Four Focal Points Regarding Allied Shipbuilding

There are four major areas and questions that U.S.-based industry personnel and its allies should be addressing when it comes to collaborative shipbuilding: design, supply chain, production systems and interoperability, per Cory Emmons, general manager of Maritime Surfaces Programs at Anduril Industries. 

Firstly, shipbuilding companies and teams, both in the United States and abroad, should prioritize design. U.S. private sector vessel constructors primarily use the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for classification, certification and verification services for their marine and offshore assets, according to Emmons and ABS officials. Their international counterparts might use Det Norske Veritas (DNV) or Lloyds. Furthermore, in cases where individuals engaged in these talks have already completed the qualification work with DNV and Lloyds but not with ABS, they should present their existing progress to ABS to be proactive, Emmons urged.  

“The idea is we should get ahead of this curve,” Emmons said during a panel at West 2026 held in San Diego. “Where [we’re] getting ahead of ABS [and asking] Will you approve this in principle based off the work that we’ve done to DNV, done to Lloyds and really adapt this and really set the stage of we have a design that meets what a U.S. buyer will have to comply with and get ahead of that? That is early work we can do in preparation for really achieving the interchangeability of a design that can be built and almost classified for the U.S. market.” 

Secondly, parties involved must take the supply chain and individual parts of the ship into account. U.S.-based industry officials and their allied partners must attain commonality when it comes to the parts of a ship and allowable equipment lists, Emmons stressed.  

Emmons added that private-sector shipbuilders in the United States and its allies should attempt to create similar production systems. 

“To me, the production system has to be considered when you start thinking through building a product,” Emmons said. “So, just very much focused on production systems as part of the system of systems of developing ultimately what you’re trying to deliver. So, how does a production system relate to where it’s being built in the U.S. versus being built in a foreign nation and really trying to have that marriage between those two?” 

Lastly, U.S. and allied shipbuilders must think about interoperability. These teams and individuals should consider questions surrounding the compatibility between ships built in the United States and overseas.  

“Can those two things actually work together?” Emmons said. “If a ship built in Korea has to actually coordinate with a ship that is built in the U.S., are there mooring stations aligned? Do they need to be able to have things totally fitted out so they can actually work together in the true operational sense, so that sailors aren’t receiving this material and really throwing their hands up, wondering, ‘What do I do with this? I have this version; I have that version?’ I think we should get ahead of that and really start tackling the interoperability on our assumption that we do start using allied production.”

WEST 2026 is co-hosted by the U.S. Naval Institute and AFCEA International. SIGNAL Media is the official media of AFCEA International.