{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Paul Truesdell Podcast","title":"The Essential National Security Economics of the U.S. Navy - Part 3","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":821,"description":"China’s Industrial Shipbuilding MachineIf Newport News is the crown jewel of U.S. shipbuilding, then China’s shipyards are the roaring steel mills of naval mass production. Where America has one or two specialized yards, China has lined its entire coastline with ship factories, each one sprawling over acres of concrete, steel, and cranes. The numbers are almost too big to believe, and they explain why the Chinese navy, the People’s Liberation Army Navy, has grown faster than any other fleet in the world.Let’s take this geographically, because rattling off Chinese names is not helpful to most American listeners.Near Shanghai, along the Yangtze estuary, sits China’s biggest and most modern naval yard. This complex covers about 3 square miles—that’s roughly six times the size of Newport News. Here, China built its newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which is undergoing trials. This same yard also produces the Type 055 destroyers, ships so large that many Western analysts call them cruisers. These are 13,000-ton warships bristling with missiles, radar, and modern electronics. The scale is astonishing: in one aerial photograph, you can see three destroyers under construction, two frigates being fitted out, and a carrier moored alongside, all in the same shot.Farther north, up near Dalian, is another massive yard. This is where China built its second carrier, the Shandong. The yard itself is enormous, rivaling the biggest commercial yards in the world. It has multiple dry docks and long assembly halls, enough to keep dozens of major hulls in progress at once.West along the coast, near Huludao, sits China’s nuclear submarine yard. This facility is shrouded in secrecy, with covered halls that keep satellites from seeing what is being built inside. What we do know is that this is where China’s nuclear-powered submarines are produced. The yard has been expanded in recent years, and it now has the ability to construct multiple submarines at the same time.Down south, near...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/115-XsjkdwCpJ99xv-8oZ76t6jr8ScWEC5MYSKzL0ig/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS82MTUx/OWRiNTc0NTk0Y2Nk/M2VjYTliMGVhN2Zm/YTZkZi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}