Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast [Sep 21, 2026] Look Ahead w/ Byron Callan

On today’s Look Ahead 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 Sept. 24 summit between President Trump and China’s Xi Jinping; changing defense sentiment; implications of the deal the president claims gives US more rights in Greenland than the 1951 agreement between Washington and Copenhagen; more takeaways from the Air & Space Forces Association’s annual Air Space Cyber conference and tradeshow, including more Iran war lessons; the Air Force’s plan for 500 Collaborative Combat Aircraft and 500 Massed Modular Aircraft; the service’s interest in new F16 Fighting Falcon jets by Lockheed Martin to fill out its aging force structure; RTX’s deal with hypersonic aircraft maker Hermeus to produce F100 engines; the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ new report, “The Defence of Europe in a New Era: An Assessment;” and a look at the week ahead and in Washington and beyond.