Brent Sadler from the Heritage Foundation on rebuilding US shipbuilding and revitalizing our Navy

Talk about a vital subject!

Our host Jim Vinoski interviews Brent Sadler, a retired US Navy Captain and senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, about the sorry state of American shipbuilding and the US Navy's needs. Sadler highlights the US Navy's shortage of ships, emphasizing the need for 575 ships to counter threats from China and Russia. He discusses the decline in US shipbuilding capacity, the importance of leveraging allies like Japan and South Korea, and the need for significant investment in infrastructure, workforce training, and new technologies. Sadler also mentions the Ships for America Act and the Maritime Action Plan as key legislative initiatives to support the revitalization of US shipbuilding.

Highlights:
- Challenges in US Shipbuilding
- Complexities of Reviving US Shipbuilding
- Numbers and Timing for Navy Strength
- Impact of Neglect and Need for Action
- Commercial Shipbuilding and Global Competition
- Administration and Legislative Efforts
- Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation

US shipbuilding now represents about 0.4% of global deliveries, and China's capacity is about 1,000 times that of America's.

It's long past time we start fixing this.

Resources

Brent's books:
- Naval Power in Action: Seizing the Initiative in the New Cold War with China - https://tinyurl.com/mrskfm5f
- U.S. Naval Power in the 21st Century: A New Strategy for Facing the Chinese and Russian Threat - https://tinyurl.com/4dwrr779

A few of Brent's articles:
- The Nation Needs a Shipbuilding Revolution - https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2025/february/nation-needs-shipbuilding-revolution
- How To Judge the U.S. Navy’s Next Force Design - https://www.heritage.org/defense/commentary/how-judge-the-us-navys-next-force-design
- America’s Maritime Revival: Sailing Into Some Headwinds - https://www.heritage.org/defense/commentary/americas-maritime-revival-sailing-some-headwinds