This is also why US shipbuilding is a dumpster fire: lack of a consistent order book for warships means they're more expensive to produce and the process is chaotic.
It's one of the great reasons to cultivate a collection of close allies who you support: it keeps your production lines warm and your workforce active and developing.
I hadn’t considered this - it must be a nightmare to try and find experienced aircraft carrier engineers. We have like 14 of em, right? Probably like 70% the same crew on each one, but I don’t remember the last time we built one. I wonder if the expertise is still there, and maybe I’m just missing these stories.
The last time we built aircraft carriers in the US? Has there ever been a one year period when we haven't been building aircraft carriers (or ships which other nations would consider carriers)?
Certainly there are many we're currently building and many we will build after that. Biggest in the world kind of stuff.
It's one of the great reasons to cultivate a collection of close allies who you support: it keeps your production lines warm and your workforce active and developing.