With China churning out more ships in a year than many countries have in their entire fleet, it’s time to take shipbuilding seriously again.
Under Trump, we are doing exactly that.
Sec Duffy described the challenge — and America rising up to meet it — in his visit to the Philadelphia shipyard.
The @PhillyShipyard is a great model for the nation. Working with @USDOT, we’re building ships in America — on time and under budget — all while creating great paying jobs.
There’s excitement in our maritime industry again thanks to @POTUS! pic.twitter.com/zEL7v2PB7V
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) April 29, 2025
That dovetails nicely with Trump’s directive to help meet the workforce requirements that the re-shoring of American industry is sure to require.
Getting the workforce primed is the policy side.
But that’s only part of the solution. What other tricks has the Navy got up its sleeve?
‘Trick’ #1
China has a massive edge in their labor pool. But there’s a home-grown plan to help shore up that gap with a force multiplier in making difficult and dangerous jobs easier to fill. Ai-assisted heavy robotics.
Unlike the basic humanoid robots you see other designers coming up with, this one is specifically made to hold up to the rigors of heavy industry, mining, and other difficult and dangerous work.
‘Trick’ #2
A fast, new modular-design ship is being commissioned that can be piloted with or without a crew for a variety of situations.
A new design for a fast, modular naval vessel capable of autonomous operations and missile launch has been unveiled by US defence company Eureka Naval Craft and Australian autonomy specialists Greenroom Robotics.
The AIRCAT Bengal MC, a 36-metre Surface Effect Ship, is being pitched as a multi-mission platform that combines high speed, significant payload capacity, and cutting-edge software autonomy tools. The design will be showcased at the upcoming Sea Air and Space Exhibition in Maryland.
[…]
According to Eureka, the AIRCAT Bengal MC is expected to reach speeds exceeding 50 knots—subject to payload—and carry up to 40 tonnes of equipment. In theory, that could include two ISO container-sized modules for mission-specific systems or armaments. The firm also claims it will be capable of operating either crewed or uncrewed, depending on the mission. — UKDefenseJournal
Some of the tasks it can be called on to perform? Troop transport, drone carrier, electronic warfare, mine countermeasures, or a platform for anti-ship and/or cruise missiles.
As we have seen, not all such projects pan out as promised, but with the modular aspect and some of the versatility in the description, at least they will not be making the mistake of preparing for the ‘last war’ instead of the ‘next one’.
Speaking of drones, that brings us to the third innovation featured in today’s story.
‘Trick’ #3
One area we still have a clear advantage is in undersea warfare, and we might as well put it to good use.
Meet ‘CAMP’, which is, of course an acronym. It stands for Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform.
As pressure rises on the U.S. Navy to boost its shipbuilding capacity, the Pentagon has released a call for a new type of undersea vessel called the Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform, or CAMP, an unmanned system built “to maximize operational effectiveness in contested environments,” according to the solicitation released by the Defense Innovation Unit.
This new class of remotely operated vessel aims to take the Navy’s capacity for undersea warfare to the next level — maneuvering in GPS-denied environments at a range greater than 1,000 nautical miles and diving to more than 200 meters underwater during missions, one of which would include dropping “various payloads to the sea floor.”
Integrating AI technology into U.S. shipbuilding comes as part of a widespread effort to revitalize an industry described by the Government Accountability Office as lingering in a “perpetual state of triage.” — Common Defense
Of course, there are plenty of other technologies and platforms coming online, some of which we’ve recently highlighted.
But these are a few to remind us that the military is no longer the forgotten function of federal responsibility that it so clearly was over the past 4 years.
