[Ryan Robertson]
HELLO AND WELCOME TO WEAPONS AND WARFARE. FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M YOUR HOST, RYAN ROBERTSON. JUST AHEAD ON THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.
BERETTA IS AIMING EQUIP THE BRITISH ARMY WITH THEIR NEXT CLOSE COMBAT RIFLE BY COMBINING ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY WITH TRADITIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP. IN OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK, WE DISCOVER SOME OF THE INNOVATIVE FEATURES AND THOUGHTS BEHIND THE EFFORT.
AND WE CHECK IN WITH A RECENT WEAPON OF THE WEEK IN OUR COMMS CHECK SEGMENT, AS BLACKSEA TECHNOLOGIES’ GARC IS PUT THROUGH THE PACES IN THE BALTIC SEA.
BUT WE START WITH OUR DEBRIEF AND A GROWING SENSE OF URGENCY SURROUNDING SHIPBUILDING. IT’S A TOPIC WE’VE COVERED FREQUENTLY HERE ON WEAPONS AND WARFARE. AND IT’S SOMETHING THAT SITS HIGH ON A LONG LIST OF PRIORITIES FOR SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, JOHN PHELAN. AND EVEN THOUGH HE’S ONLY BEEN ON THE JOB FOR A FEW MONTHS, HE MADE A POINT OF IT DURING HIS RECENT TESTIMONY IN FRONT OF THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE.
[John Phelan, Sec. of the Navy {June 10, 2025]
“What I’ve learned is this; We are still the dominant Naval power, but our adversaries are closing the gap at a concerning, accelerating rate. We need to make important cultural and strategic changes in order to maintain our competitive advantage.”
[Ryan Robertson]
IN PLAIN TERMS, AMERICA IS FACING UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND FOR NEW WARSHIPS. SO HOW DO WE GET THERE? TO START ANSWERING THAT QUESTION I VISITED WITH BENJAMIN PLUM, AN ASSOCIATE PARTNER AT MCKINSEY AND COMPANY, A GLOBAL MANAGEMENT CONSULTING FIRM THAT’S WORKING TO HELP THE U.S. FIND A PATH FORWARD.
[Benjamin Plum, Associate Partner, Mckinsey & Company]
“Meeting this surge in demand is truly a daunting challenge. It is going to require us focusing on an aging infrastructure right, and rehabilitating that infrastructure. It’s going to focus largely on attracting talent and retaining that talent, getting people excited about becoming shipbuilders, and it’s going to require bringing new technology to bear on the business of shipbuilding in a way that, frankly, has never been done. ”
[Ryan Robertson]
ACCORDING TO A REPORT BY ‘MARINE INSIGHT’, IN THE U.S., THERE ARE 154 PRIVATE SHIPYARDS SCATTERED ACROSS 29 STATES AND THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. OF THOSE 154, ONLY TEN ARE BIG ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE THE SIZE AND SCALE OF AMERICA’S MILITARY SHIPBUILDING AMBITIONS.
THE GOOD NEWS, ACCORDING TO PLUM, IS THE U.S. HAS THE FACILITIES NEEDED. UNFORTUNATELY, MANY OF THEM HAVEN’T BEEN UPDATED SINCE THE END OF WORLD WAR II.
[Benjamin Plum, Associate Partner, Mckinsey & Company]
“That means bringing new equipment. It means revitalizing the facilities. In some cases, it means just bringing workers undercover so that they’re capable of working out of the elements and doing so efficiently. So yard modernization is core to our challenge. ”
[Ryan Robertson]
OF COURSE THAT TAKES MONEY. SOMETHING SENATOR ROGER WICKER, THE CHAIR OF THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE, RECENTLY POINTED TO WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S PROPOSED TRILLION DOLLAR BUDGET FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
[Sen. Roger Wicker, (R) Mississippi]
“I must say I am deeply disappointed when it comes to the 2026 budget when it comes to the Navy. In particular, I’m disappointed about the shipbuilding account. Which plummeted to 20.8 billion dollars, down from 37 billion dollars.”
[Ryan Robertson]
THAT DIFFERENCE IS NOT A SMALL MATTER. ACCORDING TO A REPORT IN ’ FOREIGN AFFAIRS’, CHINA’S SHIPBUILDING, OUTPACES THE REST OF THE WORLD BY A LARGE MARGIN; EACH YEAR, LAUNCHING MORE TONNAGE THAN ALL OTHER COUNTRIES COMBINED. IN FACT, THE U.S. OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE SAYS CHINA’S SHIPBUILDING CAPACITY IS MORE THAN 200 TIMES THAT OF THE UNITED STATES.
[Benjamin Plum, Associate Partner, Mckinsey & Company]
“One of the primary issues that we have in the United States right now is that our maritime infrastructure was built, in some cases, very seriously for the surge in production that accompanied World War Two. Much of that infrastructure has survived. Much of it is still serviceable, but it has not seen the same level of investment that Asian yards or that have seen right in recent decades. And as a result, it is urgently necessary for us to invest in those yards”
[Ryan Robertson]
ANOTHER AREA OF CONCERN PLUM POINTS TO IS THE WORKFORCE. WHILE THE INDUSTRY MAY BE HIRING, QUALIFIED PEOPLE AREN’T LINING UP FOR THE JOBS.
ACCORDING TO SOME ESTIMATES, THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY HAS ANYWHERE FROM 140,000 TO 179,000 UNFILLED JOBS.
[Benjamin Plum, Associate Partner, Mckinsey & Company]
“We have to attract and retain new talent in shipbuilding. Our firm has written quite a bit about the aging out of the workforce. This means that we have failed to attract new talent to the profession of shipbuilding. That there are many reasons that that’s happened, but I would broadly say that a lack of focus on and a lack of veneration of shipbuilders over the last 30 or 40 years has contributed to that problem.”
[Ryan Robertson]
ASK ANYONE INVOLVED IN THE SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY AND THEY’LL TELL YOU THERE IS NO EASY WAY FORWARD, BUT THERE IS A PATH; ONE THAT COULD HELP THE U.S. GET BACK TO WHERE PROPONENTS SAY IT SHOULD BE.
[Benjamin Plum, Associate Partner, Mckinsey & Company]
“What I think is encouraging is we are seeing shipbuilders begin to adopt cutting edge technology, and we’re seeing their core customers really push them to do that. So that means we’re looking at automated welding in a way that’s never been deployed in shipbuilding. It means relying on technologies like digital twins to better understand the production environment and to better understand the product itself. And finally, we’re looking or not finally, but another exciting area of technology. You know, digital scheduling, right? Shipyards in the past used to rely on incredibly manual processes to schedule. Now we’re looking at generative AI applications that can really reschedule production in real time in a way that increases throughput and transparency into production performance.”
[Ryan Robertson]
THAT WOULD BE A MAJOR PIECE OF THE PUZZLE, BECAUSE FOR ALL OF THE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS, THE DOD’S BIGGEST OBSTACLE MIGHT JUST BE TIME. AS SECRETARY PHELAN RECENTLY TOLD THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE, THE NAVY’S TOP PROGRAM IS SIX MONTHS BEHIND SCHEDULE AND EXCEEDING THE BUDGET BY 50%. DESPITE THAT, PHELAN ALSO SAID HE NOW HAS A GOOD GRASP OF THE NAVY’S CHALLENGES AND IS WORKING ON A PLAN TO “FIX WHAT’S BROKEN”, RECENTLY VISITING THREE FOREIGN SHIPYARDS AND SEVEN DOMESTIC ONES TO SEE HOW THINGS COULD BE DONE MORE EFFICIENTLY.