Mahan Ratio Proposed as Metric for US Maritime Action Plan (warontherocks.com)

• Mahan ratio offers a historically validated single metric for maritime power balance.
• US ratio collapsed from 5.31 (1950) to 0.64 (2025); China surged to 20.31.
• Proposed measures: target ratios, automatic triggers, drone vessel inclusion.

"The Trump administration's Maritime Action Plan aims to revive the US merchant marine and shipbuilding but lacks measurable targets. The author proposes the Mahan ratio (merchant ships divided by naval ships) as a metric. The US ratio fell from 5.31 in 1950 to 0.64 in 2025, while China's rose to 20.31. Three measures: set target ratios with deadlines, tie funding to triggers, and include unmanned systems."