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U.S. Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC-PD-Mark
WASHINGTON — Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said Sunday that President Donald Trump wants foreign shipbuilders to invest in the United States as part of a wider push to expand the Navy’s fleet, strengthen shipyard capacity and create hundreds of thousands of American jobs.
Cao said the administration is not seeking foreign-built ships for the Navy. Instead, he said Trump wants overseas shipbuilders to establish operations inside the United States, where their capital, methods, and production systems could support American workers and U.S.-based construction.
Cao says the ships would be built in America.
Cao said the proposal could create about 540,000 jobs if foreign shipbuilders bring new investment into U.S. facilities. He described the idea as an industrial expansion plan, not an outsourcing strategy.
“We’re not building foreign ships,” Cao said. “What we’re doing is having them invest in the United States.”
He compared the approach to foreign automakers that operate plants across the country. Cao said the administration wants shipbuilders to bring similar manufacturing capacity into U.S. yards. The comments came as the Navy faces pressure to increase its fleet size while maintaining global commitments. Cao said the service does not have enough ships to meet current demands.
He said Trump wants to look beyond the limited number of manufacturers now building Navy ships. The goal is to add capacity without shifting naval construction overseas. The administration has also moved to elevate maritime production through a broader order to restore American maritime dominance, which calls for stronger shipbuilding, port infrastructure, workforce training, and supply chains.
Navy fleet is below the legal target.
The Navy’s fleet remains below the level set by law. The service currently operates 291 battle force ships, while the statutory requirement is 355. That gap has become a major issue for defense officials and lawmakers. Ships take years to design, fund, build, test, and deploy.
The Navy’s latest long-range plan says the service could reach 355 manned battle force ships by fiscal 2040 if funding and industrial capacity remain on track. The same plan says the Navy now operates 291 battle force ships, leaving a sizable gap between current inventory and the legal requirement.
Cao said the Navy needs about 350 ships to meet its mission needs. He pointed to extended deployments by major vessels as evidence that the current fleet is stretched. A smaller fleet can place more pressure on sailors, maintenance crews, and deployed ships. It also limits how quickly the Navy can rotate vessels across regions.
Budget request puts shipbuilding at the center.
The administration’s fiscal 2027 Navy budget request includes a major increase for ship construction. The Department of the Navy is seeking $65.8 billion in shipbuilding funds to buy 18 battle force ships and 16 auxiliary ships.
The requested vessels include submarines, surface ships, amphibious ships, oilers, submarine tenders, and other support platforms. The request also continues funding for future aircraft carriers.
The shipbuilding request is part of the administration’s “Golden Fleet” initiative. That plan is designed to expand the Navy while modernizing the industrial base needed to build and maintain ships.
The proposed budget includes 65.8 billion in shipbuilding funds, making ship construction one of the largest pieces of the Navy’s procurement agenda. Congress must still review and approve the budget. Lawmakers may seek changes to ship totals, spending levels, contract language, or industrial base programs.
Workforce shortage remains a major barrier.
Image Credit: Jan Bouken/Pexels
The biggest challenge is not only money. The shipbuilding sector needs a sufficient number of trained workers to build and repair complex vessels. Federal reviewers found that the shipbuilding industrial base will need 174,000 new workers over the next decade to keep pace with Navy goals. The review also found that all seven shipbuilders used for battle force ships face workforce limitations.
Those challenges include recruitment, retention, and skills shortages. Shipyards need welders, pipefitters, electricians, machinists, engineers, planners, and quality-control specialists. The workforce need is large because shipbuilding requires specialized labor. Many roles take years of training before workers can support advanced naval construction.
The assessment identified 174,000 new shipbuilding workers as necessary, including attrition. That figure illustrates why any foreign investment plan would require a robust training pipeline.
New shipyards or expanded facilities cannot succeed without skilled workers. That means the administration’s plan would depend on trade schools, apprenticeships, community colleges, unions, contractors and state workforce programs.
China’s naval growth adds urgency.
The push comes as China continues expanding its naval power. U.S. defense planning has increasingly focused on Beijing’s fleet size, shipbuilding speed and military activity in the Indo-Pacific.
China has the world’s largest navy by number of ships. Its shipbuilding industry is also far larger than America’s commercial shipbuilding base. That industrial advantage enables China to produce naval and commercial vessels at high volume. It also affects U.S. planning for a possible crisis involving Taiwan, the South China Sea, or wider regional conflict.
A congressional defense analysis said China’s navy is expected to grow to 395 ships by 2025 and 435 ships by 2030. It also identified China’s naval modernization as a central issue for U.S. Navy planning.
The analysis said China’s fleet could reach 435 ships by 2030, increasing pressure on Washington to improve shipbuilding speed and fleet readiness. A larger Chinese fleet does not erase U.S. advantages in carriers, submarines, combat systems, and global alliances. But fleet size affects presence, rotation, deterrence, and crisis response.
Foreign investment would face a security review.
Any foreign shipbuilder role in U.S. naval construction would face legal and national security scrutiny. Navy vessels involve sensitive systems, classified requirements, cybersecurity rules, and controlled supply chains.
Foreign companies could first support less sensitive areas. Those could include commercial vessels, auxiliary ships, yard modernization, repair capacity, modular components, or support infrastructure.
That approach could allow foreign expertise to expand U.S. capacity while protecting high-security programs. Nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, and advanced combat systems would face the strictest controls.
Lawmakers are likely to examine ownership rules, contract eligibility, supply chain protections, and worker safeguards. Labor groups may also seek guarantees on wages, training, and domestic hiring.
Cao’s comments suggest the administration wants foreign builders to operate inside the American industrial system. The political argument is that U.S. workers would build the ships, even if foreign companies help finance or manage new capacity.
Expansion plan now moves to Congress.
The proposal now depends on budget negotiations, agency planning, and congressional oversight. The Navy has released its shipbuilding request, and the administration has tied maritime investment to national security and economic policy. The latest known position from the administration is clear: foreign shipbuilders would be asked to invest in U.S. operations, not build Navy ships abroad.
The next major step is congressional review of the fiscal 2027 defense budget. That process will determine how much money the Navy receives for shipbuilding, workforce programs, and industrial expansion.
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