The Weekly Break Out

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1. The defense show circuit keeps rolling, plus Jimmy Stewart goes to war

   3 november 2026 · 7 min

   Afspelen
   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. Lees meer

   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.

2. What's haunting the Pentagon this Halloween?

   27 oktober 2026 · 7 min

   Afspelen
   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. Lees meer

   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.

3. Drones take over AUSA, plus the Army's plan to bring in new vendors

   20 oktober 2026 · 8 min

   Afspelen
   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. Lees meer

   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.

4. Unpacking Boeing's F/A-XX win, plus a report from wartime Ukraine

   6 oktober 2026 · 8 min

   Afspelen
   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. Lees meer

   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.

5. Drone-hunting on the border, plus turmoil at an Air Force think tank

   29 september 2026 · 7 min

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   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. Lees meer

   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.

6. Air Force braces for new era of AI-powered hacking, plus unpacking the Mecca pact

   8 september 2026 · 7 min

   Afspelen
   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. Lees meer

   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.

7. An Army leadership shakeup, plus lasers on the border

   1 september 2026 · 7 min

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   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. Lees meer

   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.

8. How a new Pentagon memo 'resets' industry requirements, plus highlights from TechNet

   25 augustus 2026 · 6 min

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   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. Lees meer

   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.

9. Diving into Trump's unusual shipbuilding plans, plus an SMD expo floor tour

   18 augustus 2026 · 8 min

   Afspelen
   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. Lees meer

   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.

10. Farnborough last looks, plus how the Iran war is affecting arms sales

    4 augustus 2026 · 6 min

    Afspelen
    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. Lees meer

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