Secretary of the Navy John Phelan was in attendance at the Army-Navy game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday. He was cheering on the Midshipmen in their annual gridiron rivalry game against the Army Black Knights. It was the 126th meeting between the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. Navy won this year’s contest, 17-16.
Phelan was interviewed by Westwood One’s Tina Cervasio on the radio broadcast of the game. In addition to expressing his support for the Navy Midshipmen, who were trailing at the time, he discussed some of the Navy’s initiatives under his watch, touting the department’s commitment to shipbuilding. He said that the president wanted him to focus on getting “hulls in the water.”
He explained the Navy’s objectives when asked about some of the department’s initiatives.
“The president has focused us on shipbuilding. We need to get hulls in the water,” Phelan said during the interview. “The president knows, to be a superpower, you need to be a sea power. So my main priorities right now are getting hulls in the water, making sure that our sailors and Marines have the best equipment, and best housing and living conditions. And also making sure that we are focused on war fighting, which is what our business is.”
Phelan’s comments echo earlier statements stressing the importance of shipbuilding in the U.S., especially when it comes to potential conflict with China, during an event last Tuesday in which he announced the creation of the Navy’s Rapid Capabilities Office dedicated to increasing product development time, infusing innovative technology into the manufacturing process of future shipbuilding projects. He emphasized the importance of how the U.S. “cannot afford to stay comfortable” regarding shipbuilding, warning against a feeling of complacency.
He also announced a $448 million investment in the Shipbuilding Operating System, which would focus on adopting “artificial intelligence and autonomy technologies across the industrial base.” The investment is an integral part of the Navy’s future shipbuilding projects, pivoting to the use of artificial intelligence in Navy vessels. Palantir Technologies, the renowned software technology company, would be a vital component of these developments, bringing “modern best practices to the complex, data heavy environment of Navy shipbuilding.”
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“This investment provides the resources our shipbuilders, shipyards, and suppliers need to modernize their operations and succeed in meeting our nation’s defense requirements,” Phelan said in a press release. “By enabling industry to adopt AI and autonomy tools at scale, we’re helping the shipbuilding industry improve schedules, increase capacity, and reduce costs.”
“This is about doing business smarter and building the industrial capability our Navy and nation require,” Phelan added.
