High-profile speakers lined up for Solent Coastal Powerhouse Summit
Maritime UK Solent is set to focus on maritime defence at the upcoming Solent Coastal Powerhouse Summit.
The summit, which will take place on March 26 and 27 at ABP's Ocean Cruise Terminal, Southampton, is being held at a time when the government has announced the largest increase in defence spending since the Cold War.
The event is set to feature several high-profile speakers and thought leaders from the sector, who will share insights into the role of maritime defence in a modern economy, the latest industry innovations, and the Solent's key role.
On the summit's first day, Commodore Marcel Rosenberg, commander of His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth, will deliver a keynote address on the role of defence in a modern economy.
He will also chair a panel discussion on the maritime defence ecosystem, featuring Nick Watts of BAE Systems Maritime Services, Chris Groves of QinetiQ, and Mike Hayes of Serco.
Commodore Rosenberg said: "Defence has always had a key role in providing the stability to support economic growth.
"At the Solent Coastal Powerhouse Summit, I'll be exploring how defence can be at the heart of a thriving modern economy, where skills, innovation, research and development are recognised as mutually beneficial for defence resilience, as well as for regional and national economic growth."
The commodore is a non-executive director for Maritime UK Solent and a STEM ambassador, who actively supports regional maritime growth and innovation.
The two-day summit will also feature a range of other high-profile speakers, including Mike Kane MP, parliamentary under-secretary of state, Paul Ludlow of Carnival UK and P&O Cruises, Alastair Welch of Port of Southampton, and Dan Hook of RAD Propulsion.
Stu Baker, managing director of Maritime UK Solent, said: "With the national focus firmly on defence spending and the growing importance of maritime security, the Coastal Powerhouse Summit provides a timely opportunity for industry leaders to collaborate, share insights, and shape the future of the UK's Maritime Defence sector – which is focused on the Solent.
"Maritime UK Solent is delighted to bring together such an esteemed line-up of experts to explore the challenges and opportunities ahead."
For more information and to book tickets, visit muksolent.com/coastal-powerhouse-week.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
4 hours ago
- Axios
Tech's dance with the Pentagon speeds up
Silicon Valley's on-again, off-again cycle of engagement with the U.S. military is swinging hard toward defense work. The big picture: The Trump administration has opened the door to spending, the Pentagon is pushing modernization and a new era of instability and flash wars has engulfed the world just as AI is remaking the entire tech industry. Driving the news: The Army announced earlier this month that four tech executives would become lieutenant colonels in the new Reserve Detachment 201: Meta CTO Adam Bosworth, OpenAI product head Kevin Weil, Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar and Bob McGrew, a Palantir and OpenAI veteran. The Detachment 201 project, whose genesis predates the second Trump administration, aims to fast-track the introduction of Silicon Valley expertise into the vast defense bureaucracy. These new commissions put a human face on an epochal shift of tech industry energy into defense work. Hardware firms are pushing aerospace projects, satellites and drones, autonomous vehicles and VR and AR headsets. Software providers bring data collection, management and analysis tools for everything from Defense Department supply-chain management to cybersecurity to real-time battlefield decision making . Meanwhile, everyone is promoting AI as the all-purpose answer to taming the Pentagon's vast unwieldy systems and unlocking a competitive edge for the U.S. in its global conflicts and rivalries, most urgently with China. Last week DoD awarded a $200 million contract to OpenAI to "develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains." Google and Anthropic are also working with the Pentagon. Industry critics have painted this shift as a MAGA-fueled power grab by a new generation of contractors — like Palantir, Anduril and Elon Musk's companies — and investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Peter Thiel. Yes, but: While those players are definitely making hay as their allies (former venture capitalist Vice President Vance, White House tech adviser David Sacks) have assumed power, tech's new defense mania is part of a decades-long oscillation by the industry. Today's Silicon Valley got its start 75 years ago thanks to a flood of postwar defense contracting work that flowed toward Stanford and the nascent Santa Clara Valley electronics industry. That engagement ebbed during the 1970s with stagflation and post-Vietnam cuts, surged again in the 1980s under Reagan's Cold War defense ramp-up, then dropped once more in the 1990s as the Soviet empire collapsed and the