CNO Delivers Remarks at Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Center of Excellence Future Maritime Warfare Symposium

Below is a transcript of the remarks as delivered:

Admiral Bauer … Admiral Dwyer … Fellow Heads of Navy … Ladies and Gentlemen … Good morning!

I hope you will accept my regrets for not being able to attend in person. Believe me when I tell you … I'd rather be down there in Norfolk … where I can smell the salt water … walk the water front … and listen to the world-class discussions you are having today. I'll ask Admiral Dwyer to send me scrupulous notes!

Nevertheless … I'm proud to be able to present this Host Nation Address. For those of you visiting from overseas … welcome to the United States and welcome to Norfolk! And I know for many of you it is "welcome back."

I don't think there is another city in the Alliance that is quite like Norfolk. In my view, it is not only a concentration area for U.S. naval forces … but also a center of gravity for combined sea power.

We are proud to host NATO's Allied Command Transformation, Joint Force Command Norfolk, U.S. Second Fleet, and of course … Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence - the only NATO C-O-E in the United States.

This symposium is an important forum … it represents what gives our Alliance … along with our Partners … a strategic warfighting advantage over our competitors and adversaries … namely … the steadfast commitment and resolve we all share to protect our citizens … defend our territory … and safeguard our freedom and democracy through decisive naval power.

This morning, I thought I would first share my perspective on the way forward for combined sea power … and then provide you my insight on how the U.S. Navy is thinking about force design to build our fleet of the future. I'll keep my remarks brief so we can get to your questions.

It's clear to me that the world has entered a critical, potentially decisive decade … and as the theme of this conference suggests … the international, rules-based order is under attack.

Both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Russia are attempting to establish de facto sea control of strategic maritime regions in order to expand their influence … and jeopardize the free flow of goods, information, and energy.

In so doing, they seek to endanger the global maritime commons … undermine multilateral norms and institutions … and promote their authoritarian principles. Thus, during this decade, our navies will play a unique and crucial role. As we consider what that role entails … I would offer that we must do three things: strengthen deterrence in key regions … improve interoperability … and accelerate our progress in capabilities that will define the future of maritime competition.

First, campaigning together, we must strengthen deterrence in those vital areas where Russia and the PRC are attempting to assert control … denying free, open, and lawful navigation. We cannot allow Russia to assume maritime dominance in the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, or eastern Mediterranean.

Nor can we stand by while the PRC seeks to normalize coercive behavior in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. We must challenge their growing influence, protect vital trade routes, and support the international norms that should govern maritime disputes. This requires a collaborative approach working with international partners, institutions, and maritime industries-all backed by combined, combat-credible naval power.

Exercises like BALTOPS 22 are vital to this effort. 16 NATO allies and partner nations … 47 ships … 89 aircraft … 7,000 personnel … all operating side-by-side … that makes a powerful statement with real deterrent effects.

Second, our navies must increase integration … further improving interoperability.

We need to expand our vision … think creatively … and find ways to seamlessly exchange capability with transposable force elements that can meet the mission of our fleet commanders across the spectrum of military operations.

I mentioned BALTOPS … another example would be this summer's Bulgarian-led exercise "Breeze 2022" in the Black Sea … which brought together 24 warships, cutters, and auxiliary vessels … along with planes and helicopters … from eleven NATO member countries. We must train like we will fight … and in a high-end, high-intensity conflict … our alliances and partnerships will only be as strong as our interoperability allows.

Third, we must make smart, ambitious investments in advanced technologies that will enable us to maintain our warfighting edge.

We must seize the initiative in competitive areas such as artificial intelligence … quantum computing … directed energy … advanced manufacturing … and unmanned technologies … including autonomous systems. And to remain competitive at the speed of change … we must partner with government, industry, and academia to turn science projects into operational capabilities under … on … and above the oceans.

This involves engaging with small businesses and start-ups to identify non-traditional acquisition channels and fast-track game-changing innovations. For example, look at what Admiral De Beurme is doing to protect "the digital ship" with the integration of cyber defense capabilities on the Belgian Navy's new mine countermeasure ships.

Similarly, this week Portugal is hosting 16 NATO nations for Dynamic Messenger 2022 … the first full NATO operational experimentation exercise to specifically focus on integrating unmanned systems into the maritime domain. This is a tremendous opportunity to work alongside industry and academia to create exercise scenarios … collect data … and quickly analyze new technologies we can embrace to accelerate capability development.

Whether its adapting existing solutions or developing and designing brand new ones … these are the kind of innovative efforts we need to retain our advantage at sea.

So that's what I see as the way forward for combined sea power: strengthening deterrence in key regions … improving interoperability … and accelerating the modernization of our capabilities.

Now, as we think about modernization … how is the U.S. Navy planning to design the fleet of the future?

First … I would tell you that we are fully engaged in an intensive campaign of learning … using war-gaming … analysis … and experimentation to inform how we fight.

This summer I released our Navigation Plan 2022 … which provides more details … but essentially … we're learning that we must:

• Distribute and spread our forces,
• Mass effects from multiple vectors,
• And integrate all domains, from seabed to space, and from the physical to virtual.

In turn … these lessons are informing the design of our future force … what we fight with. The trends in our force-structure assessments call for:

• More submarines,
• More supply and logistics ships,
• More smaller, but still multi-mission surface combatants,
• Fewer larger surface combatants,
• And more unmanned platforms.

We're trying to expand distance through investments in long-range precision fires … hypersonic weapons … space-based capabilities … and unmanned tanking.

We're trying to leverage deception and harden our defenses through investments in undersea platforms … next-generation aircraft and surface platforms … and integrated weapons systems.

And we're trying to enable a more distributed fleet … with the ability to deliver logistics … and generate decision advantage through investments in small more lethal platforms … autonomous systems … AI … and resilient networks.

Let me say a bit more on unmanned and AI.

This is no longer a luxury…but a NECESSITY.

Without unmanned systems and AI, we will be challenged to operate and fight in a distributed manner.

With unmanned and AI, we can:

• See farther,
• Move faster,
• Decide quicker,
• Operate in contested areas,
• Pose new dilemmas on adversaries,
• And reduce risk to the force.

So I am prioritizing unmanned and want to move us to a hybrid fleet that's a mix of manned … unmanned … minimally manned … and optionally manned platforms … and I want to do it as quickly as possible.

So that's a sense of the direction we're heading to design the fleet of the future.

In closing … let me bring my comments back to where I began … and that's with you … our Allies and Partners. The pillar of our U.S. National Defense Strategy is integrated deterrence. We understand that combining our strengths with you is what gives us all our strategic advantage. We have something our strategic competitors simply cannot match.

Nowhere is that more evident than on the oceans … where our combined sea power is upholding and protecting the free and open international order.

With that … I'll end by encouraging you to have really thoughtful, tough conversations throughout this symposium. The mantra we've adopted in our Navy is "Get Real, Get Better."

Let's not be content with the status quo. Our partnerships and friendships are too valuable. I know there are people here who have ideas that will make us better … so please … share them … and let's learn from each other. Let's take full advantage of this time together. With that … I look forward to your questions.

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