The Weekly Break Out

Breaking Defense Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta looks ahead to a crowded week for the defense industry, with Euronaval underway in Paris and the International Fighter Conference convening in Germany. IFC comes at a particularly interesting moment for European airpower, as questions remain about the continent's sixth-generation fighter plans and the growing role unmanned aircraft could play alongside future jets.

Then Breaking Defense Multimedia Director Daniel Woolfolk explores actor Jimmy Stewart's lesser-known military career ahead of the nationwide release of "Jimmy." The film's director and Stewart's daughter discuss his decision to put Hollywood aside to serve during World War II, his later years in the Air Force Reserve and how wartime experiences shaped his return to acting.

Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

We're back this year with another spooky edition of The Weekly Break Out. "Mr. Skeleton" (aka Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta) welcomes three special guests — and Breaking Defense's senior networks reporter who again appears to have not gotten the memo — to talk about what's keeping them up at night.

Adm. T. Hitchens joins us from Starfleet to discuss weapons in space; Scarecarley Welch is unsettled by a leadership vacuum atop the Army; Mark "Mark" Pomerleau lays out a few cyber conundrums; and Digger Rockwell explains what's especially alarming about the Air Force's nuclear weapons plans for the months to come.

Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

Autonomy was everywhere at the 2026 AUSA expo in Washington. In this episode of The Break Out, Breaking Defense Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta and Land Warfare Reporter Carley Welch discuss how drones, low-cost interceptors, lasers and electronic warfare swarmed the show floor as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brought the service secretaries together to reinforce the Pentagon's push toward autonomous systems.

Welch also talks with the Army's Chief Technology Officer Alex Miller about another shift underway inside the service: opening acquisition programs to broader and more sustained competition. Miller explains why the Army wants to avoid locking itself into one solution too early, and how a new acquisition pathway is intended to give emerging defense companies a clearer route from promising technology to programs at scale.

Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

In this week's episode of The Break Out, Editor-in-chief Aaron Mehta and Navy reporter Diana Stancy explain what we know — and don't — about Boeing's win for the Navy's F/A-XX fighter, from its expected role alongside F-35s and F/A-18s to concerns about how Boeing will execute two sixth-generation fighter programs.

Then Breaking Defense Europe Editor Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo reports from Lviv, Ukraine, where the country is looking to scale its homegrown defense technology industry as ordinary citizens navigate the realities of everyday life in wartime.

Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

In this week's episode of The Break Out, Army reporter Carley Welch discusses what she saw at Falcon Peak in Yuma, Ariz., where the US military and industry partners spent weeks testing equipment designed to spot and counter drone incursions along the southern border.

Then Air Warfare Reporter Michael Marrow explains what's happening at the China Aerospace Studies Institute, where civilian positions are being eliminated even as the Air Force says the organization itself will continue operating with military personnel.

Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

In this week's episode of The Break Out, networks reporter Mark Pomerleau explains a new US Air Force effort to develop a defensive cyber "campaign plan" to ward off threats posed by artificial intelligence.

Then Breaking Defense Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta and Deputy Editor Lee Ferran consider nuclear and defense industry implications stemming from a recently signed trilateral defense pact linking Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

In this week's episode of The Break Out, Army reporter Carly Welch explores the highlights from recent laser-powered counter-drone experiments by the US Army, particularly around the US-Mexico border.

Then Carly and Breaking Defense Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta review a fair bit of tumult — including the surprise, but not unexpected, news that the service's top civilian is leaving — among the Army's civilian leadership ahead of midterm elections in November.

Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

In this week's episode of The Break Out, a new Defense Department memo reorients data disclosure guidance for Pentagon contractors, but it also raises several key unanswered questions, as congressional reporter Valerie Insinna tells Deputy Editor Lee Ferran.

Then networks reporter Mark Pomerleau unpacks what he learned from top Army officials during the recent TechNet Augusta conference in northern Georgia, including a few artificial intelligence initiatives in the works.

Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

In this week's episode of The Break Out, Breaking Defense Deputy Editor Lee Ferran and Air Warfare Reporter Michael Marrow discuss a new, wide-ranging national security memo from President Donald Trump aiming to drastically change navy shipbuilding.

Then we turn to Breaking Defense Multimedia Editor Daniel Woolfolk, who takes viewers on a tour around the expo floor at this year's Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala.

Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

In this week's episode of The Break Out, Breaking Defense's Multimedia Director Daniel Woolfolk tours the grounds around the Farnborough Airshow. Then we turn to Breaking Defense Middle East Contributing Editor Riad Kahwaji for a glimpse into how the war in Iran is reshaping regional military modernization. Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

In this week's episode of The Break Out, Breaking Defense Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta brings you an interview from the Farnborough Airshow, located outside of London.

At the conference, he talked with Eric Fanning, the former Army Secretary who now leads the Aerospace Industries Association. Fanning discussed a wide range of topics relevant to the US defense industry — all as airshow action was taking place above their heads.

