A sweeping vision for a bigger Navy is running head‑first into the hard realities of the shipyards expected to build it.

Long before anyone talks about a “golden fleet,” the starting point matters and today’s shipbuilding base is running well below the level political rhetoric implies. Capacity is strained, delivery timelines keep slipping, and shifting requirements make it even harder for industry to plan or invest. We’ll map the gap between ambition and what’s actually achievable with Seamus Daniels, a Fellow in Defense Budget Analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.