State of The Nation

Global shipbuilding order volume in 2020  Decline of US Shipbuilding The decline of the U.S. shipbuilding industry is a complex issue with multiple contributing factors, but some of the key points include: Foreign competition: Subsidies: After World War II, several countries, particularly Japan and South Korea, heavily subsidized their shipbuilding industries, allowing them to offer lower prices and undercut American shipbuilders https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/cv43nx70g . Lower labor costs: Shipbuilding is labor-intensive, and wages in these countries were significantly lower than in the U.S., giving them a cost advantage. Technological advancements: Some foreign shipyards adopted new technologies and practices more readily, allowing them to build ships faster and more efficiently. Policy decisions: Ending subsidies: The U.S. government also used to subsidize its shipbuilding industry, but these subsidies were gradually reduced and eventually eliminated i...

Everything old is new again. The economics, politics, and conflicts of the early 20th century are looking familiar in todays headlines. Maybe we can learn something from a top notch economist and historian study of the first World War. Nicholas Lambert received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Oxford University. The World War One Historical Association has twice awarded him the Norman B. Tomlinson book prize: Sir John Fisher's Naval Revolution (1999) and Planning Armageddon: British Economic Warfare and the First World War (2013).  Lambert discusses Britain's carefully planned grand strategy of economic warfare intended to bring about the rapid collapse of Germany’s financial systems through engineering a controlled implosion of the global trading system. As such, "economic warfare" constituted a national strategy of quick, decisive war comparable in function and objectives to Germany’s infamous S...

USS Midway: A Navy Battle 'Aircraft Carrier' with An Armored Flight Deck | The National Interest nationalinterest.org by Sebastien Roblin Summary:  Launched in 1945, the USS Midway marked a revolution in naval engineering as the largest warship for a decade. Designed as a "beefier battle carrier" with an armored flight deck, the Midway-class carriers including the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt and USS Coral Sea, initially aimed to carry 130 aircraft. Challenges such as excessive seawater on deck and overcrowded living conditions led to modifications, reducing the air wing to 100. The Midway-class witnessed significant milestones, from the first jet landing on a carrier deck to launching ballistic missiles and carrying nuclear weapons. Despite their initial design issues, these carriers were heavily involved in combat, from Vietnam to the Per...