Oct 7, 2026 · 30 min · 13 segments
The defense technology company is betting it can speed up production of U.S. Navy attack submarines. Christian Brose of Anduril joins Kate B. Odell to unpack the new venture announced this week with…
And it's a nuance, I think, that often gets overlooked in this debate about the future of warfare, right? It's either all the old stuff or all the new stuff.
And I think our argument has been for a very long time, and my argument has been that we need both.
And as much as Anduril is leading the way in terms of autonomous systems and low-cost weapons and software-defined, AI-defined defense capabilities, I think we also realize that there are critical weapon systems in the American arsenal that are going to be vital to maintaining deterrence for a very long time to come.
And, you know, the top of that list is the Virginia class submarine, you know, the nuclear attack submarine fleet, which, as Admiral Goucher said yesterday, is the apex predator of the world's oceans.
You know, like I think there are many reasons that President Xi wakes up every morning and doesn't decide to go across the Strait of Taiwan.
But probably near the top of that list is he doesn't know where America's submarines are or what they're capable.
So, you know, very long way of saying these are absolutely essential questions.
And the challenge that our nation has had for some time is we know how to make them, right? We've been making Virginia-class submarines as a country for the past two decades.
But two years ago, when the United States Navy came to Anduril and began this conversation of Whether we can add production capacity to begin, you know, kind of producing more of the submarine components and modules and sort of larger ship sections over time that can allow us to build more of these submarines.
And, you know, I think we are currently kind of below the Navy's requirement for these submarines in terms of what America is currently producing.
And, you know, I think for us, if Anduril was founded to do anything, it was to solve the hardest and most consequential defense problems facing the country.
And, you know, considering where we are in our journey, you know, better part of 10 years in, the more we looked at that problem, the more we realized there was actually a lot of this problem that is sort of Anduril shaped, right? I mean, things we can do to uniquely help production capacity increase in the country.
And I want to talk about specifically what Andrew was going to do, but completely agree with your point that Virginia-class submarines are really vital to avoiding a war in the Western Pacific.
And they would be basically the door kicker for the rest of our naval fleet if, God forbid, that were to ever happen.
And that stealth capability you're describing does have to make the Chinese think twice and avoid war in the first place.
And it's a nuance, I think, that often gets overlooked in this debate about the future of warfare, right? It's either all the old stuff or all the new stuff.
And I think our argument has been for a very long time, and my argument has been that we need both.
And as much as Anduril is leading the way in terms of autonomous systems and low-cost weapons and software-defined, AI-defined defense capabilities, I think we also realize that there are critical weapon systems in the American arsenal that are going to be vital to maintaining deterrence for a very long time to come.
And, you know, the top of that list is the Virginia class submarine, you know, the nuclear attack submarine fleet, which, as Admiral Goucher said yesterday, is the apex predator of the world's oceans.
You know, like I think there are many reasons that President Xi wakes up every morning and doesn't decide to go across the Strait of Taiwan.
But probably near the top of that list is he doesn't know where America's submarines are or what they're capable.
So, you know, very long way of saying these are absolutely essential questions.
And the challenge that our nation has had for some time is we know how to make them, right? We've been making Virginia-class submarines as a country for the past two decades.
But two years ago, when the United States Navy came to Anduril and began this conversation of Whether we can add production capacity to begin, you know, kind of producing more of the submarine components and modules and sort of larger ship sections over time that can allow us to build more of these submarines.
And, you know, I think we are currently kind of below the Navy's requirement for these submarines in terms of what America is currently producing.
And, you know, I think for us, if Anduril was founded to do anything, it was to solve the hardest and most consequential defense problems facing the country.
And, you know, considering where we are in our journey, you know, better part of 10 years in, the more we looked at that problem, the more we realized there was actually a lot of this problem that is sort of Anduril shaped, right? I mean, things we can do to uniquely help production capacity increase in the country.
And I want to talk about specifically what Andrew was going to do, but completely agree with your point that Virginia-class submarines are really vital to avoiding a war in the Western Pacific.
And they would be basically the door kicker for the rest of our naval fleet if, God forbid, that were to ever happen.
And that stealth capability you're describing does have to make the Chinese think twice and avoid war in the first place.
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