Maritime (Formerly Shipbuilding, Maritime Domain, Sea Domain) Oct. 28, 2025

All Ahead Full: Revitalizing the U.S. Maritime Industrial Base

2025 Antonelli Award Winner-The United States has long depended on maritime power to safeguard national interests, drive economic growth, and maintain global influence. Central to this capability is the Maritime Industrial Base, a complex ecosystem of domestic and international shipbuilders supporting both U.S. commercial and defense needs. Today, the United States faces a critical choice regarding the future of its Maritime Industrial Base: whether to actively revitalize it or let market forces determine its future. The People’s Republic of China, the U.S.’s primary strategic competitor, has rapidly emerged as the world’s leading maritime power, producing over half of global commercial vessels and fielding a naval fleet larger than America’s. This underscores the urgent need to revitalize a U.S. Maritime Industrial Base weakened by decades of underinvestment and wavering national focus, undermining the nation’s ability to respond to emerging threats, build and sustain its fleet, and advance broader economic and national security objectives.

Maritime (Formerly Shipbuilding, Maritime Domain, Sea Domain) May 31, 2024

A Calculated Intervention: Practical Actions to Revitalize the U.S. Maritime Industry

The report, developed by a seminar of students and professionals, identifies key challenges in the U.S. maritime industry, including issues with affordability, production capacity, and resilience. These stem from aging infrastructure, labor shortages, outdated manufacturing, and restrictive policies. The industry’s focus on defense over commercial competitiveness has further worsened its global standing. The report proposes policy recommendations to address these problems, aiming to revitalize the industry, enhance national security, and improve global competitiveness, particularly through efforts focused on commercial shipping and U.S. allies.

Maritime (Formerly Shipbuilding, Maritime Domain, Sea Domain) May 30, 2022

Righting the Ship: Positioning the U.S. Maritime Industrial Base to Mobilize in the 21st Century Strategic Competition

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, China’s maritime interests (the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), Chinese Coast Guard, and Maritime Militia) have rapidly accelerated on a path to challenge United States’ naval supremacy. As a result, the United States is moving to modernize its Naval Service, defined collectively as the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard, into an integrated all-domain force that excels in Distributed Maritime Operations to maintain the advantage at sea and enforce foreign policy objectives.

Maritime (Formerly Shipbuilding, Maritime Domain, Sea Domain) Oct. 1, 2020

Maritime Industry Support for National Security

As the U.S. continues to mitigate ongoing concerns with budget constraints and the evolving strategic environment, U.S. policies must likewise adapt. As the U.S. experiences budget constraints amid changing national security requirements, the relationship of maritime dominance and national power must be evaluated. The primary outcome of this industry study is the acknowledgement that unchanged policy or lack of reform will impede America’s global naval dominance and further erode our maritime competitiveness. This industry paper focuses on the policies the USG should implement to ensure sea/maritime capabilities necessary to support U.S. National Security. This report emphasizes outcomes that maintain and sustain the current Naval fleet, leverage global resources, and invest in the future. These outcomes are considered through four primary lenses: shipbuilding capabilities, human capital limitations, infrastructure observations, and realignment of sustainment investment. The paper presents numerous recommendations, while offering a consolidated list and providing four main options for consideration.

Maritime (Formerly Shipbuilding, Undersea Domain) May 20, 2020

Undersea Domain Industry Study

The undersea domain remains key to national security and global trade. The U.S. must invest in a portfolio of undersea recommendations that considers full cost-spectrum capabilities, protects critical infrastructure, enables new technological gains, and postures industry to maintain asymmetric advantage during great power competition. The research conducted in this study identifies challenges in the U.S. defense industrial complex. The undersea industry cannot scale and mobilize using traditional means. Initiatives expressed in this document present steps to resource the undersea industrial ecosystem appropriately, refine UUV requirements, enhance competition in the industrial base, reorient the current shipbuilding paradigm, and augment diplomatic efforts. In addition to having the world’s greatest sailors, our recommendations will ensure the U.S. Navy can continue to provide an asymmetric undersea advantage.

Maritime (Formerly Shipbuilding, Maritime Domain, Sea Domain) Aug. 21, 2018

Plotting a Course Through Dangerous Waters: An Analysis of the Shipbuilding Industrial Base, Policies, Risks, and Opportunities

As the United States settles into the 21st century, the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s one road, one belt effort mark the public reemergence of great power competition and refocus America’s strategic priorities. The ability of the US to project power, maintain freedom of navigation in the commons and deter aggression has never been more critical. “The revisionist powers of China and Russia, the rogue states of Iran and North Korea, and transnational threat organizations, particularly jihadist terrorist groups—are actively competing against the United States and our allies and partners.” As America’s strategic rivals actively attempt to undermine her instruments of power, a strong industrial base acts as a countervailing force to their efforts. The ability to field, man and maintain an effective seagoing force is fundamental to protecting the homeland, promoting American prosperity here and abroad, preserving peace through strength, and advancing American influence.