Washington, D.C., June 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Washington Times' Threat Status will host INDOPAC 2026 | Naval Dominance: Shipbuilding, Autonomy & C2 on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 from 7:30 AM to 12:00 PM, at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. Members of the media are invited to attend this high-level forum convening senior U.S. military officers, Members of Congress, leading think tank scholars, and executives from the defense industrial base.
With U.S.-China competition in the Indo-Pacific intensifying, INDOPAC 2026 will examine the future of American maritime power. Building on emerging concepts such as the "Golden Fleet" initiative, discussions will explore how a more distributed, hybrid force, integrating crewed and uncrewed platforms across maritime and space domains, can deliver resilient, persistent advantage against peer competitors.
PANEL DISCUSSIONS:
Three expert panels will address the most pressing challenges facing U.S. naval dominance:
- Shipbuilding: Modernizing the U.S. shipbuilding enterprise and scaling the defense industrial base
- Autonomy: Accelerating AI-enabled and uncrewed systems development and deployment
- Command and Control: Building next-generation C2 and the growing role of space-based ISR, communications, and targeting for integrated, multi-domain operations
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
- Russell Vought, Director, Office of Management and Budget
- Justin Fanelli, Chief Technology Officer, Department of the Navy
- ADM (Ret.) John Richardson, 31st Chief of Naval Operations
- Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE)
- Senator Todd Young (R-IN)
- Representative Pat Harrigan (R-NC-10)
- CAPT. Randy Cruz, Commanding Officer, Naval Research Laboratory
- RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Senior Director, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
- Joe DePietro, VP & GM, Mission Integrated Command and Control, Lockheed Martin
- J.R. Gear, VP & GM, Maritime Integrated Systems and Encryption, L3Harris Technologies
- John Baylouny, CEO, Leonardo DRS
- Michael Coulter, President & CEO, Hanwha Defense USA
- Tara Murphy Dougherty, CEO, Govini
- Miles Yu, Senior Fellow and Director, China Center, Hudson Institute
- Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute
INDOPAC 2026 is made possible with support from our sponsors; Hanwha Defense USA; Leonardo DRS; L3Harris Technologies; Lockheed Martin; Govini; Obviant; and Purdue University.
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/indopac-2026-naval-dominance-shipbuilding-autonomy-c2-tickets-1989026668308
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The Threat Status editorial team is led by National Security Editor Guy Taylor, and includes correspondents Bill Gertz, Ben Wolfgang, John Seward, Mike Glenn, and Asia Editor Andrew Salmon. Contributors include Dan Hoffman, Joseph Detrani, Kelly Sadler, and Clifford May.
Sarah Evans The Washington Times, Threat Status 2026364395 sevans@washingtontimes.com Jason Sickels The Washington Times (310) 968-4981 jsickels@washingtontimes.com Kaylee Stapley Steer PR (850) 217-2868 kaylee@steerpr.com