Navy Tech 2025 Bows Out On A High

And that’s a wrap! A fantastic Day Three served as a fitting finale to Navy Tech 2025 in Helsinki. 

We kicked off with great insights from our panel discussion about emerging and disruptive technologies and their role in rapidly delivering new multi-domain capabilities. 

Rear Admiral Mike Mattis, Commander of the U.S. Navy’s Task Force 66, talked about “bottling the secret sauce” of ingenious innovation and resourcefulness demonstrated by Ukrainian soldiers in their ongoing conflict and “distributing it across the alliance.”

“Perfect is the enemy of good enough,” he observed, saying navies needed to adapt at a pace that made them uncomfortable. “I can’t wait for perfect. What we have seen in Ukraine is that necessity is the mother of all invention, and there’s nothing like a threat on your doorstep to help figure things out.”

Dr. Joseph Cotter, Senior Research Fellow at Imperial College London, remarked how hearing fellow panel members talk about the necessity of getting new capabilities onto platforms early was “music to his ears” and noted how different operational conditions were to working in a laboratory.

His specialism is quantum physics, and he explained the focus of his recent work was “trying to apply the physics of quantum mechanics to do useful things” and “to control these delicate states of matter in the field of inertial navigation.”

And the audience heard how harnessing the power of the latest supercomputers was helping to predict, simulate and solve a wide range of naval technology issues, and how modern “neural network” ship systems would transform the way sailors lived, worked and waged war inside modern vessels.

The rest of the day was taken up with a host of informative presentations from industry partners and end users which never failed to capture the imagination and hold the attention of all who attended. 

We had insights on a range of topics: transformation in the underwater battlespace; strategic ISR an mission autonomy in EW-contested environments; combining crewed and uncrewed systems in MCM and ASW missions; leveraging technology for operational gain; and many more besides.

And we finished off proceedings with another illuminating panel discussion, this time with the focus on how space-based assets could enhance maritime situational awareness and seabed surveillance.

It’s been a wonderful few days: Navy Leaders would like to extend its sincere thanks to all who have taken part and made this event such a success. We hope to see you all next year in Sweden!