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US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro has made a call to arms for US defence industry and academia, calling on them to join forces to help the United States restore its competitive advantage in the shipbuilding and repair space, calling it a “strategic imperative”.
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As part of his address to the NDIA Delaware Valley Chapter (NDIA-DVC) Naval Nuclear Submarine and Aircraft Carrier Suppliers’ Conference at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Secretary Del Toro stressed the importance of a multi-pronged approach to rebuild America’s competitive edge in shipbuilding and repair.
As part of his “call to action”, Secretary Del Toro stressed the importance of investment to revitalise America’s shipbuilding industry and merchant marine fleet, developing innovative technologies to maintain America’s naval edge, and strengthening partnerships with key allies to counter China’s growing influence, and promoting fair competition.
As part of this, the US Department of Navy invested more than US$250 million (AU$372.8 million) to help build capacity, increase capability, and add resiliency to these suppliers.
Additionally, the Department of the Navy added 1,000 new, small businesses by investing nearly US$2 billion (AU$2.98 billion) through initiatives led by the Office of Small Business Programs to the Navy-industry team.
Secretary Del Toro said, “Now, the key is to help find and train the right people, and our Talent Pipeline Initiative has been instrumental in addressing workforce shortages.”
“We must establish programs that build capacity in fields like naval architecture, engineering, and lifecycle management, as well as technical expertise in nuclear welding, robotics, software management, and additive manufacturing,” Secretary Del Toro added.
Finally, Secretary Del Toro explained that the Biden administration had an increased emphasis on developing new, high-paying, highly-skilled “new collar” jobs that restore America’s manufacturing prowess, with these “new collar” jobs combining traditionally blue-collar trades with cutting-edge technologies.
This renewed approach by the US administration comes at a time when Australia eagerly awaits the delivery of the Albanese government’s independent review into the Naval Surface Fleet which will ultimately shape the future of Australia’s own Naval Shipbuilding program and the planned Defence Industry Development Strategy (DIDS), both of which are expected to be delivered in 2024.
