The Ben & Marc Show China Has Mass. Can America Catch Up?
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Sep 29, 2025 
Brian Schimpf is the Cofounder & CEO of Anduril, focusing on national security, while Chris Power is the Founder & CEO of Hadrian, known for automated manufacturing insights. They discuss the U.S. defense production gap, emphasizing that America excels in innovation but struggles with mass production. Key topics include the erosion of U.S. manufacturing, the need for skilled labor, and the potential of software-led automation to boost industrial capacity. They also analyze the strategic implications of U.S.-China competition and urgent munitions shortages revealed in war games.
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Mass Beats Exquisite-Only Strategy
- Technical superiority matters but is not sufficient without industrial mass.
- Ukraine showed that the kilograms of munitions you can throw matter most in protracted wars.
Manufacturing Skillset Has Eroded
- The US lost concentrated manufacturing expertise by offshoring at scale and not building domestic skill pipelines.
- Rebuilding this takes decades but can start in defense and aerospace with software-led automation.
Prioritize Automation And Flexible Factories
- Automate heavily to replace aging skilled labor and shorten ramp-up time for new workers.
- Build flexible factories first so capacity exists and can pivot across products quickly.
