Shipbuilding

The state of Umbrian shipbuilding at the onset of the war was woefully unsuitable for the large scale production of warships. The Republic's shipbuilders utilized a decentralized network of small to medium sized yards to produce commercial vessels and the frigates and destroyers which made up the bulk of the URN at the start of the conflict. Only a few specialized facilities existed to produce larger ship classes, and these were quickly overwhelmed with new demand.

Republic commercial interests had long since moved the production of all but the smallest vessels to space-based facilities. These leveraged advantages in access to raw materials and the absence of gravity to manipulate the large and unwieldy inputs used to build ships. The ships would be built in sections at multiple co-located facilities, and then brought together in a large finishing yard for final assembly.

As the war progressed and the Umbrian Republic Navy's losses mounted, this approach proved insufficient to meet the URN’s need to expand and replace combat losses. Dedicated facilities for the manufacturing of capital ships were built to maximize efficiency and throughput. A greater emphasis was placed on modular design, while factories building the internal machinery and finishings, needed to fully fit out these vessels, were moved in closer proximity to the yards themselves.

One persistent problem that remains however is the lack of skilled laborers to staff the expanded facilities. Shipbuilding requires the use of complex systems and machinery, and the time required to train specialists on these tools is quite lengthy.

The nature of where these facilities are located also deters would-be applicants, as they're required to live in the manufacturing stations' and shipyards' spartan worker dormitories, which feature few luxuries or amenities.

The industry has stepped up to address this problem by offering incentives and training for potential applicants, in addition to spending more on refurbishing and upgrading the living quarters on their facilities. These efforts have seen some success, and shipping output is now approximately three hundred and twenty percent above prewar levels.