CAVASSHIPS Podcast [Dec 19, ’25] Ep: 222 Ingalls President Blanchette on FF(X) & Clark and Sadler Review '25 by CAVASSHIPS Podcast
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…as many of you know, it’s the 250th anniversary of the US Navy. History professor B J Armstrong from the Naval Academy is here to talk about some of the highlights of the sea service’s development. Plus we’ll hear some of the comments Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle gave at the recent Reagan Defense Forum in California.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…Cavas and Servello are on the road this week, so we jump right into the discussion portion of the podcast. Joining us to deep dive into lessons learned from the curtailment of the troubled Constellation frigate program are former Under and Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly and retired Rear Admiral and former Fincantieri executive Chuck Goddard. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. We said last week that we’d be taking the Thanksgiving holiday off, but the Navy’s announcement about the cancellation of the bulk of the Constellation-class frigate program is too big to put off. We’ll have some thoughts on the course of this troubled program and what could come next. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…former top Navy acquisition official Nick Guertin joins us to discuss the Pentagon’s proposed acquisition changes, Navy shipbuilding, and anti-submarine warfare. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week… Today we focus on the Silent Service – the US submarine force. Former Chief of Naval Operations retired Admiral Jonathan Greenert, a career submariner, joins us for a deep dive into some of the service’s key issues. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week… Chris and Chris discuss Sec Hegseth’s acquisition reform remarks and the latest happens across the Navy. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…Navy shipbuilding, the future of unmanned surface warfare, and now something called The Golden Fleet. We’ll dive into those topics and more with Greg Glaros, a former Top Gun Naval Aviator widely known as a technical innovator and entrepreneur who has special insight into the administration’s push to boost domestic shipbuilding. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…on the scene reports from Taiwan, what’s going on with Venezuela as the US continues killing people on the high seas, and a new world order for Pentagon Press. Chief editor of USNI News Sam LaGrone and Deputy Editor Mallory Shelbourne are back with us to dive in. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week… noted analyst Bryan Clark is back to let us in on the latest thinking about the US Navy’s future force structure, including how unmanned systems and so-called battleships fit into the picture. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week… 2024’s collision of a huge containership with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore garnered world-wide headlines, but cleaning up the mess - clearing the wreckage, moving the ship - was a major operation. One of the leaders of that effort is with us today - Gregg Baumann, a former US Navy Supervisor of Salvage now a leader in the worldwide salvage community. Stand by for a great discussion!
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…friends of the pod and maritime experts Sal Mercogliano and John Konrad are back to discuss maritime effects of the government shutdown, intersecting shipping and naval trends across the globe and why no one in government wants to talk. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…the Chinese Navy is on the move again. Its new carrier recently came through the Taiwan Strait for the first time, and a plethora of new weaponry was on display at a major parade in Beijing. China expert Tom Shugart is back with us to break it down. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…Servello spent a week in London at DSEI, the world’s largest military exposition. We’ll hear from Babcock Marine CEO Sir Nick Hine on the latest naval developments in the UK, and then we will give our take on what we saw and heard from the five-day show. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…New President of the Surface Navy Association Retired Vice Admiral Ron Boxall joins us to discuss SNA’s upcoming west coast symposium, latest Navy headlines and the contribution surface warfare is making around the globe. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…it's that bi-annual time again– DSEI – the Defence and Security Equipment International exposition - will be held September 9-12 at Excel in London. Joining us to discuss this year’s focus, as well as recent maritime headlines and trends in the UK and across Europe is Rear Adm (ret’d) Jon Pentreath, DSEI’s Senior Military Adviser for Navy and Army programs. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…there’s a shadow fleet of tankers trading the world’s oceans – by some estimates nearly 2,000 tankers, about a fifth of the global tanker fleet. The ships evade international law, break embargoes, and can cause economic and ecological havoc. Michelle Wiese Bockmann is an expert on the deceptions, and she’ll join us to talk about the strategic and security threats this growing fleet poses to worldwide security. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…Brent Sadler of the Heritage foundation joins us to talk force structure, readiness, deterring adversaries as well as his insights on the latest Chinese Coast Guard dust-up in the South China Sea. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…over the last month Cavas and Servello have discussed the Ships Act, the Big Beautiful Bill, visited Hanwha Philly Shipyard and Black Sea Technologies in Balitimore–-expert navalist Bryan Clark helps us connect the dots on all of these important topics. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…We talk to Black Sea Technology CEO Chris Devine about the varied and innovative work his company is doing. Cavas and I were at the company’s headquarters in Baltimore to see first hand the naval work being done by BlackSea, including the manufacturing and delivering of dozens of uncrewed platforms each month. Also, Cavas and Servello discuss their trip to Baltimore and Cavas' visit to the Norfolk waterfront. Given the travel this week, we are skipping the headlines and jumping right into the discussion portion of the pod. Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.