Navy Secretary John Phelan speaks to sailors on the USS Somerset on 26 August 2025 in National City, California. Image courtesy of the New York Post.
Secretary of the Navy John Phelan today announced a $448 million strategic investment in the Shipbuilding Operating System (Ship OS) to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence and autonomy technologies across the industrial base.
The initiative, managed by the Maritime Industrial Base (MIB) Program in collaboration with Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), will aggregate data from enterprise resource planning systems, legacy databases, and operational sources to identify bottlenecks, streamline engineering workflows, and support proactive risk mitigation, providing a unified, data-driven approach to production management that enables faster, more informed decisions.
“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. “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.”
Learn more on the U.S. Navy’s site.
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