact of continuing war, economic sanctions and harsh domestic political measures on Vladimir Putin’s popularity; speculation that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is involved in a coup plot against Putin; 8th European Political Community Summit that featured Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as featured guests and the message sent by picking Armenia to host the meeting in Yerevan; the defeat of Russian mercenaries in Mali; and the evolving transatlantic security dynamic as Washington withdraws 5,000 troops from Germany.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Dr. Jerry McGinn, a former deputy industrial base chief who is now with 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 his commentary on the Breaking Defense website — “Multi-sourcing, MOSA, and producibility form next-level defense acquisition reform.”

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomic Aeronautical Systems, Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the defense and security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the new report he co-authored with his research associate Chris Park — “Last Rounds? Status of Key Munitions at the Iran War Ceasefire;” whether low US inventories will weaken deterrence and warfighting capacity especially in the Indo-Pacific; the Trump administration’s 2027 defense budget request; how long it will take to replenish depleted stocks of precision air defense as well as strike weapons; the kind of weapons America needs; and the role of allies and partners in increasing production capacity.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomic Aeronautical Systems, Sam Bendett of the Center for Naval Analyses and Dr. Eugene Rumer, the director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the latest on Russia’s war on Ukraine; the impact of higher energy prices on Moscow’s coffers; how Kyiv has turned the tables on Moscow and is now killing more Russian soldiers than are being recruited and trained; Ukrainian capabilities to counter drones that are being ordered by Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE; whether the income from these sales, reported to be in the billions of dollars, are sufficient to bolster Ukraine as it waits for another 90 billion euro loan from European nations that are being stalled by Hungary; President Trump’s threat to reconsider US membership in NATO after alliance members balked at deploying ships and personnel to restore traffic through the Strait of Hormuz until after the shooting stops; the outlook for the transatlantic alliance as Washington accelerates efforts to normalize relations with Moscow as Russia continues to be Europe’s leading threat; and whether there’s an opportunity for Europe to step in as a security partner in the Gulf and the Indo-Pacific.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Dr. Darrell Bricker, the CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss US and worldwide opinion on the US-Israel war on Iran; impact on the war on America and Israel’s reputational standing; China’s standing as nations worldwide hedge their economic and security bets; whether America’s reputation will heal after these rifts as it did from discord in the wake of the Iraq war; a look ahead to the US elections in November; the reality that foreign policy matters less to voters than economic and other social issues; and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s popularity a year into his tenure.