Aviation Week's Check 6 Podcast

Listen in as Aviation Week's Robert Wall, Brian Everstine and Steve Trimble break down the Pentagon's new National Defense Strategy and what it means for the budget.

The Trump administration has started the clock on a near-total ban of foreign UAS and parts in the U.S. The surprise blanket ban has the potential to dramatically effect American customers and contractors alike—and not necessarily in a good way. Listen to Aviation Week's Michael Bruno and Bill Carey who are joined by The Drone Girl, Sally French, to explain what is happening and what it means.

Listen in as Aviation Week's Guy Norris and Graham Warwick report back from their annual pilgrimage to AIAA SciTech, sharing news of future aerospace technologies they learned about at the aerospace research forum. They also hear from Clay Mowry, the head of AIAA.

Aviation Week's Robert Wall and Garrett Reim are joined by Russ Matijevich, space industry veteran and a judge in the Space Tech Challenge Awards. Nominations are now open for the awards—could your solution be a winner?
Find out more and apply here: https://spacetechchallenge.aviationweek.com/
The Space Tech Challenge Awards connect execution-ready innovations with the government agencies, prime contractors, and commercial operators actively seeking them. From lunar operations to Mars missions, the space industry faces nearly 200 validated capability gaps. The Aviation Week Space Tech Challenge Awards recognize solutions already in development — prototypes tested and advancing toward deployment. Presented at Space Tech Expo USA, this program connects working technologies with government agencies, prime contractors, and commercial operators ready to integrate them.

Airframers' 2025 delivery totals are in. Aviation Week's team grades Airbus, Boeing and the smaller OEMs on their production performance last year.