In this week's episode of The Break Out, Breaking Defense Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta and Senior Space Reporter Theresa Hitchens discuss the US military's renewed ambition to harness solar power for missions in orbit. Can interest from Silicon Valley and venture capitalists help deliver a new solution?

Then Mehta and Deputy Editor Lee Ferran recap top news from the NATO 2026 summit in Ankara before setting the scene for next week's Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom.

Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

Visit https://breakingdefense.com/ for more defense news throughout the week.

Another week means another executive order — this time with President Donald Trump looking to change how the Foreign Military Sales process works. In the latest edition of The Weekly Break Out, Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta and Air Warfare Reporter Michael Marrow talk through how this might impact global weapon sales.

Then after the break, the two preview the upcoming Munich Security Conference and how it could be a tease for the 2028 presidential election. Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

Visit https://breakingdefense.com/ for more defense news throughout the week.

President Donald Trump has again come out swinging in a Truth Social post — this time against the Canadian aerospace industry in retaliation for the country's delayed certification of US-made Gulfstream jets for use in Canada. On a new episode of The Weekly Break Out, Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta and Deputy Editor Lee Ferran flag how the heated rivalry could affect America's militarized variants of Canada's Bombardier airframes.

Then, they look ahead to two major conferences: World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia, where new details of the kingdom's push to own the F-35 could emerge, and WEST 2026, the annual naval expo that brings together ships and information technology in California. Stay tuned for coverage from both shows. Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

Visit https://breakingdefense.com/ for more defense news throughout the week.

President Donald Trump used the World Economic Forum in Davos to escalate his pressure campaign on the US defense industry to speed up weapons production. Meanwhile, new reporting reveals the controversial Qatari Boeing 747, intended to serve as an interim Air Force One, could fly as soon as this summer, raising fresh questions about security upgrades, contractors and timelines.

On a new episode of The Weekly Break Out, Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta and Deputy Editor Lee Ferran break down what Trump said, why it matters for defense primes heading into earnings call season and what to watch next in the Air Force One saga. Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

Visit https://breakingdefense.com/ for more defense news throughout the week.

What's in a name? Here's who the Air Force has tapped to be program acquisition executives as the Pentagon rebrands its program executive officers. Then, The Weekly Break Out tours the show floor at the Surface Navy Association's 2026 conference for a peek at an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, a solar-powered maritime drone, a floating combat hospital and more.

It was a Truth Social post that shook the defense industry: President Donald Trump lashed out at big defense contractors over stock buybacks and CEO pay. Get caught up, and then see what there is to "sea" at this week's Surface Navy Association conference.

The United States carried out what may become one of the most consequential military raids in modern history. In this episode of The Weekly Break Out, CSIS defense expert Mark Cancian analyzes the US operation in Venezuela, explaining how American forces penetrated Russian-made S-300 air defense systems, leveraged Cyber Command and Space Command and executed a complex joint mission without American losses. The discussion explores what the raid reveals about Russian air defense weaknesses, lessons learned from past US failures and what China and Russia can — and cannot — replicate, particularly in a Taiwan scenario. Cancian also assesses the long-term implications for US military posture in the Western Hemisphere and whether sustained forces in the region are now inevitable. Underwritten by Leonardo DRS. Stories:

After US raid on Venezuela, analysts weigh lessons about Russian air defenses https://breakingdefense.com/2026/01/after-us-raid-on-venezuela-analysts-weigh-lessons-about-russian-air-defenses/

150 aircraft, cyber effects and 'overwhelming force:' How the Venezuela operation unfolded https://breakingdefense.com/2026/01/venezuela-150-aircraft-cyber-effects-maduro-operation-how-it-happened-caine/

US attacks Venezuela, captures leader Maduro in 'spectacular assault': Trump https://breakingdefense.com/2026/01/us-military-attacks-venezuela-captures-maduro-trump-says/

This week on The Weekly Break Out, Aaron Mehta and Lee Ferran break down the Trump administration's new National Security Strategy, what it signals for Europe, Russia and homeland defense — and how it aligns with what we heard at the Reagan National Defense Forum. Then after the break, the hosts dig into the compromise 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, including why lawmakers added $8 billion above the Pentagon's request and why this year's bill stayed clean. Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

The Navy's decision to cancel its Constellation-class frigate program has shifted from quiet speculation to front-page news. In this episode of The Weekly Break Out, Breaking Defense unpacks what might come next for Fincantieri and US sailors. Then the conversation moves west to Simi Valley, where the upcoming Reagan National Defense Forum is set to gather defense officials, lawmakers, generals and CEOs for one of the most influential policy events of the year. We lay out the themes and personalities expected to dominate the conference, including White House budget office boss Russ Vought. If you follow US defense policy, shipbuilding challenges, or the intersection of politics and the Pentagon, this episode is for you. Underwritten by Leonardo DRS. Read more: Navy kills four ships in Constellation-class frigate program in 'strategic shift'