internet blossomed. Post 9/11, many tech firms rushed to join the "global war on terror" — only to disengage once more as the U.S.'s Afghan and Iraq wars faltered. Our thought bubble: Tech's reputation as a left-leaning industry — inspired by its San Francisco Bay Area roots and the counterculture heritage of both the personal computing and internet revolutions — is largely a myth. Any time the federal government has been willing to throw dollars at defense technology, the tech industry has been eager to sell. Between the lines: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's emphasis on a " culture of lethality" might once have raised hackles in tech boardrooms and among staff. But AI companies — even those that put "safety" at the heart of their missions — are now rushing to compete for deals, as a call to patriotism has replaced an insistence on caution along the road to "superintelligence." OpenAI, Google and other AI leaders who once had policies barring certain kinds of military and weapons work have removed or loosened those rules over the past two years. What to watch: Support for the tech-Pentagon alliance — both inside firms and among the broader public — could splinter if AI, autonomous vehicles and other advanced tech plays a high-profile role in Trump administration immigration enforcement efforts or military deployments in U.S. cities.
5 hours ago
UK says it will buy F-35 jets capable of carrying nuclear bombs
THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The United Kingdom will buy 12 U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear bombs and will join NATO's shared airborne nuclear mission, in a major expansion of its nuclear deterrent, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Wednesday. The government called it 'the biggest strengthening of the U.K.'s nuclear posture in a generation.' Starmer made the announcement while attending a NATO summit in the Netherlands. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte welcomed the decision, calling it 'yet another robust British contribution to NATO.' The U.K. phased out air-dropped atomic weapons in the 1990s after the end of the Cold War. Its nuclear arsenal now consists of submarine-based missiles. Only three NATO members – the U.S., Britain and France – are nuclear powers, while seven nations contribute to the alliance's nuclear mission by contributing jets that can carry either conventional or weapons or American B61 bombs stockpiled in Europe. The use of nuclear weapons by the U.K. as part of the mission would require the authorization of the alliance's nuclear planning group as well as the U.S. president and British prime minister. Starmer also announced that the U.K. will provide 350 air defense missiles to Ukraine, funded by 70 million pounds ($95 million) raised from interest on seized Russian assets. The announcements come as the U.K. and other NATO members pledge to increase spending on security to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035. The total includes 3.5% on defense and another 1.5% on broader security and resilience efforts.
Hamilton Spectator
5 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
UK says it will buy F-35 jets capable of carrying nuclear bombs
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The United Kingdom will buy 12 U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear bombs and will join NATO's shared airborne nuclear mission, in a major expansion of its nuclear deterrent, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Wednesday. The government called it 'the biggest strengthening of the U.K.'s nuclear posture in a generation.' Starmer made the announcement while attending a NATO summit in the Netherlands. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte welcomed the decision, calling it 'yet another robust British contribution to NATO.' The U.K. phased out air-dropped atomic weapons in the 1990s after the end of the Cold War. Its nuclear arsenal now consists of submarine-based missiles. Only three NATO members – the U.S., Britain and France – are nuclear powers, while seven nations contribute to the alliance's nuclear mission by contributing jets that can carry either conventional or weapons or American B61 bombs stockpiled in Europe. The use of nuclear weapons by the U.K. as part of the mission would require the authorization of the alliance's nuclear planning group as well as the U.S. president and British prime minister. Starmer also announced that the U.K. will provide 350 air defense missiles to Ukraine, funded by 70 million pounds ($95 million) raised from interest on seized Russian assets. The announcements come as the U.K. and other NATO members pledge to increase spending on security to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035. The total includes 3.5% on defense and another 1.5% on broader security and resilience efforts. The U.K. currently spends 2.3% of national income on defense and says that will rise to 2.6% by 2027. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
