Tomorrow’s fleet: Revitalizing US shipbuilding and the maritime industrial base

  • Mon, December 7, 2026 • 3:00 pm ET
  • Atlantic Council Headquarters
  • 1400 L Street NW • Floor 11
  • Washington, DC 20005

Former Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite and former Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Christine Fox discuss the Revitalizing US Shipbuilding Task Force’s newly released final report.

On Monday, December 7 at 3:00 p.m. ET, the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and its Forward Defense program will launch “A blueprint for tomorrow’s fleet: Revitalizing US shipbuilding and the maritime industrial base,” the final report of the Revitalizing US Shipbuilding Task Force. Co-chaired by former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, former Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Christine Fox, and former Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite, the task force drew from the experience and insights of members from government and industry to assess the condition of the US maritime industrial base and chart a path toward a shipbuilding enterprise equal to the nation’s security needs.

The report offers policymakers and industry leaders a roadmap for expanding the capacity of US shipyards and strengthening the workforce that sustains them, pairing near-term actions achievable under existing authorities with longer-range reforms concerning how the United States funds and produces its ships. As adversaries continue to expand their fleets, the decisions made in Washington and across the private sector over the next several years will determine whether the United States can maintain its dominance at sea.

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speakers

AGENDA

3:00 – 3:05 p.m. | Welcome remarks

Featuring

Fred Kempe
President and CEO,
Atlantic Council

3:05 – 3:50 p.m. | Turning recommendations into action for the shipbuilding enterprise

Speakers

Adm. James Foggo
Former commander,
United States Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Force Command Naples

Paul Lwin
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer,
HavocAI
 

George Moutafis
Chief Executive Officer,
Fincantieri Marine Group

Moderated by

Joe Costa
Director,
Forward Defense, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security,
Atlantic Council

3:50 – 4:25 p.m. | Inside the task force’s blueprint for revitalization

Speakers

Michael Presley
Co-Author of the Revitalizing US Shipbuilding Task Force,
Atlantic Council;
Additive Manufacturing Engineer,
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory 

Steven Wills
Co-Author of the Revitalizing US Shipbuilding Task Force,
Atlantic Council;
Navalist, Center for Maritime Strategy,
Navy League of the United States
 

Moderated by

Stephen Rodriguez
Senior advisor,
Forward Defense, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security,
Atlantic Council

4:25 – 5:00 p.m. | The strategic stakes of American shipbuilding in today’s security environment

Speakers

The Hon. Christine Fox
Former Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense

Amb. Kenneth Braithwaite
77th Secretary of the Navy;
Former Ambassador to Norway

Moderated by

Stephen Rodriguez
Senior advisor,
Forward Defense, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security,
Atlantic Council

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