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How the US Navy Built a Shipbuilding Partner Ecosystem
Description
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the US Navy's shipbuilding partnership model — a web of prime contractors like Huntington Ingalls and General Dynamics, hundreds of specialized suppliers, and a decades-long planning horizon. They dig into how the Navy manages cost overruns, maintains competition through a two-supplier strategy for submarines, and uses long-term contracts to keep the industrial base alive — even during peacetime drawdowns. The conversation touches on the unique economics of building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (one every few years), the challenge of workforce retention in specialized trades, and lessons for any B2B company managing complex, high-stakes partnerships. A concrete look at how the world's largest navy keeps its shipyards running.