VCNO Kilby, other top U.S. Navy leadership to headline Sea-Air-Space keynote panel
NewsApril 17, 2026
NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland. U.S. Navy leaders are set to discuss readiness, modernization, and warfighting integration during a keynote panel at Sea-Air-Space 2026, scheduled for April 20, the event organizers announced in a statement.
The session, titled “Forging the Fight: TYCOM Leadership in Readiness, Modernization, and Warfighting Integration,” will examine how the Navy’s Type Commanders are implementing the Chief of Naval Operations’ “Foundry, Fleet, Fight” framework to generate and sustain combat-ready forces, the statement reads. The panel will be led by the Vice Chief of Naval Operations and include senior leaders overseeing surface, submarine, aviation, and information warfare communities, according to the event description.
Discussion topics are expected to include modernization efforts across platforms, training pipelines for sailors and operators, and integration of capabilities across domains such as undersea, surface, air, and cyber, the statement says. Panelists are also expected to address how the Navy is preparing forces to meet operational demands tied to potential high-end conflict scenarios in the coming years.
Type Commanders are responsible for organizing, training, and equipping forces before they are assigned to operational fleets, and play a role in aligning platforms, personnel, and systems to support combatant commander requirements, the statement reads. The session is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Monday at the Potomac AB venue during the conference.
Speakers include ADM James Kilby, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, who will serve as moderator; RADM Joseph Cahill, Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic; VADM Richard “Rick” Seif, Commander, Submarine Forces; Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; and Commander, Allied Submarine Command; VADM Doug Verissimo, Commander, Naval Air Forces and Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet; and VADM Michael Vernazza, Commander, Naval Information Forces.
