Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, employing over 11,000 workers, is the largest shipbuilder on the Gulf Coast and is currently constructing Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock.
Sen. Roger Wicker has risen to the position of Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. In that role, Wicker, a strong advocate for a 355-ship Navy, will play a key role in keeping America’s shipbuilding infrastructure relevant.
“The focus from Washington on producing a stream of new warships is also creating a fleet that some inside the Pentagon think is too wedded to outdated military strategies,” said a NY Times article entitled Faced With Evolving Threats, U.S. Navy Struggles to Change.
Due to the emergence of sophisticated drones, the Navy may need “to recalibrate its fleet to rely more on smaller surface vessels,” suggested an article by the Center for the National Interest.
“What we’re seeing in Ukraine may end up revolutionizing naval warfare,” argued “Drones and AI are rewriting the rulebook on naval warfare — with uncertain consequences” published by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. “The transformation of naval warfare by drones, driven in part by artificial intelligence, is happening at breathtaking speed.”
“Technology advancements haven’t just pushed the boundaries of warfare; they’ve eroded the decades-long monopoly the U.S. held in defense technology, leveling the playing field in worrying ways, Mohammed Soliman, director of the Middle East Institute’s Strategic Technologies and Cyber Security Program, said in a Defense Scoop article. “Drones epitomize this shift. Cheap, lightweight, targeted and easily replaced, they pose a significant and often invisible threat.”
It’s not that the Navy is unprepared, it’s the cost to defend against swarms of cheap drones.
According to the Hoover Institution, “U.S. Navy missiles intercepted more than 70 drones fired at vessels in the Red Sea by the Houthi tribe in Yemen. Drone costs to Iran (Houthi’s supplier): $2 million. Costs of the U.S. Navy’s SM-2 missiles fired: $140 million.” Likewise, the U.S. Navy and Israel together expended an estimated $1 billion to repel over 300 Iranian drones that cost between $80 million and $100 million.
“Many counter-drone solutions focus on modifying air defense systems to detect and intercept drones,” said the Defense Scoop article. “While these are good point solutions, the cost exchange ratio is not favorable. The U.S. needs to consider rapidly fielding lower-cost, more effective solutions.”
The types of ships in our 355-ship fleet and the role of Ingalls Shipyard may need to change. Wicker will be at the center of those decisions.
Crawford is a syndicated columnist from Jackson.