Maritime (Formerly Shipbuilding, Maritime Domain, Sea Domain) –
Sixteen students spent 24 academic sessions, one week of travel, and one month of independent and group research on an issue of strategic importance that thousands of experts on the Navy staff think about every day. What value can this report provide? In a word, this report attempts to provide perspective. The players within the military-industrial-congressional complex can never entirely escape the realities of Miles’ Law and the inherent biases that come from the positions they fill. As students, we offer perspectives generally unconstrained by service loyalties or chains of command, informed by a year of academic study, and enlightened by engagements with business, congressional, and Naval leaders. Synthesizing these viewpoints with our own, we provide the following point of view.
Our Industry Study focused on the maritime industry and its positioning to support Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) by introducing manned and unmanned vessels into the Navy fleet. Our research focused upon the Navy’s manned and unmanned modernization efforts framed by today’s Great Power Competition (GPC). Unmanned vessels’ transformative technologies require a healthy ecosystem of support that includes an innovative, capable industrial base, engaged academics and researchers, and trusting congressional allies. Our Industry Study assessed the health and viability of these segments through academic sessions on national and Naval policy, the global shipbuilding industry, individual research on topics related to DMO and unmanned technologies, and both virtual and in-person visits with entities throughout the maritime ecosystem. Our findings underscore that a robust domestic shipbuilding industry is vital to realizing National Security Strategy (NSS) and National Defense Strategy (NDS) objectives and the DMO concept.
Our Industry Study assesses there is potential for explosive growth in the U.S. shipbuilding industry to support future Navy operating concepts. Unmanned systems provide an opportunity to enhance the shipbuilding industrial base through greater platform diversification, however, the current hesitancy in Congress and industry to embrace the Navy’s vision highlights three underlying issues. First, industry, especially small businesses, lack a clear understanding of the Navy’s commitment to DMO, complicating capital investments for mobilization. Second, the government’s reliance on large, prime shipbuilders underutilizes smaller entities as maritime Defense Industrial Base (DIB) components. Finally, recent Naval acquisition challenges perpetuates congressional distrust and uncertainty on the Navy’s future course. To overcome these obstacles, we recommend the Navy provide clear, consistent communication concerning DMO concepts, requirements, and force design and commit to incremental program milestones to integrate unmanned platforms.
Providing clear, consistent strategic documents and communications will enable healthy competition and future profitability throughout industry and a spirit of progressive compromise with Congress. Congress requires information to build trust and legislative support for Naval funding. Similarly, industry depends upon consistent and reliable information to create business plans and investments in research, development, and modernized infrastructure. President Roosevelt built the Arsenal of Democracy in the 1940s through communication with both Congress and industry. Just as the U.S. industrial base successfully delivered Naval mobilization in the 1940s, an effective Navy dialogue with key stakeholders will leverage the U.S. maritime ecosystem to address strategic threats and strengthen the shipbuilding industry.
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