Lieutenant General (ret.) Dave Deptula, Dean of the Mitchell Institute, joins us with the latest on Venezuela, airpower in the National Security Strategy, and a season of change in the U.S. Air Force. And Bank of America’s Dr. Rocket Ron Epstein on the new executive orders limiting defense corporate buybacks and dividends. Plus this week’s headlines in airpower. All powered by GE!
On this month’s innovation conversation to highlight key topics in the countdown to the Apex technology and innovation conference Jan 27-28, 2026, in Washington, sponsored by Clarion Defence, Bryon Kroger, a former US Air Force intelligence officer and targeteer who is the founder and CEO of the innovative software firm Rise8, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss why the Pentagon’s software development approach is broken at a time when software will be increasingly critical to capabilities and how to reengineer the system to deliver better capabilities at scale and speed. To learn more about the Apex conference, sponsorship and attendance opportunities please visit apexdefense.org
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 latest on the Ukraine war as the conflict prepares to enter its fifth year; the frontline as both sides are increasingly exhausted by the conflict; update on peace talks and prospects for ending the war; the increasing use autonomous systems driven by artificial intelligence; whether lessons from the war are being lost as innovation cycles accelerate; Vladimir Putin’s drive to bolster Russia’s economy in 2026 as Volodymyr Zelenskyy taps his intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov to replace Andrei Yermak as his chief of staff; whether the war still matters to Washington; and how Vladimir Putin will interpret the Trump administration’s decision to apprehend Nicolas Maduro and claim rights to Venezuela’s energy resources as well as rhetoric that America has a right to seize Greenland from Denmark.
On today’s program, sponsored by HII, Byron Callan of the independent Washington research firm Capital Alpha Partners joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the latest headlines and looks at the week ahead.
On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Business Roundtable, sponsored by Bell, Dr. “Rocket” Ron Epstein of Bank of America Securities, Sash Tusa of Agency Partners, and Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic advisory consultancy join host Vago Muradian to discuss the a strong 2025 on Wall Street and what it means for the coming year; the implications of the Trump administration’s ouster of Venezuelan strongman Nicholas Maduro; stalled talks to end the Ukraine war as the conflict rages on; commercial aircraft production as Boeing delivered 493 jets and Airbus delivered 793; a look ahead to the big defense and airspace stories of 2026; and what to expect at Bank of America’s annual defense and aerospace conference this year in New York.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…we have a special edition of the podcast this week, welcoming back our friends Xavier Vavasseur and Richard Scott. We’ll hear about a number of international naval programs and developments and focus on frigates – a major topic in the US Navy over the past several years, but there are numerous frigate programs underway around the world that are moving forward.
At the Space Force Association’s Space Power Conference, major announcements were few, but there were clues pointing to imminent strategic developments. Laura Winter speaks with U.S. Space Force Col. (ret.) Charles Galbreath, Director and Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies at the Mitchell Institute’s Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence (MI-SPACE).
President Donald Trump issued a course-setting presidential executive order on Thursday that looks more like the national space strategy for which many, in and out of government and across a myriad of space-related sectors, have been waiting. Laura Winter speaks with Peter Garretson, a Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, who is also the author of three books, the latest of which is “Space Shock: 18 Threats That Will Define Space Power”.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…from the red sea to the Caribbean to shipyards around the nation, it was a busy naval year! We take a look back at some 2025’s top stories and issues while, then look ahead at 2026 with the team from USNI News – Heather Mongilio, Mallory Shelbourne and Sam LaGrone. But first we review the recent Golden Fleet Announcements.
Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Business Roundtable, sponsored by Bell, Dr. “Rocket” Ron Epstein of Bank of America Securities and Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic advisory consultancy join host Vago Muradian to discuss the week — and the year — on markets as AI, aerospace and defense spending drive investors; the $901 billion National Defense Authorization Act; European governments’ two-year, $105 billion interest-free loan to help Ukraine keep fighting Russian aggression as Vladimir Putin makes clear he’s not interested in compromise and amps up his muscular rhetoric; the future of the SCAF program as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meet to decide the future of the program to develop new manned and unmanned combat aircraft; the US Navy’s decision to ask HII to build by 2028 a naval variant of the company’s successful National Security Cutter developed for the Coast Guard to demonstrate the new ship, then competitively contract yards to mass produce it; Boeing asks the Federal Aviation Administration for an emissions waiver to continue building existing 777 freighters after 2028 given a compliant version of the plane won’t be ready until after the deadline; the US government’s admission of responsibility in the deadly crash between a US Air jetliner and a US Army helicopter that killed 67 in January over the Potomac River off Reagan Washington National Airport; and a review of the big stories of 2025.