On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Steve Beckey of the Oliver Wyman consultancy joints Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the report he co-wrote — with his colleagues — JD Kearney, Nathan Miller, and Tim Wickham — “The Defense Ramp-Up Reality Check: A $1 Trillion Question: Can the Defense Industrial Base Scale to Meet Unprecedented Demand?”

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 US defense budget outlook as the Senate approves a continuing resolution that funds the government through Dec. 11; Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg’s Aug. 5 memo giving companies 21 days to submit plans to accelerate production of select platforms, sensors and munitions; concerns about the Pentagon’s approach to intellectual property in its bid to accelerate programs and bolster the prospects of startups; update on legislation spanning from “right to repair” to share buybacks; and takeaways from the Farnborough International Airshow.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Dr. Tom Mahnken, the president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the report he co-wrote his son Thomas Mahnken who is an analyst with the think tank — “Rising Stars Over the Pacific: Cultivating Indo-Pacific Expertise in the US Armed Forces” — that focuses on the importance of promoting senior officers with Indo-Pacific experience to better prepare prepare America’s military for potential conflict in the region.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, John Cofrancesco of American AI Logistics joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian  to discuss China’s new AI model, what that means, the administration evolving stance on checking out models before release, Congress’ deliberate approach to AI legislation and the overhaul of CMMC.

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 latest report — “Is the Industrial Base on a Wartime Footing? A Progress Report” — he cowrote with his colleague AJ Dilts.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Dr. Michael Shurkin, a veteran of the CIA as well as the RAND Corporation think tank who’s now the director of Global Programs at 14 North Strategies, a Senegal-based risk advisory consultancy, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss his new book, “The French War of War: Eight Strategy Lessons for Today’s Conflicts;” how military defeats and resource limitations have taught France to be more strategic; the essence of strategy; lessons from the Mali operation; and more.

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss his new book — “Lethal Autonomy: The Future of Warfare Whether We Like It or Not” — how the book differs from his earlier report on the future of war for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; how warfare across air, land, sea, space and cyber are changing; the culture change needed within the military services as change makes existing platforms obsolete; focusing more on the “survivability” problem, rather than “lethality”; role of humans on an increasingly autonomous battlefield; getting on the right side of the cost imposition curve; and how US forces would fare against China if they drained their precision strike and air defense weapons stocks against Iran.

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 dynamic as the House and Senate deliberate the Trump administration’s 2027 defense budget request; how $1.5 trillion in planned defense spending can be compacted into $1.15 trillion if the $350 billion reconciliation package fails; the Iran war supplemental outlook as Washington and Tehran strike a ceasefire; how the Pentagon can spend so much more money when it doesn’t have enough contracting officers to spend last year’s Big Beautiful Bill funding; President Trump’s latest call to meet with defense industry executives to accelerate defense production; update on Pentagon efforts to reform the defense acquisition system; congressional efforts to translate the president’s executive order on share buybacks into legislation, “right to repair,” and attract new defense competitors.

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.