On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored in part by Hanwha Defense USA, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim join host Vago Muradian discuss Donald Trump’s cabinet picks including China hawks like Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as well as controversial picks like Tulsi Gabbard, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Fox host Pete Hegseth; whether House and Senate Republicans will agree to recess thereby allowing Trump’s nominees to take office without a conventional confirmation process; implications of proposed cull of senior military officers under effort to counter DEI and lack of “warrior” ethos; US allies and partners work to repostion themselves to curry favor with incoming administration including Taiwan’s preemptive proposal to boost defense including and buy US Aegis destroyers and F-35 fighters; Russia’s efforts to influence Trump; what’s next in the Middle East after Israeli leaders propose annexing of parts of West Bank and Saudi Arabia’s Mohamed bin Salman labels Israel’s actions as genocide and Qatar ends mediation role; and Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored in part by Hanwha Defense USA, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss Donald Trump’s election to another term, what the trouncing of Vice President Kamala Harris means for the Democratic Party, whether Trump’s second term will be more disciplined than his first, the outlook for defense spending with the Senate and House in GOP hands, allies brace for turmoil starting with Ukraine, whether Washington will force Kyiv to immediately end the war or adopt a longer-term lend-lease approach to support Ukraine, outlook for US leadership in the Indo-Pacific, and Bibi Netanyahu’s even freer hand in the region as he fires his defense minister Yoav Gallant.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored in part by Hanwha Defense USA, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the neck-and-neck US presidential race with days to go until the election; growing concern that Russia has turned the tables on Ukraine with 8,000 North Korea soldiers to help push Ukrainian forces from Kursk as the West runs out of weapons and interest in the war; Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s snap election backfires as the LDP loses ground; China’s publicly announces its first ICBM test in four decades as message to Washington that Beijing can reach US soil with its new DF-41 missile; North Korea also tested a long-range missile; Australia says it will improve its missile defenses; Israel attacks Iran’s air defenses and strikes its missile and drone industries as the war continues; and the LA Dodgers rout the NY Yankees in five games to win their eight World Series.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored in part by Hanwha Defense USA, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Cavas Ships podcast co-host Chris Servello, and Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the US presidential race as it enters its last week, the world awaits Israel’s strike on Iran as Secretary of State Antony Blinken makes his 11th trip to the Middle East to broker a ceasefire, the White House issues new national security AI guidance, Europe worries about North Korea troops fighting on Russia’s behalf against Ukraine, a progress report on Germany’s Zeitenwender and whether Europe can support Ukraine if America under a second Trump term withdraws support for Kyiv, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet for the first time since the bloody 2019 clash between the nations in the Himalayas after Canada again accused India of targeting and killing Canadian nationals critical of the New Delhi government — a charge endorsed by Washington — Japanese elections over the weekend, and the decision by the Washington Post and the LA Times against endorsing a presidential candidate over reprisal fears.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored in part by Hanwha Defense USA, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, Dr. Kathleen McInnis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Cavas Ships podcast co-host Chris Servello join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the expectation the National Defense Authorization Act, appropriations and disaster relief legislation will move quickly after lawmakers return to Washington after the election; Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s “heartburn letter”to the Hill; Israel kills Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar; President Biden deploys America’s premier air and missile defense system to Israel to relieve pressure on US warships guarding Israel while calling on Jerusalem to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza otherwise risk weapons deliveries; the US Navy demonstrates its ability to reload weapons at sea; US aircraft including B-2 stealth bombers strike Houthi missile sites and storage facilities in Yemen; former President Trump calls Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy a great salesman who never should have let the war start as the Ukrainian leader says he told the former president that either Kyiv joins NATO or it develops nuclear weapons; South Korean intelligence says North Korea is deploying 12,000 troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine; four Indo-Pacific defense ministers join NATO ministers; and China’s economy sputters as Beijing escalates tensions around Taiwan.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored in part by Hanwha Defense USA, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Venter for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss President Biden’s call for Congress to approve emergency aid in the wake of two devastating and deadly hurricanes; electoral impact of historic amounts of disinformation that have hampered rescue and recovery efforts; update on Russia’s war on Ukraine as as Moscow makes incremental progress as Russian casualties top 600,000; Ukraine’s efforts to stockpile ammunition and protect itself from US election outcome next month; Laos hosts ASEAN; Beijing overreacts despite a measured address by Lai Ching-te on Taiwan’s National Day . . .. . . Vice President Harris names Iran as a leading threat; Israel Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu calls on Lebanon to rid itself of Hezbollah as Israel continues operations in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank, as Jerusalem considers retaliation against Iran’s recent missile attack that’s expected to target the country’s oil infrastructure.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored in part by Hanwha Defense USA, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Cavas Ships co-host Chris Servello, and Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the US presidential race enters its last month as a devastating hurricane and growing unrest in the Middle East could decide who ends up in the White House, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iran retaliates with a massive ballistic missile barrage, Jerusalem vows retaliation and President Biden confirms strikes on Iran’s energy facilities have been discussed in a move that sends oil prices soaring, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte succeeds Jens Stoltenberg as NATO’s new secretary general, Ukraine retreats from Vuledhar as Russia’s strategy of throwing of men and weapons into fight helps gain ground in Donbas, the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 75th anniversary by dialing up coercion in the South China Sea, and Shigeru Ishiba succeed Fumio Kishida as Japan’s 65th prime minister.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored in part by Hanwha Defense USA, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian discuss House Speaker Mike Johnson’s bipartisan approach to securing a stopgap spending measure to keep the government funded until after the election; what’s on the lame duck agenda; despite pressure from closest allies and Ukraine’s leader President Biden continues to block use of Western weapons against Russia after Vladimir Putin’s latest nuclear threats; the message other nuclear-armed states are learning when Washington is so easily deterred by nuclear saber-rattling; China tests an ICBM as its first in class nuclear attack submarine sinks pierside; AUKUS Pillar 2; Israel expands its offensive against Hezbollah and Lebanon while also increasing operations in the West Bank; and analysis of a close US presidential race five weeks before Election Day.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim join host Vago Muradian discuss Congress’ failure to pass a measure to keep government open after 30 Sept., Ukraine continues to call for Western arms to be cleared for use against Russia as President Biden stalls approvals as Russian forces push back in Kursk and threaten to make significant gains in Donbas, the leaders of the Quad prepare to convene in Delaware as China expands its offensive operations to Australia and Japan, the White House prepares to block Nippon Steel’s offer to buy US Steel, AUKUS celebrates its second birthday, and Israel uses exploding pagers and walkie-talkies to stymie Hezbollah’s command and control as the Lebanese militia and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vow retaliation.

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored in part by Hanwha Defense USA, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss congressional madness as lawmakers return to Washington, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville delays promotion of new US Army Pacific commander, the national security implications of the fiery presidential debate between vice president Kamala Harris and former President Trump, President Biden to allow Ukraine to use US weapons against Russian territory as Vladimir Putin again threatens the alliance, Asia’s focus on US-China shadowboxing amid the US election as Kim Jung Un reveals his top secret uranium enrichment plant and calls for accelerating nuclear weapons production, and the controversy over Israel’s killing of an American peace protestor and more UN humanitarian workers.