At the IDEX 2025 forum, Mr. Taylor had an exclusive interview with Mr. Harward, a former Navy SEAL and deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, as part of the Threat Status weekly podcast.

Mr. Harward underscored a growing consensus in the defense industrial space: The old approach to developing a new capability — and the lengthy time frames associated with it — is no longer acceptable.

“Capabilities: What can you bring to the table now?” said Mr. Harward, now an executive vice president at the company Shield AI. “How can you change it with the speed of relevancy that matters? No longer seven, eight years to develop a capability, but to deliver it now. And can you do it cost effectively?”

It could take years to develop a particular capability or weapon safely. But the hold-up needs to be the actual production and manufacturing, not bureaucracy or red tape, he said.

“It can’t be the policy. It can’t be the bureaucracy. It can’t be the process that adds months and years to the process,” Mr. Harward said.

Countering China’s military ambitions in space is a key priority for the Pentagon. But the current U.S. strategy is insufficient.

That’s one of the big takeaways from a major new report from the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. National Security Correspondent Bill Gertz took a deep dive into the study. He reports that the U.S. force’s guiding philosophy in confronting China’s advances in space weaponry, and its control over satellites and other assets, isn’t good enough.

There are many issues at play here, as a potential space conflict between the U.S. and China is an endlessly complex and dangerous proposition. But one major problem seems to be what some critics say was the slow pace of progress inside the U.S. Space Force during the Biden administration. The warfighting service has announced its deployment of a single space weapon — an electronic jammer that can temporarily disrupt satellites. Other weapons are said to be developed in secret, Mr. Gertz reports.

By contrast, the Mitchell report said China has already deployed multiple space weapons, including anti-satellite missiles capable of knocking out satellites in different orbits. The Chinese military has built directed-energy weapons, cyber weapons and robot satellites that can attack orbiting space systems.

Military Correspondent Mike Glenn has been tracking the fascinating, bittersweet story of the SS United States, the largest ocean liner ever built in the U.S., that has been rusting away at a pier in Philadelphia for nearly 30 years. This week it began what is expected to be its final journey, a 14-day voyage to Mobile, Alabama.

When it arrives, the ship — which has a rich, storied history and during its heyday ferried presidents and movie stars across the Atlantic Ocean — will be sunk off the Florida Panhandle coast to become what its new owners say will be the world’s largest artificial reef.

There’s plenty of backstory here, which Mr. Glenn explores in detail. The SS United States Conservancy, a nonprofit that purchased the ship in 2011, initially hoped to develop it as a mixed-use destination, including a hotel and restaurant. Legal problems with the pier owner and a court-ordered timetable forced the group’s officials to quickly find another solution, leading to the ship’s ultimate fate as an artificial reef and — its hoped — tourist attraction. 

Sunday’s German elections carry perhaps a bit more weight than usual this cycle, largely because of the attention centered on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and how it will fare in the contests.

Correspondent Eric Lyman examines all the complex political dynamics at play in Berlin, including the expectation that the AfD, while unlikely to win, is on track to score the best result since World War II for a deeply conservative party. And in the process, it will gain a new level of political legitimacy. 

That prospect sends shivers through the European establishment because of many AfD members’ neo-Nazi sympathies, as well as platform planks that include a hard line on immigration, skepticism about the European Union and support for better relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nation. Critics say the party is still trying to break free from Germany’s dark Nazi past.

In the U.S., some key officials say Germany is wrong to be fearful of the AfD. Vice President J.D. Vance broke protocol after the Munich Security Conference this month to meet in person with AfD party leader Alice Weidel, amid German criticism that he is interfering in the country’s politics. Mr. Musk also has expressed support for the party. 

America’s illegal immigration crisis is being tackled head-on by Mr. Trump. And that will benefit all Americans in the long run.

Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker makes that case in a new op-ed for The Times, arguing that the nation now understands immigration impacts everyone, all across the U.S.

“Before Mr. Trump’s campaign, many Americans viewed these concerns as limited to border states and the loved ones of drug addicts,” he writes. “The data shows that fentanyl and other drugs are making their way all over the country. The facts also show that many of the people dying from overdoses had never used illegal drugs. Securing the border will save lives.”

• Feb. 17-21 — International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) 2025, United Arab Emirates

• Feb. 23-26 — Web Summit Qatar, Web Summit

• Feb. 25 — The Day After: Yair Lapid’s Vision for a Peaceful Middle East, Foundation for Defense of Democracies

• Feb. 26 — 2025 Defense Software & Data Summit, Govini

• Feb. 26-27 — Global Space & Technology Convention & Exhibition, Singapore Space & Technology