On today’s Technology Report, David Schild, the executive director of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America, discusses proposed Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates legislation as part of the tax reconciliation package that would cut taxes on printed circuit boards and substrates by 25 percent, the case for supporting an industry that left the United States in search of lower production costs, and the association’s 2025 agenda; and Dr. Charles Middleton, the chief technology officer at Critical Frequency Design, discusses the role of photonics technologies that promise to revolutionize military communications, the company’s Free Space Optics (FSO) communications solution that was recently tested under the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division’s Silent Swarm 2024 exercise, the future of the technology, and the outlook of the company as it seeks to navigate the Valley of Death with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

On this week’s Technology Report, John CoFrancesco, the founder of the new artificial intelligence firm Applied AI Company, discusses takeaways from the congressional hearing with CrowdStrike executives on the recent software update error from the cyber security firm that precipitated global disruptions, the role of AI to make to avert such mistakes in the future, how the Pentagon’s AI ecosystem is evolving and the key to driving innovation, supply chain lessons in the wake of Israel’s use of global supply chains to produce exploding pagers and walkie talkies, countering spoofing of critical control systems including on commercial aircraft, and helping foster a new generation of more cyber and AI savvy legislators and more with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

On this week’s Technology Report, Mark Montgomery, a retired US Navy rear admiral who is now the senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the executive director of the Cyber Solarium 2.0 project, discusses Russia’s recent boasting about its intelligence gathering and probing attacks on US water infrastructure, why water infrastructure is being targeted and how Washington should respond, Microsoft’s vulnerabilities and ways to improve government-industry cooperation, how one man saved the internet and lessons to safeguard it in the future, securing the cyber supply chain, Iran’s cyber role, countering disinformation as House Inteligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner’s calls out GOP for parroting Russian propaganda, and takeaways from the multinational operational that defended Israel from massive Iranian missile and drone attack.

On this week’s Technology Report, Mark Montgomery, a retired US Navy rear admiral who is now the senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the executive director of the Cyber Solarium 2.0 project, discusses the cyber elements of the Biden administration’s FY 2025 budget request including planned an government-wide increase in spending to $13 billion and a $5 billion addition at DoD that would bring spending to $14 billion, the impact of continuing resolutions on the Pentagon and government’s ability to plan and execute, how to better harness artificial intelligence to improve cybersecurity, analysis of the Pentagon’s budget request specifically the $10 billion Pacific Defense Initiative, and who will pick up the mantle from Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., after his retirement next year with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

On this week’s Technology Report, Brandon Tseng, the cofounder and president of Shield AI, what differentiates the company in a crowded field, the Pentagon’s innovation drive, how to accelerate programs, the need to change the requirements process, how small companies can remain competitive in AI in an era of giants, the company’s growth plans with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

On this week’s Technology Report, Dr. Dave Young, the chief operating officer officer of CAES — Cobham Advanced Electronic Systems — discusses electronic warfare lessons from the Ukraine war, how US capabilities compare to Russian and Chinese ones, the need to increase training with closely held EW systems before conflict to better prepare commanders on how best to employ them, scaling production through greater automation, impact of the CHIPS Act and the additional investment necessary in other vital fields with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

On this week’s Technology Report, Mark Montgomery, a retired US Navy rear admiral who is now the senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the executive director of the Cyber Solarium 2.0 project, and Chris Cleary who until recently was the US Navy’s principal cyber adviser, discuss the key cyber stories of 2023 that will shape the coming year with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

The less fuel you have to carry and the fewer aircraft needed to support the sharp end of the spear, the more effective you can be in combat. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Operational Energy Roberto Guerrero tells us how it’s done and blows our mind with some savings numbers. We have this week’s headlines in airpower. And it’s all powered by GE Aerospace!

On this week’s Technology Report, Dr. Wes Naylor, a retired US Navy captain and former commander of the Naval Air Warfare Center Training and Simulation Division who is now the CEO of Helicon Chemical, and Chris Servello, the co-host of the Cavas Ships podcast and Defense & Aerospace Report producer who is a co-founder of the Provision Advisor PR firm, discuss takeaways from this year’s Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), technologies that will shape the future of training and simulation that in turn will shape large-scale synthetic environments and CJADC2, the Biden administration’s new supply chain approach and cyber security, as well as the legacy of Rear Adm. Jim Robb, USN Ret., who as president of the National Defense Industrial Association’s National Training and Simulation Association was a driving force in I/ITSEC’s growth with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

On this week’s Technology Report, Mike McNerney, senior vice president for security at cyber insurance startup Resilience Previously and the director of VetsinTech that helps place veterans in tech jobs, discusses the group and its efforts including advocating that Congress fund the Affordable Connectivity Program — “Don’t Pull the Plug on Our Veterans” — the role of cyber insurance companies, the Biden administrations efforts to bolster national cybersecurity including across the defense industrial base, evolving threats, and why holding companies to account for neglecting threats and security can improve the safety of the entire ecosystem with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.