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Shipbuilding Efficiency
and Quality Through
Industry Survey, and Expert Interviews
2
December 2025
First published in 2025 by NDIA’s affiliate, the Emerging Technologies Institute. 2101 Wilson Blvd, Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22201, United States of America. (703) 522-1820. © 2025 by the National Defense Industrial Association. All rights reserved. This report is made possible by general support to NDIA and the Emerging Technologies Institute. No direct sponsorship contributed to this report. This report is produced by NDIA, a non-partisan, non-profit, educational association that has been designated by the IRS as a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization and was founded to educate its constituencies on all aspects of national security. Its research is nonpartisan. DISCLAIMER: The ideas and findings in this report should not be construed to be official positions of either NDIA or any of the organizations listed as contributors or the membership of NDIA. It is published in the interest of an information exchange between government and industry, pursuant to its mission to bring industry and government together to engage in discussions of important topics. For more information please visit our website: EmergingTechnologiesInstitute.org MEDIA QUERIES: Rachel Sutherland, NDIA Director of Public Affairs & Communications at rsutherland@NDIA.org
Enhancing Naval Shipbuilding Efficiency and Quality through Robotic Welding Adoption
3
Author
Dr. Yunusa Balogun Dr. Balogun is an Engineering Manager and Materials
Engineer with the Materials Division of the NAVSEA 05
Ship Integrity and Performance Engineering Group. He recently served as a Public-Private Talent Experience (PPTE) Fellow with NDIA’s Emerging Technologies Institute, during which time this study was completed.
NDIA ETI Executive Director
Dr. Arun Seraphin
Chairman:
The Honorable William “Mac” Thornberry
Committee
General John Hyten, USAF (Ret)
Former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition
and Sustainment
Co-Founder at Meritech Capital Partners
Theresa S. Mayer
Interview Participants
Peter Williams and Brian Calus (OptiTrack), Maddie Frank (Fortius Metals), Akaash Kancharla (aRobot- icsCompany), Robert Sibley (THG Automation), Jared Veteto (Cogitic Corporation), Sly Steele and Eyal Shekel (Civan Lasers), Dave Dickson and Christopher Allison (GKN Aerospace & Defense), Travis Ursprung (Jankel Tactical Systems LLC), Michael Presley (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab), Beth Benzle (General Dynamics Electric Boat), Sean Breadmore (General Atomics). The research also included an inter- view with personnel from a major U.S. automotive vehicle manufacturer.