David Ulovich hosts a conversation with Chris Power, founder and CEO of Hadrian, and Vice Admiral Robert Goucher, the Pentagon's first submarine czar responsible for all U.S. Navy submarine production. The discussion takes place at the opening of Hadrian's Factory 4 in Cherokee, Alabama, a 2.25 million square foot advanced manufacturing facility designed to support Columbia and Virginia-class submarine programs.

The conversation explores the critical shortage of manufacturing capacity facing America's submarine industrial base. After the Cold War ended, submarine production collapsed from four per year in the mid-1980s to just three total in the 1990s, eliminating nine out of ten manufacturing jobs. Today, the Navy requires 70 million labor hours annually - more than five times the capacity from a decade ago - to meet strategic deterrence requirements.

Admiral Goucher explains how submarines provide undetected global access and carry nuclear missiles as the survivable leg of America's nuclear triad. Chris Power details how software-driven manufacturing must solve the skilled workforce crisis by dramatically increasing productivity and compressing training timelines to rebuild America's submarine manufacturing capability.

Strategic Importance of America's Submarine Fleet

Submarines provide two critical capabilities: stealth access anywhere in the world undetected, and strategic nuclear deterrence through ballistic missile submarines that ensure "any country that tried to attack us with nuclear weapons would be destroyed" - Admiral Goucher

Fast attack submarines maintain free and open seaways globally, while ballistic missile submarines like the Columbia-class serve as the "survivable leg of our nuclear triad" providing second-strike capability

Submarines can serve as command and control platforms for autonomous drone networks, choosing payloads and controlling other systems while remaining undetected far forward

The Manufacturing Crisis: From Cold War Peak to Current Shortage

In the mid-1980s, the United States built four nuclear submarines annually, but production collapsed after the Cold War with only three submarines built during the entire 1990s

Nine out of ten manufacturing jobs vanished post-Cold War, and "we told all the kids in the 80s and 90s that can manufacturing, go get a four-year journalism degree" - Chris Power

Current demand requires 70 million labor hours annually, compared to 13 million hours needed for a single Virginia-class submarine just over a decade ago - more than five times the previous capacity

The skilled workforce crisis cannot be solved with money alone: "We could spend $10 billion hiring this man, 2 million welders that he needs. They just don't exist in the country" - Chris Power

Admiral Goucher's Role as Pentagon's First Submarine Czar

Admiral Goucher serves as one of three Direct Reporting Portfolio Managers (DRPOMs) created to focus on strategic deterrence missions, reporting directly to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg

The role was created to "short-circuit" bureaucracy and ensure focus on outcomes: building more submarines, standing up Golden Dome missile defense, and fixing the nuclear triad

Success metrics focus on achieving delivery cadence: "We may not be at the rate in three years, but we have to be closing on it and we have to have all the levers that we need to pull moving in the right direction" - Admiral Goucher

Software-Driven Manufacturing Revolution at Hadrian

Hadrian's Factory 4 spans 2.25 million square feet and represents a new model of advanced manufacturing combining "American software, American steel, and American spirit" to achieve productivity jumps

Software enables 90% productivity improvements for machinists, quality inspectors, and welders while making training more accessible, potentially reducing the traditional decade-long welder training timeline

The system provides flexibility for "high mix, low volume" production unlike traditional assembly lines, enabling on-demand manufacturing of submarine components and variants

Current submarine yards operate at less than 50% productivity, while even 1980s peak performance only reached 70-80% efficiency - software-driven automation can operate around the clock with higher effectiveness

Immediate Applications and Proof of Concept

Early opportunities include manufacturing obsolete parts for in-service submarine maintenance when original companies have gone out of business, keeping existing submarines operational

The facility will focus on "sequence critical material" - parts that halt entire production when missing, such as air flasks and escape trunk hatches

Hadrian has structured the partnership with capital at risk: "we can't be successful out in the Navy, but we're also capital at risk. So we are strongly incentivized to basically... sweat bullets until we pull this off" - Chris Power

Integration with Modern Autonomous Systems

While autonomous underwater drones cost a fraction of the $16 billion Columbia-class submarine and are designed to be expendable, submarines remain multi-mission platforms versus single-mission drone tools

Manufacturing experience from companies building unmanned systems can translate to building submarine modules, with Admiral Goucher noting recent conversations with Anduril about collaboration

Submarines provide unique value as "responsive, versatile tool that can do any number of things" while also serving as command and control platforms for autonomous drone fleets