The Weekly Break Out

The midterms are over, but the political battles surrounding the Pentagon may just be beginning. On this episode of The Break Out, Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta and Pentagon reporter Ashley Roque examine the renewed push to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the possibility of a Senate trial and investigations Democrats are preparing as they take control of Congress. But the outgoing Republican majority has some major unfinished business. A looming government funding deadline, uncertainty surrounding the defense reconciliation package and an unfinished defense authorization bill could complicate the Pentagon's ambitious spending plans. Mehta and Roque discuss what lawmakers might accomplish before January, and what could be left for the next Congress. Underwritten by Leonardo DRS.

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.