If the U.S. intervened in a conflict over Taiwan, American forces would need to stop Chinese ships from reaching the island and discharging equipment and thousands of troops. Each side would try to take as many enemy ships off the board as possible to prevent those ships from firing their missiles.
In such a scenario, both sides would need to quickly get their damaged ships back into play—repaired, ready to re-enter combat and able to use their firepower. The U.S. would struggle to ramp-up shipbuilding and repair facilities midwar, not least because modern shipyard workers need to be trained.
China would have no such troubles. Its advantage is visible on an island near Shanghai, at the mouth of the river Yangtze. Two immense shipyards are now located on the island, known as Changxing, concentrating a great deal of ship-making power in one place.
The major difference between the Chinese and American shipbuilding industrial bases is that “China benefits from a massive commercial shipbuilding workload,” Rear Adm. Thomas J. Anderson said to a congressional subcommittee in May, when he was the program executive officer for ships in the U.S. Navy. Meanwhile, he said, the U.S. government largely goes it alone, bearing all the costs of the ships and associated infrastructure.
“Clearly China’s commercial shipbuilding industry provides them a massive advantage when it comes to shipbuilding capacity,” he said.
In a protracted conflict, China’s shipyards would give its navy a significant upper hand. Sized to build at wartime rates, they would be able to quickly accelerate production, replace lost ships and repair damaged ones. That is a capability U.S. shipyards brought to the fight during World War II, building Allied vessels faster than German U-boats could sink them.
Today, America’s shipyards are struggling to keep up with peacetime demand. Submarines are bogged down by maintenance delays and new ones are behind schedule. The Navy, for instance, is expecting two new Virginia-class submarines a year, but is receiving the boats at the rate of 1.4, a Defense Department official said last year.
@GratefulGatoradeLibertarian4mos4MO
Hard to build anything in the US now.
Big Index funds driving new investment, ESG scam is what is being sold.
Boards of Directors chose for diversity, not competency.
Quality and innovation are failing. STEM education subverted.
Aerospace and ship building will die here.
Boeing, for one.
Peace through Strength absolutely requires the types of heavy industrial activity which our regulatory apparatus has completely offshored. Brookings reports that 90% of US manufacturing is critically dependent on Chinese inputs, and China has ten times our assembly lines with the critical mass to switch to armaments.
Our present industrial mix compared to China’s industrial mix is globally dangerous. You can’t Defense Production Act that which doesn’t exist.
@PoliticLaylaLibertarian4mos4MO
S warships are too expensive and we tend to waste billions on poorly conceived ship classes like the LCS and Zumwalt. Outbuilding China is not in the cards. Better for the US to field more effective means to kill adversary warships while protecting our own.
That is something that always interests me is the question of attrition ratios.
That is the cost of weapons vs weapons e.g ground to air missile ($140000) taking out ($16 million ) military jet plus pilot. Or ballistic missle vs billion dollar aircraft carrier
@FreedomDemocrat4mos4MO
Yes.
In WWI, the Battle of Jutland was the only clash of once-important battleships. In WWII we build up-to-date battleships (Iowa class) but also built carriers and battleships were essentially useless.
So your point about not trying to match China's hull count may well be spot on.
@S3nateDonRepublican4mos4MO
It hasn't been since Napoleon that wars were won with battlefield strategy and strength of arms. Wars are won with supply chains and resources. The Atom bomb shortened the pacific campaign, but the liberty ship was what really won the war. Without the ability to crank out
thousands of these ships, we wouldn't be able to mobilize around the world. You can have all the fancy missiles you want, but it always comes down to the raw industrial might (and access to resources) of a nation.
@L1b3rtyEleanorRepublican4mos4MO
Founded in 1777, the US Navy’s deployable combat vessels reached parity with the British Royal Navy during World War I.
Reaching its peak of 566 ships in 1988, Reagan’s last year with Navy Secretary John Lehman.
After eight years of 44, the Navy was down to 266 ships.
45 reversed course, with 300+ ships, seeking rise to a 12-aircraft carrier Navy and true American naval superiority on the high seas.
Canceling that aircraft carrier, pacifist 46 has returned to naval force decline and deterrence, like low intellect 44, more concerned with fighting the war on the wind and weather.
@PluckyIcecreamMountain4mos4MO
We're not perishing.
Just keep those Socialist Insecurity checks coming and we'll be fine.
Hopefully China will hold off till we die and let the grandkids worry about it.
The home of the brave.
@9CJ6CB64mos4MO
Yeah, China will never win in a military fight, they’ll attack us in the economic sector, and we’ll have to fight back there.
@EuphoricViper4mos4MO
America isn't setting priorities well & we have indeed become complacent. Plus we an ever expanding government - employees & budget - we have fooled people into thinking our economy is growing (take the government numbers out and see ho it looks). Looking back on history, great countries tend collapse when taking this direction.
@RedWhiteBlueRick4mos4MO
So are you saying the Chinese way is the right way? Isn’t China’s government ever expanding or do they use a hands off no government intervention approach. I am confused on what the right way is?
@EuphoricViper4mos4MO
The 2 systems are not that different when one removes the ideological blinders...
Both operate for the benefit of their respective elites, to the detriment of the common folk. Both use technology to spy on their citizens and to implement varying degrees of social control. Both create asset bubbles to goose macro-economic data, again, to the long-term harm of most residents.
@9JX3SNR4mos4MO
We need to make sure we also are ready for a war at all times.
@9JW9RS94mos4MO
We must be prepared also and ready for anything
@9JW9988Women’s Equality4mos4MO
I haven't really heard much on the topic but it could be threatening to us and other parts of the world.
@L1ber4lCurConstitution4mos4MO
America is deathly afraid of China's growing industrial might and for good reason; they are smarter and better educated than we are, harder working, more thrifty and more determined. Meanwhile, Americans are fat and lazy. My advice, stock up on bean soup before it's too late.
@ISIDEWITH4mos4MO
@ISIDEWITH4mos4MO
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