This week, DRASS took part in Forum Machiavelli Difesa 2026 in Rome, joining institutional, military, and industry leaders to discuss the strategic challenges shaping the future security environment.
Following a keynote address by Admiral Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto, Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy, the panel discussion:
“The Underwater Domain: Advanced Technologies and Future Operational Challenges” was moderated by Gianluca Di Feo, Defence Correspondent at La Repubblica, and featuring panelist Sergio Cappelletti, CEO of DRASS alongside Michele Budetta, CEO of RINA Consulting.

Cappelletti highlighted how the underwater domain is increasingly central to deterrence, infrastructure protection, and strategic competition. As the maritime environment grows more contested, he argued that future capabilities will depend on distributed, interoperable, and cost-effective systems rather than increasingly complex and concentrated platforms.
He emphasized the pivotal role that agile small and medium-sized enterprises can play in driving this transformation. With shorter decision chains, faster innovation cycles, and closer proximity to experimentation, SMEs can accelerate modernization to deliver more sustainable, cost-efficient underwater capabilities. Building technological sovereignty, he maintained, will depend on developing multi-purpose technology, building blocks that can be deployed across multiple platforms and missions.

DRASS extends its thanks to Machiavelli – Center for Political and Strategic Studies, and its CEO Guglielmo Picchi, for hosting this timely event and to all who contributed to the valuable exchange.

🎥Watch Cappelletti’s full presentation, available with English subtitles by clicking the ‘CC’ captions option below.