President Donald Trump has tasked the Department of Government Efficiency to review the U.S. military's shipbuilding processes.
Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order that gives DOGE 90 days to begin a review of the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security vessel procurement processes.
Elon Musk's advisory group then will submit to Trump a proposal for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes.
DOGE's review will coincide with a separate proposal for improved acquisition strategies processes from the secretaries of Defense, Commerce, Transportation, and Homeland Security, and the director of the National Science Foundation.
The secretaries were given 45 days to conduct a review of shipbuilding for government use and submit a report "with recommendations to increase the number of participants and competitors within United States shipbuilding, and to reduce cost overruns and production delays for surface, subsurface, and unmanned programs."
Separate itemized and prioritized lists of recommendations for the Army, Navy, and Coast Guard shall be included in a Maritime Action Plan (MAP), which is to be submitted to Trump within seven months.
The MAP aims to "revitalize and rebuild domestic maritime industries and workforce to promote national security and economic prosperity."
"The commercial shipbuilding capacity and maritime workforce of the United States has been weakened by decades of Government neglect, leading to the decline of a once strong industrial base while simultaneously empowering our adversaries and eroding United States national security," the order states.
"Both our allies and our strategic competitors produce ships for a fraction of the cost needed in the United States. Recent data shows that the United States constructs less than one percent of commercial ships globally, while the People's Republic of China (PRC) is responsible for producing approximately half."
Navy officials in recent years have promised to speed up the shipbuilding process and focus on more efficiently designed warships, but the stated intentions mostly have failed, Politico reported.
The outlet added that every single Navy shipbuilding program is currently behind schedule. One example is the Constellation-class frigate, which has undergone several design changes and is five years behind schedule and over budget.
"We are at a tipping point with Constellation," Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., who leads the House Armed Services Committee's tactical air and land forces subcommittee, said Wednesday at the Sea Air Space conference, Politico reported.
"Are we at a point where we either quickly recover and get back on track with this? Or do you say maybe we're too far along with this and we go in a different direction?"