The Future of U.S. Maritime Power: Tech, AI, and Shipyard Revitalization

In previous articles, I have explained United States positioning in the maritime industry, as well as recommendations to improve relationships with countries in the Indo-Pacific region. This will dive deeper into ship parts and advanced manufacturing integral for marine navigation and trade development. The major components for ship parts and marine navigation include GOS Charts, navigation radios, and search and locator drones. The GOS charts operate as nautical or navigational charts with the Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, mainly used for route planning and emergency navigation. Navigation radios use radio waves for communicating positions and guidance for different environments, including marine, aviation, and land-based operations. The search and locator drones are unmanned aerial vehicles that provide aerial oversight in dangerous or challenging environments. 

It is difficult to over-emphasize the importance of addressing AI resurgence and fusion with computer infrastructure and multi-agent architectures within the industry. It is important to note that the emerging-based ecosystem have both opportunities and risks regarding AI in the Defense public sector. However, with careful AI leveraging it can be a vital resource for navigation and making improvements in the maritime industry. At the same time, U.S. maritime positioning and strength heavily depends on maintenance repair operations. 

According to a Marine Link article, maritime dominance has started with U.S. Ship repair and conversion. As mentioned in previous articles, recent shipbuilding announcements include new legislation, the first US-built LNG vessel in 45 years, a foreign-built container ship, and also $6.2 billion for a Ready Reserve Fleet (RRF). One thing to note from the article is the question on whether funding for “U.S. built” shipbuilding shows the government addressing real challenges or just creating headlines. It states the U.S. supply chain is the main issue, specifically a collection of problems that rise from material costs and availability, which is a system based on “just-in-time-inventory”. The first step to a major accomplishment is to return an asset back into the market on schedule that is ready to serve, which applies to U.S. ship repair and maintenance. 

Most if not all legislation focuses on new constructions for different reasons rather than needing to address maintenance repair in United States Shipyards. With the Prometheus Maritime Project, the vocational training program will help address the true issues the Marine Link article is referencing. It will address material costs problems through stakeholder support, maritime industry expert teachings, and a determined talent pool with a strong shipyard building skill set.