News

From 16 to 19 June 2025, the historic ​“Caio Duilio” Navy Officers’ Club in Rome hosted the 2^nd Establishment Conference of the Underwater Centre of Excellence (COE).

The event marked a pivotal step in the Centre's accreditation journey, which will culminate in its establishment in La Spezia and anticipated NATO certification by 2026.

The conference brought together delegates from numerous Allied and Partner Nations, along with representatives of NATO Strategic Commands, confirming the growing consensus within the Alliance on the strategic relevance of the underwater dimension for global security, deterrence, and technological development.

The opening address was delivered by Rear Admiral Francesco Milazzo, Head of the Submarines and Underwater Dimension Department at the Italian Navy General Staff. In his speech, Admiral Milazzo remarked: 

“What is missing is a unique competence center, with a 360-degree vision and approach to all aspects of underwater warfare, something truly unprecedented within the maritime domain. The Centre of Excellence we are building is a response to this gap and to the collective need for greater awareness, capability, and coordination."

Throughout the four-day event, participants engaged in detailed discussions on the Centre's future operational framework, including governance, staffing, capability development, and collaborative models. A shared understanding emerged of the urgent need to protect seabed infrastructure, safeguard undersea communications, and strengthen resilience in an increasingly contested and opaque environment.

The final day concluded with a forward-looking closing session, reinforcing the shared determination to move from vision to capability.

As Framework Nation, Italy reaffirmed its full commitment to supporting the initiative through infrastructure, expertise, and coordination. The future COE will benefit from strong synergy with high-level institutions already present in La Spezia, including the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), the Italian Navy's Naval Support and Experimentation Centre (CSSN), and the National Hub for the Underwater Dimension (Polo Nazionale della Dimensione Subacquea – PNS).

In his closing remarks, Vice Admiral Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy, underlined that 

“what we are building together is more than a structure: it is the expression of a shared strategic commitment to strengthen Alliance cohesion, foster interoperability, and project underwater awareness and deterrence into the future. This Centre of Excellence will not only serve as a catalyst for innovation, but also as a beacon of collective resolve in a domain increasingly central to global stability."

The next key milestone is the signing of the Operational Memorandum of Understanding, which is planned for the end of November 2025.