Mostly when I write about the national defense, I report bad news, because the news has mostly been bad. But sometimes a ray of light pierces the cloud. That is the case now, because of an important new initiative to address one of the big deficiencies in the shipyard industrial base.
One area where America’s armed forces still have a decided advantage over China is the undersea domain. In particular the Navy’s attack submarines, and especially its newest Virginia class boats, are far superior to their counterparts in the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The American subs can run silently in China’s near seas, collecting vital intelligence and, in the event of conflict, attacking ships with torpedoes and land targets with Tomahawk cruise or hypersonic boost-glide missiles — and they can attack without notice and almost with impunity. They are a vital deterrent to Chinese aggression and undoubtedly would be the biggest obstacle the PLA would have to overcome should Beijing decide to launch an invasion of Taiwan.
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