Carlos Del Toro, secretary of the U.S. Navy and a 2024 Wash100 awardee, has underscored the service branch’s efforts to maintain global maritime dominance and prevail over strategic competition with China during his keynote address at WEST 2024 in San Diego.
Among the initiatives he highlighted are the Transportable Re-Arming Mechanism, the Naval Modular Missile program, the Modular Consol Adapter Kit and the Modular Fuel Delivery Station, the Navy said Thursday.
“These game-changing initiatives—TRAM, NMM, MCAK, and MFDS—will solidify our maritime dominance and act as a powerful deterrent to our adversaries—and will be operational within two to three years,” Del Toro said.
He also noted the importance of having leaders and industry partners “who can identify, propose, act decisively on the best courses of action” and execute mission objectives as the service branch develops its new approach to maritime statecraft.
“As we all know, seapower advances the security and prosperity of the nation—understanding and leveraging its political influence must shape our approach to operations every day short of war. All of us—from Seaman Recruit, Private, Ensign or Second Lieutenant to Admiral, General, Master Chief, Sergeant Major, or Secretary of the Navy—have a critical role to play in our efforts. And all of you in industry equally play an important part, as well,” Del Toro said.
The Navy’s maritime statecraft aims to facilitate a whole-of-government effort to build comprehensive maritime power for the U.S. and its allies.