October 29, 2025 – “It’s about as futuristic as you can get,” says Michael Hecht, president and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc., a non-profit business development organization, speaking of the work being done by Metal Shark in Jeanerette, Louisiana, in partnership with HavocAI in Providence, Rhode Island, to build autonomous vessels for the U.S. Navy that integrate artificial intelligence into unmanned vessels.
Hecht hails what he identifies as a revival of shipbuilding in Louisiana. “What you’re seeing right now in Louisiana is a coming together of our historical expertise in shipbuilding combined with new needs in defense, aerospace and energy,” he says.