Los Angeles-class submarine USS Toledo (SSN-769) enters Norfolk Naval Shipyard on Jan. 21, 2021. US Navy Photo
The Navy still has major challenges in digging out of its longstanding submarine maintenance backlog even after growing the workforce at the public shipyards, according to a Congressional Budget Office report. Read More
The portside anchor of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is lowered into a dry dock for maintenance. GHWB is currently in Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Va. US Navy Photo
The Navy is evaluating how it can speed up the timeline for its initiative to renovate aging public shipyards amid concern from lawmakers that the current 20-year timeframe is too long. Read More
Poster for USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) 2016. US Navy Photo
A long-standing independent report on the health of the U.S. Navy is set to end this year unless Congress acts, USNI News has learned.
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Rear Adm. Chris Engdahl, President of the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV), and then Capt. Kyle Higgins, commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), converse in the hangar bay aboard Ike in 2019. US Navy Photo
Navy ship readiness has trended down over the past three years, with many ship systems on surface ships and submarines, in particular, showing lower readiness scores in Fiscal Year 2020 compared to the recent average, according to the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) annual report released today. Read More
FS Charles de Gaulle (R91) deploying on Jan. 21, 2020 from Touloun, France. French Navy Photo
NATO kicked off its annual Dynamic Manta anti-submarine warfare exercise today in the Mediterranean, with this year’s iteration including an American nuclear-powered attack sub and the French carrier strike group as it passes by the exercise’s operating area off Sicily. Read More
The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Boise (SSN 764) enters Souda Bay, Greece, during a scheduled port visit on Dec. 23, 2014. Boise conducted naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe during its last deployment that ended in January 2015 — and the submarine has been awaiting a maintenance availability ever since, due to limited capacity in public and private yards. US Navy photo.
After years of struggling to conduct attack submarine maintenance – with the four public naval shipyards prioritizing SSN work last, behind a backlog of ballistic-missile sub and aircraft carrier work, and private shipyards finding it tough to resume submarine repair work after years of only doing new construction – the Navy appears back on track for its SSN maintenance, the head of Naval Sea Systems Command told USNI News. Read More
The following is the April 22, 2019 Congressional Budget Office report, Costs of Submarine Maintenance at Public and Private Shipyards. Read More
USS Hawaii (SSN-776) off of Oahu, Hawaii during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, July 9, 2018 . US Navy photo.
CAPITOL HILL – A competition for material between submarine construction and submarine maintenance is contributing to slowdowns in both, the Navy’s acquisition chief told USNI News today. Read More
USS Greeneville (SSN-772) sits atop blocks in Dry Dock #1 at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Feb. 21, 2001. DoD photo.
As the Navy grapples with current backlogs of work at public maintenance yards and finalizes its longer-term plans for fleet maintenance, some lawmakers are pushing the Navy to send more attack submarine maintenance work to private shipbuilders. Read More
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) prepares to pull into Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va. in 2017. US Navy Photo
CAPITOL HILL – Maintenance backlogs continue to plague the Navy’s surface ship and attack submarine readiness, with the service losing the equivalent of 17 ships for operational tasking this year due to delays in getting repairs, according to an analysis from the Government Accountability Office. Read More
