After a stint as one of the Royal Navy’s most senior officers, Rear Admiral James Parkin will be helping frame the discussions at Europe’s largest annual naval event.
Navy Leaders is delighted to announce that following his retirement from the Royal Navy at the end of 2025, RAdm Parkin has agreed to join the team currently hard at work devising the agenda, topics and speakers for the Combined Naval Event 2026, which will run from May 19-21 at Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre, UK.
This year our flagship event looks set to bring together more than 2,200 senior naval leaders, government officials, industry representatives, and international partners from 85+ nations.
With no fewer than six focused theatres and 140-plus speakers, and taking in the full spectrum of naval operations from fleet readiness and maritime autonomy, to shipbuilding and undersea warfare, CNE 2026 looks set to be our biggest and best event yet.
RAdm Parkin’s 28-year naval career culminated in being appointed Director Develop in August 2021 by then-First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.
In that role he was responsible for the development and procurement of new equipment, weapons and capabilities acquired by the Royal Navy, giving him a key role in the strategic direction of the force as a whole.
As director for all future capability and technology, he played an instrumental role in overseeing the RN’s pivot towards autonomy and AI, developing maritime projects such as Atlantic Bastion.
During a tenure lasting almost four years, he also established the Disruptive Capabilities and Technology Office (DCTO), combining the knowledge and skills from NavyX, the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, and the Navy AI Cell into a single centre of expertise for rapid innovation and warfighting acceleration.
Explaining why he was so keen to get involved in the Combined Naval Event, RAdm Parkin commented: “Having attended the very first CNE, and spoken at almost every one since, I have witnessed its evolution from bespoke event into Europe’s premier naval conference and exhibition.
“I have benefitted first-hand from the superb opportunity to hear from, and network with, the most informed and interesting people from navies, governments, and defence companies around the world, and I’m honoured to have been asked to chair CNE 2026.”
During a near three-decade career, RAdm Parkin deployed on operations worldwide and commanded ships of every size, from the patrol vessel HMS Ranger, via the frigate HMS Montrose, all the way up to then-fleet flagship HMS Bulwark.
His service also included acting as the UK liaison officer in the Multinational Force Iraq HQ in Baghdad, commanding the UK Amphibious Task Group, and acting as Assistant Chief of Staff for Planning in the U.K.’s Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood.
Already the holder of a CBE awarded for his actions in the Baltic Sea commanding the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Maritime Task Group in 2019, RAdm Parkin also featured in the recent 2026 New Years Honours List, being appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
CEO and founder of Navy Leaders Nathan Martin said: “Having such a senior and distinguished former Royal Navy officer as part of our team is both a feather in our cap and an indication of how this event has grown into a truly major annual forum for navies around the globe.
“We’re delighted to have him on board and we know he’ll help us raise the standards of an event that’s already class-leading to even greater heights.”
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