22 - 23 January, 2025
| Copthorne Tara London Kensington, London, UK
THURSDAY 23 JANUARY | SURFACE WARSHIPS
9:00 - 9:30
HOST NATION ADDRESS: INCREASING READINESS RATES FOR 2025
- Potential for Carrier Strike Group (CSG) Deployment to the Indo-Pacific: emphasising the importance of this area for global security and the Navy’s role in maintaining stability.
- Bolstering Collective Security and Deterrence: efforts to strengthen partnerships against emerging global threats
8:00 - 8:45
MORNING REGISTRATION & COFFEE
8:45 - 9:00
CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS
9:30 - 10:00
JMSDF AND ATLAS APPROACH TO ESTABLISHING A MODERN AND AGILE SURFACE FLEET
Rear Admiral Naoya Hoshi -
Director General of the Logistics Department, Maritime Staff Office,
JMSDF
- Modernisation of our fleet: multi-role frigates, enhanced anti-submarine warfare capabilities, and a new ship-to-air guided missile
- Maintenance strategies to ensure the longevity and readiness of the fleet, emphasizing sustainability and continuous maritime presence
- International cooperation in R&D into maritime equipment: applying advanced dual-use technologies
Rear Admiral Naoya Hoshi
Director General of the Logistics Department, Maritime Staff OfficeJMSDF
10:30 - 11:00
A MORE LETHAL ROYAL NAVY: SHARPENING BRITISH NAVAL POWER
- Up-armouring Navy frigates and destroyers and integrating ‘spiral developments’
- Should we be prioritising the MRSS process to enhance littoral strike capabilities
- Investing in building resilient weapon systems to withstand diverse and evolving threats
· Regaining the capability balance in ASW, ASuW and AAW with limited resources (budget and personnel)
10:00 - 10:30
MORNING COFFEE AND NETWORKING BREAK
12:00 - 12:20
QUANTUM NAVIGATION SYSTEMS: PAVING THE WAY FOR ADVANCED POSITIONING AND NAVIGATION TOOLS AT SEA
Chester Butterworth -
Deputy CTO,
Royal Navy
- Tremendous growth in adversary's weapons systems has enhanced requirements for ‘full domain awareness’
- Utilising quantum research and applying it to real-world situations at sea
- Addressing challenges for naval vessels operating in contested or remote areas and ensuring superior positioning and navigation capabilities at sea.
12:20 - 12:50
MEETING REQUIREMENTS FOR ISR OPERATIONS: UPGRADING EXISTING PLATFORMS WITH ADVANCED CAPABILITIES
Martin Suitters -
Head of Innovation & Capability, Complex Weapons,
UK Defence Solutions Centre
- Operational Problems: conflict in the Red Sea and the need for directed energy weapons in ship operations
- Rapid Advancements: integrating combat systems with ship power-generation systems to create a single system for ship combatants
Martin Suitters
Head of Innovation & Capability, Complex WeaponsUK Defence Solutions Centre
12:50 - 13:20
BALANCING TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN SKILLS IN NAVAL OPERATIONS
- The importance of integrating human skills with advanced technologies to optimize naval operations.
- How can we utilise new technologies to enhance crew efficiency and overcome challenges in shortages of skilled personnel?
Integrating autonomous technologies to enhance operational capabilities
13:00 - 14:00
NETWORKING LUNCH
14:30 - 15:00
MULTI-MODULARITY IN FUTURE OPERATIONS
· Assessing the threat environment in the High North Sea and outlining emerging operational requirements
· Enhancing platform flexibility and agility, weapon and sensor commonality
· Increasing platform, weapon, and sensor unity to reduce cost and logistic footprint
Improving maritime domain awareness and picture compilation for rapid reaction capacity
8:00 - 8:30
INTEROPERABILITY & DRIVING INNOVATION
Jeffrey Brewer -
US Co-Director,
London Tech Bridge
- The London Tech Bridge innovation pipeline for autonomous systems, novel energy and workforce of the future
- Ensuring small innovative companies and non-traditional defense contractors gain access to naval leaders
- Enabling the integration of new systems into naval fleets
15:00 - 15:45
PANEL DISCUSSION: MODULARITY AS A ROUTE TO MISSION FLEXIBILITY
15:45 - 16:15
DESIGNING THE FUTURE SURFACE COMBATANT
• Outlining design and construction of the first indigenous frigate (I Class Frigate)
• Expectations for Future Surface Combatant
16:15 - 16:45
AFTERNOON COFFEE AND NETWORKING BREAK
16:45 - 17:30
PANEL DISCUSSION: STRATEGIES AND TASKING FOR THE FUTURE FLEET
- Addressing the difficulties in ensuring new systems work seamlessly with existing legacy systems and across different platforms
- Developing strategies for effective communication and coordination within a fleet, leveraging integrated combat systems to enhance situational awareness and response times
- Preparing surface warships for rapid technological advancements, including the potential impacts of quantum technologies and other disruptive innovations on naval operations.
