La Spezia, 30 September 2025 - The Chair of the NATO Military Committee (CMC), Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, travelled to Italy to partake as a keynote speaker at the SEAFUTURE 2025 Conference. During his stay, CMC visited also the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) and the "The National Pole of the Underwater Dimension (PNS).
Admiral Cavo Dragone's keynote speech pertained to the increasingly important innovative R&D solutions for underwater infrastructure protection.
"Emerging disruptive technologies are reshaping the underwater environment - only faster, broader, and with global consequences" he stressed. In response to the challenges of today he highlighted that "we cannot remain prisoners of old paradigms" adding, "we must dare to think differently - to look at creative, unconventional solutions that blend military expertise, scientific research, and commercial innovation."
CMC concluded his speech with the concrete opportunities the Alliance may harness now that new increased defence investment was agreed on at the NATO Summit in The Hague, like "channel more resources into R&D, to scale innovative technologies faster, and to ensure that disruptive ideas become operational solutions."
Additionally, he highlighted how "small and medium enterprises must be part of this effort. Their creativity, agility, and niche expertise can make the difference in areas like robotics, AI, quantum, and sensors."
In addition to his participation at SEAFUTURE 2025, CMC travelled to the NATO CMRE for a meeting with the leadership to discuss the potentials of the centre and future developments.
The NATO CMRE acts as a leading research laboratory for undersea science and technology, for the Alliance. With a history rooted in tracking Soviet submarines during the cold war, the CMRE has shifted its focus to meeting NATO's most urgent maritime threats. The research development undertaken at the CMRE are powered by, but not limited to: artificial intelligence, robotics, next-generation underwater acoustics, and quantum computing.
Finally, linked to the previous event, Admiral Cavo Dragone paid a visit also to the "National Pole of the Underwater Dimension (PNS)", an inter-ministerial reality focused on cooperation between public and private structures to promote, develop, coordinate the synergies of the various national excellences in the specific sector.
