Near the end of the campaign, industrial capacity supports a deliberately mine-heavy strategy. The program orders 200 submarines and 100 destroyers, while research shifts toward modern tactics and advanced sonar as the American fleet starts adding submarines. Ports are to be protected by minelaying submarines and destroyers. Mine barriers in the Caribbean, Mediterranean approaches, and Red Sea would threaten American movement between theatres. Procurement, mine warfare, sea control, and ASW form one defensive plan rather than a collection of separate upgrades. A joke about future fishing vessels encountering lost mines also acknowledges that area-denial weapons can remain dangerous long after the intended war.
Notable Point · 2:35:51-2:49:21
Mine warfare and ASW buildout
A mass submarine and destroyer buildout pairs mine warfare with sonar research as the American fleet begins adding submarines.