The Great Battleship Debate: gCaptain’s Konrad Takes On AEI’s Zack Cooper

The U.S. Navy has not commissioned a battleship since 1944. Donald Trump now wants as many as 25. The first, USS Defiant, will displace more than 35,000 tons, carry hypersonics, lasers, and a 32-megajoule railgun, and will potentially cost more than a nuclear aircraft carrier. Bath Iron Works and Ingalls Shipbuilding are quietly raising hands but whispers of new entrants like Hanwha’s Philly Shipyard or California Forever are starting to emerge.

Last week, on Sal Mercogliano’sWhat’s Going On With Shipping, gCaptain founder John Konrad sat down with Dr. Zack Cooper of the American Enterprise Institute to have the actual argument Sal