Congress Looks to Japan for Tips on Submarine Building

‘There is very little commercial shipbuilding done in American shipyards today,’ an expert said.

A U.S. Navy Virginia-class submarine docks at the HMAS Stirling port in Perth, Australia, on Aug. 4, 2023. Tony McDonough/AFP via Getty Images

The congressional Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces held a hearing on March 11 and heard that the United States could learn from Japan’s plan to produce one submarine per year.

Ronald O'Rourke, a naval analyst serving the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress for four decades, told lawmakers that Japan’s shipbuilding methods allowed it the stability to build and maintain its 22-strong fleet with maximum efficiency.