As China churns out warships, the US Navy is looking for drones and AI to help it pick up the pace at its struggling shipyards

• The US Navy is struggling to maintain its ships and subs and to repair them on time.
• Meanwhile, China's navy is growing thanks to shipyards that churn out naval and commercial ships.
• The US Navy is now looking for new tools to improve maintenance and reduce delays at its shipyards.

With maintenance backlogs hampering fleet readiness, the US Navy is hoping that autonomous systems and artificial intelligence can fix its overburdened shipyards.

The service envisions dockyard facilities humming with drones and robotic cranes operating under minimal human supervision.