U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter says a naval facility in Rhode Island is doing what the entire Defense Department should do: develop technology more quickly.

Carter made the comments Wednesday about the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, where he saw the latest in unmanned vehicles and other undersea technologies.

He told students at the U.S. Naval War College the defense industry once had a stronger connection to the technology industry, and he’s spending a lot of time in Silicon Valley and Boston trying to restore it.

He also says he’s concerned about budget instability.

Carter visited Rhode Island as part of a three-day trip to New England to see Navy installations and meet service members.